escorting the media - blackboard inc. content...escorts media we escort the media to ensure sapp –...

The Defense Information School, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland

Basic Public Affairs Specialist CourseMedia Relations

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Why Escort the Media | Ground Rules | Media Visit Preparations | Interview Preparations for Staff |Prepare Responses for Media | Actions After Media Visit | Types of Attribution | Special Considerations

You should now be familiar with guidelines for releasing information and the policies and procedures about security, accuracy, policy and propriety. This means you have a basic knowledge of who has the authority to release information at various levels of command and what or why these policies allow or prevent you from releasing information. If you have the authority to release information about new technology or equipment on base and it does not violate SAPP, why should you worry about escorting media on the installation for them to cover this new technology or equipment? Are there rules for media to follow? Does the media’s culture ensure reporters follow rules? As a public affairs specialist, it is your job to ensure the “Principles of Information” and the guidelines for releasing information are followed while you provide the media their information.

Escorting the media

Escorting the Media Media Relations

The Center of Excellence for Visual Information and Public Affairs2

Home | Why Escort the Media | Ground Rules | Media Visit Preparations | Interview Preparations for Staff |Prepare Responses for Media | Actions After Media Visit | Types of Attribution | Special Considerations

We escort the media to help them get their story

y Get the interviews they seek. You are the “go-to guy” to find what topic the media’s interested in reporting.

y You know who the people on the

installation are and their location. By taking the media to the interviewee, it allows you to explain ground rules by which the interview(s) are to be reported.

y It also allows you to introduce and

emphasize the command’s perspective on the story at hand. This will help the reporter to write the story or get the installation’s views on the subject being reported on.

y Provide news releases, fact sheets,

B-roll, generic photos, anything that helps them tell the story.

y The more accurate information you can supply to the reporter supporting the reasons behind the installation’s actions/views, the better the chance of the reporter writing a more balanced story! The worse thing you can have the reporter write is that the base was unavailable for comment.

Why military public affairs escorts media We escort the media to ensure SAPP – Security, Accuracy, Policy and Propriety

Security - Ensuring the information the media gathers will not negatively impact the mission; the information the media gathers will not endanger personnel; the information the media gathers will not cause serious damage to the security and safety of our country.

Accuracy - Get the information right the first time; correct spellings of names and jobs (a difficult task with many military acronyms and so many inexperienced reporters); squelch rumors and ensure the command’s point of view is covered.

Policy - News coverage meets policy standards of your installation, mission and service; violations of policy are reported and dealt with in an expedient/professional manner; military policy is explained fully to media so they understand why we operate the way we do.


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PA escort the media to ensure they know the command’s position Obviously, you need to know your commander’s position whenever media come to do a story on your installation. Talking to your media and asking what angle they are taking with the story will help you develop guidance or plan to answer the media’s questions. This guidance is developed by thinking of questions the media will ask and the responses you will answer with. This is affectionately called in our field as ‘Qs and As.’

Answering media questions is called responding to a query. A response is the answer to the question PLUS a command message. We will speak more about command messages in depth later in the lecture series. Let’s take a look at a couple examples of response to query:

Reporter: How could something like this happen and have you found the cause?

Military spokesperson: Response - “We are saddened by the tragic death of our soldier and send our deepest, heart-felt sympathies to the family. The accident is under investigation and we are doing everything we can to find and correct the problem so that something like this doesn’t happen again. The safety of everyone here on post is paramount!”

Trying to keep a positive tone on accidents and incidents in a diplomatic way is an art in public affairs. It is rare

to be a “natural” responding to query the first time! So, practice, practice, and practice some more!

Here’s another example:

Reporter: Is there a huge underage drinking problem on your base and why?

Military spokesperson: Response - “The leadership here knows there is an underage drinking problem, however we are instituting a mandatory training/awareness program for all service members –21 years of age or not. We want to make it known to everyone that this type of behavior by our service members will not be tolerated!”

If we don’t tell our own story, someone else will and they will probably

tell it wrong!

We escort the media to avoid confrontationAvoid confrontations with people who do not understand the media. You are the escort. You can steer the media away from people who think the media are dangerous. That means you have to know the people on your installation. Ensure that the media never end up in a confrontation with security police or other installation authorities. Example: Keeping the media away from secure areas, classified equipment or documentation.




