A Study investigated the informal methods of governmental information control used in four countries--the United States, Great Britain, West Germany, and the Soviet Union--to determine how the governments discretely and quietly limited unfavorable publicity. The examination revealed seven possible control methods: (1) preemptive leaks, (2) coverups, (3) "rough stuff," (4) persuasion, (5) retaliation against whistle blowers, (6) limitations on national freedom of information policies, and (7) establishment mentality. The examination showed that governments in all four countries desired to limit information about their activities. Similarly, the media in all four countries appeared to be compliant. There were, however, important differences; in the Soviet Union, informal controls were sometimes literally a matter of life and death, while those in the other three nations appeared to be more humane. (FL)