BOB GARFIELD: We're back with On the Media. I'm Bob Garfield. A recent poll found that while more than two thirds of Americans are concerned about more terrorism occurring on U.S. soil, only 12 percent have developed an evacuation plan. According to another survey, just 30 percent of New Yorkers have stockpiled items in their homes in case of an attack, and only one in ten has a gas mask or any type of respirator. In an effort to increase the level of civil preparedness, the United States Department of Homeland Security recently launched a multimedia public information campaign. Its centerpiece is a web site -- Ready.Gov --which is being promoted through public service announcements featuring Secretary Tom Ridge. According to On the Media's John Solomon, the most striking thing about the effort so far is the lack of urgency in the tone and the depth of the content. Equally surprising is how little the press has covered this particular aspect of the post-September 11th story.

JOHN SOLOMON: Tom Ridge has a tough sales job. His four month old Department of Homeland Security must convince a confused and skeptical public to prepare for a range of terrorist threats he can't fully describe nor predict. In his initial series of PSAs, Ridge has decided to try the soft sell.

TOM RIDGE: To ultimate be the victor in the war again terrorism we need all Americans to be engaged, down to the point where we ask mothers and fathers to think about doing some simple things at home to protect themselves and protect their children.

JOHN SOLOMON: Yes despite the apparent importance of engagement, Ridge is only asking Americans to think about doing -- not telling them to do. The department's web site -- Ready.Gov --takes a similar tack. The introduction indicates that the threat of a biological, chemical, nuclear or radiological attack is very real, but it's less insistent when it comes to advice. Quote: "There are some things you can do to prepare for the unexpected such as assembling a supply kit and developing a family communications plan." Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Susan Neely explains that the "ask not tell" approach comes from recent focus group testing.

SUSAN NEELY: The ones that they liked were the ones that had a re-assuring tone -- that this can help; it wasn't a mandate from government. So I guess that was persuasive to us. You have to work through people's defense mechanisms cause this is a, a scary kind of topic and-- it was clear that people wanted to be engaged in a constructive way, not a, a mandate kind of way.

JOHN SOLOMON: Neely says the campaign is beginning to work through already. Since its February launch Ready.Gov has had 14.5 million unique visitors, and the accompanying toll free number has received 125,000 calls.

WO

MAN: This web site is more about politics than it is about actual giving information to people.

JOHN SOLOMON: Washington Post reporter Sally Quinn has written several articles detailing her efforts to learn how to prepare for a terrorist attack and her frustration with the absence of guidance provided by the government. Though she applauds the Bush administration for launching this type of public information campaign, Quinn doesn't think it's as honest and straightforward as it should be. She says that the department is not strongly recommending some emergency supplies and medicine that it knows would be useful and could save lives, largely because it does not want to appear elitist. Quinn calls it a "don't-tell-the-children" approach to civil defense information.

SALLY QUINN: The government should say look -- here there are many different layers of -- and many different steps you can take and some of them anyone can afford and some of them are expensive, but we're going to tell you this because we think it's the responsible thing to do. Then you have the option -- you might say okay -- you know we were going to buy a new car this year, but we're not going to do that because we'd rather put an air filtration system in our house. But you're not given the option because they're not going to tell you about that.

JOHN SOLOMON: Ready.Gov is also indecisive when it comes to medicine. It suggests citizens consider keeping potassium iodide in your emergency kit and speak with your health care provider in advance about what makes sense for your family. Yet this type of ambivalence wouldn't seem to ensure a consistent level of national preparation. One internist here in New York told me he isn't prescribing potassium iodide to his patients because he doesn't view nuclear terrorism as a viable threat. He may well be right. But is the government comfortable with health care providers answering inquiries based on their own geopolitical analysis? Most puzzling to Quinn is why the government is not more firmly telling every American to purchase an N-95 Mask which can provide protection from some potential bioweapons including anthrax. That's even the advice Senator Majority Leader Bill Frist gives in his recent book -- When Every Moment Counts: What You Need to Know about Bioterrorism from the Senate's Only Doctor. Assistant Secretary Neely says Homeland Security doesn't want to give false hope.

SUSAN NEELY: There's no one type of mask -- N-95 or others - that will work in every kind of--terrorist situation, so we don't want to hold up, you know, this is the Holy Grail - this is the only possible solution. As you look at the recommendation in our materials, it's this -- N-95 is an option - there's other kinds of masks that are available at hardware stores and bottom line is use your common sense.

JOHN SOLOMON: This a la carte philosophy may be in part why Ridge's initial briefing in February provoked a rush to Home Depot by some Americans and derision by many others, including one outspoken New Yorker.

DAVID LETTER

MAN: Because of the orange alert what that means is you, you gotta stock up on duct tape and plastic sheeting and I was in the hardware store after I got off the subway this morning, and-- [LAUGHS] and I was stocking up on the stuff, and I said ah, this reminds me of my wedding night. [DRUM RIMSHOT/LAUGHTER/APPLAUSE]

JOHN SOLOMON: Part of the problem according to Steven Brill is that late night comics have had more to say about the specifics of civil defense preparations than President Bush. Brill, the author of the new book, After: How America Confronted the September 12th Era, points out that Bush's reticence is in stark contrast to his high profile on international terrorism issues. And it sends a signal to the nation about priorities.

STEVEN BRILL: I think the president needs to do more. This is a place for the bully pulpit. Ridge basically has drawn the straw because -- I think it's because they don't they yet have their political footing on this stuff - you know the only thing worse in their minds than Ridge being made fun of for talking about duct tape would be the president being made fun of for talking about duct tape.

JOHN SOLOMON: Brill observes that leaders in an open democracy generally have a difficult time explaining risk to their citizens, so he suggests it's up to the press to clarify the tradeoffs involved, to not stir up needless panic and to fill the significant gaps in the government's civil defense campaign.

STEVEN BRILL: If I were running a, a major newspaper or television news organization right now, I'd have a major thing on my web that parses through all these questions and provides much more in the way of answers! I would challenge every anchor of every news station and every major editor, national urban newspaper to come to a 3-hour course in dirty bombs and send them home with, with graphics and charts and stuff they can use that explain what this is! Cause that takes a major weapon away from terrorists!

JOHN SOLOMON: Surprisingly there has been little in-depth analysis of the Ready.Gov web site by the media, and few if any press questions to Bush or Ridge on why their recommendations are so limited. Sally Quinn has a theory.

SALLY QUINN: Journalists are a macho crowd for one thing; you know, they'd rather be embedded and, and [LAUGHS] -- shot at than talking about how they're scared and walking around with gas masks!

JOHN SOLOMON: That would be too bad, because ultimately what the media find out about preparing for the potential of domestic terrorism is at least as important to their audience as the tactics of desert warfare. For On the Media this is John Solomon.