We escort the media out of professional courtesy You are a journalist, a colleague and a peer. Treat the media like you would want them to treat you. Never lie or mislead the media. Be helpful, but don’t get in the way. Allow the media to do their job. Don’t be loud when they are trying to record. Be the fly on the wall. You are there to help and make sure the media visit goes well. Help them get timely and organized information. All media are not the same. You will find out that some reporters will be patient and willing to work with you. Others will demand your time and attention – as if the world revolved around them. Whatever the case, a good rule of thumb is to treat the media as though they needed the information yesterday.

We escort the media anytimeNow that you know why we escort, the next question is: When do we need to escort the media? Any time they visit your installation – planned or unplanned! Planned visits. Those are great because you have time to prepare for them.

Unplanned visits. If you don’t have a standard media visit plan, then you react to each of the media’s requests. Sometimes this is unavoidable, but a plan for contingencies like surprise media visits can make these “surprise visits” a little less stressful.




Ground rules, how to enforce them

WEBSTER’S II New Riverside University Dictionary defines ground rules as

1. A rule affecting the playing of a game on a particular field, course, or court.

2. A basic rule, as of procedures.”

Ground rules will always be set up for any involvement with the media. This ranges from wartime missions down to the simple change of command. With such a wide variety of stories and information queried by the media, it is up to the public affairs specialist to determine what kind and how many ground rules should be established. Remember, ground rules may have to be written out and possibly signed by all media attending depending on the severity or importance of the event; the number of interested media; the size of the event. Don’t make the rules so strict that they stifle the media’s ability to do their job. Keep the Principles of Information in mind. Ground rules should ensure honesty, integrity, and an understanding of how the media will act during their visit. And, how you will assist them.

Ground rules should be enforceable.

What happens when media break the ground rules? Once the rules are established with the media and they break a rule, you must immediately take on-the-spot corrective action. Letting media break a ground rule just gives them an opportunity to keep breaking the rules. Granted, some reporters may forget. Just be aware and remind them that if violation of the ground rules continue, you will terminate the interview. The consequences to the media should not be a surprise! Be upfront with the reporter telling him the penalty for breaking the ground rules can range from a warning to the termination of the interview and being escorted off the installation. Always weigh the pros and cons of alienating a reporter. A balanced story can turn ugly and negative because a reporter feels you have unjustly treated him.

Examples of ground rules:

1. Only agreeing to answer questions pertaining to their particular subject or focus of the story.2. Agreement that they will not film or record areas, equipment or documents that are classified or ask questions that may violate security or safety of individuals.




Preparing for a media visit We will discuss the finer details of the hands-on aspects in this portion of escorting the media. After you have decided that you can and should support a media request, you need to decide what kind of support and preparation is needed and where the interview/taping /photography will take place. The expectation that all journalists will be accompanied by trained public affairs professionals is unrealistic. There will always be more media than PA personnel. Often PA specialists are not the most qualified personnel to act as escorts because they lack the specialized expertise to explain detailed activities of different units involved in an operation.

If you are tasked to escort the media or are responsible to train someone else to escort, there are many things you need to consider:

Introductions - As the escort, you open the interview professionally by introducing the participants. Guidance - This gives you the opportunity to reiterate the ground rules and clarify the purpose of the interview or the need for the story. Listen/observe - Remember, you are there to escort the media to help them get their story, not be part of it. You should be the fly on the wall. Listen, don’t talk. Don’t get personally involved in the interview and don’t take it personally if

the media does not interview you. You are not the reason they came. As the escort, you spot and prevent communication failure. The interviewee thinks mainly about the topic instead of the feedback. The reporter is partly preoccupied with the next question. The escort is the only one who is concentrating equally on everything. The escort can see misconceptions on both sides and can correct them and keep a simple interview from turning into a major conflict. While the interview is being conducted, take notes of the questions asked, write down the basic answers given. You will have to back-brief your public affairs officer and at times, your sergeant major or the commander of the installation. You really don’t want to answer, “I don’t know sir,” when the commander wants to know what questions did the media ask and what answers were given. Again, you are responsible to enforce the ground rules. You must ensure the media stays within the established guidelines set for that interview.

