Last update - 00:00 30/01/2008
Press conference after Winograd report release aims to deflect media spin
By Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondent
The Winograd Committee will give the prime minister its report on the Second Lebanon War at 5 P.M. Israel time Wednesday. At 6 P.M., a press conference will be held at Jerusalem's International Convention Center (Binyanei Ha'ooma), at which committee chair Eliyahu Winograd will give a summary of the report and of the committee's work methods.
Some 300 local and foreign journalists have registered to attend the press conference. However, they will not be allowed to ask questions.
The press conference, which will be broadcast live on all the nation's radio and television stations, was deliberately scheduled for 6 P.M. to ensure that most people will be home and able to tune in should they so desire. According to the panel's public relations agents, Motti Sharf and Eli Shaked, the committee wants as much of the public as possible to hear its summary directly, rather than as filtered through the media.
Though the report is several hundred pages long, the summary is expected to take only about 25 minutes to read.
The conference will take place regardless of the weather. If it snows, the Jerusalem municipality has promised to plow a route from the entrance to the city to the ICC to enable committee members and journalists to get there. In addition, all-terrain vehicles will be available to transport the two panel members who live in Jerusalem.
Winograd will also give a summary of the report to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak when he delivers it to them.
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