Defence and Security Media Advisory Committee

The Defence and Security Media Advisory Committee (DSMA-Committee) advises the media on the potential impact of publishing information that could harm UK national security. It facilitates communication between government and media to protect sensitive defence and security information while respecting press freedom.

Communication Overview

Total releases

Number of press releases published by this department during the last 12 months, based on publicly available announcements.

Avg per month

Average number of press releases published per calendar month over the last 12 months. This smooths short-term fluctuations in publishing activity.

Avg word count

Average length of published press releases, measured in words. Calculated only for months where content was published.

Avg readability

Average Flesch Reading Ease score across all published press releases. Higher values indicate plainer English. Scores are indicative only and vary by subject matter.

Friday PM releases

Percentage of press releases published after 3pm on Fridays, relative to the department’s total output during the period.

Single-release items

Estimated proportion of announcements published once, without a closely related follow-up release during the same period. This is based on similarity of titles and timing.

Metrics are descriptive only and indicate publication patterns rather than intent or impact.