Escort duties Your duties will be to make arrangements for the press to visit a unit; to assist in transporting them to the unit and supplying them with adequate protection (Kevlar, flack jacket, food, water, lodging, etc.); and then to rely on a designated subject matter expert to assist the media while they are in the unit. This is your responsibility. If you don’t follow through with your part of the bargain with the media, the chance of a successful story is slim. You are responsible for your media – which means the preparation and delivery of the basic needs to get your installation’s side of the story out to the public.




Depending on the desired information, the PA specialist needs to find the appropriate official who can speak on the subject or arrange with a unit to have the news media agent tag along and integrate him/herself into the unit. Getting the reporter to the site as well as providing for the reporter is the next consideration. Transportation arrangements need not place special requirements on the commander. Reporters can easily move forward with supply columns or with any transport that shuttles within the organization. DOD Directive 5435.2, Delegation of Authority to approve travel in and use of military carriers for public affairs purposes, gives the following guidance for media travel on government transport vehicles (may be reimbursable by media): 1. The Armed Forces shall not compete

with commercial transportation when that transportation exists, is adequate, and public affairs objectives of the travel may be accomplished through its use.

2. Media travel must be in the interest of the Department of Defense.

3. The military travel is an integral part of the story.

4. The proposed news coverage is of

a major emergency and coverage will be impaired or delayed, to the serious detriment of the interests of the Department of Defense if military transportation is not provided.

5. The travel is part of an approved public affairs project.

6. When media request to embark/deploy with a unit or cover an event, they should be provided with:

y the type, scope, and duration of the operation or cruise;

y transportation arrangements; y availability of message

transmission, meals, quarters and a statement that correspondents will be expected to pay certain costs (such as meals) and other personal expenses incurred. An estimate of costs should be included. (In the interest of the military, we normally write this off to keep a positive image of the military in the mind of the media.)




Prepare a staff member for an interview As the escort, the public affairs specialist is not always the best one to go on-camera, so let’s talk about preparing a subject matter expert to do an interview. When preparing a subject matter expert (SME) your briefing should include:

y An explanation of the ground rules.

y Questions the reporter has given ahead of time along with public affairs guidance (Qs and As) you have thought of along with command messages.

y Explain attribution. Anything the interviewee says to the reporter is

on the record.

y Go over SAPP and possible areas the interviewee needs to be aware of during the interview.

y If you have the time, conduct a mock interview! This will help the interviewee get their thoughts straight and give you a chance to coach or evaluate the responses.

Keys to a successful interview

Provide the interviewee with keys for successful communication with the public and how to keep control of the interview.

y Keep a positive attitude. That doesn’t mean to be bubbly and

cheerful in a situation where service members have died. Giving decisive answers in a confident tone let’s the listener know that we have a handle on the matter at hand.

y Know your subject/stay in your

lane. Explain to the interviewee that he only needs to speak about what he knows pertaining to his job. There is no room for speculation. Speculation leads to more ‘what if’ questions by the reporter. ‘What if…’ questions leads to more speculation. Bottom line – Never ever speculate on questions from a reporter!

y Candor, honesty. Tell the reporter what you know keeping in mind SAPP. If you don’t know how to respond to a question, tell the reporter you don’t know. Again, do not speculate!

y No personal opinions. You ARE the military. Remember the old saying from your drill instructors, “If I wanted your opinion, I would have given you one.” In other words, keep your opinions to yourself. You are an official spokesperson for your installation, your branch of service and in some cases, when overseas speaking with foreign press, you are representing the U.S.

y No acronyms, technical jargon. Remind your interviewee that he is speaking to civilians. The majority of folks are not familiar with military acronyms or technical jargon of a particular military occupational specialty.

y Use short answers. The media won’t use long-winded answers. Listen to the question, formulate the response and then answer. If it’s too broad of a question, don’t hesitate to ask




the reporter to explain or to be more specific with the question.

y Make your point and stop. A trick a

reporter may use is to not ask the next question right away. For a moment there may be that uncomfortable silence. If you are confident in your answer don’t feel like you have to repeat it or answer the question another way. Don’t hesitate to ask the reporter, “Is there anything else you’d like to ask?”

y Maintain a “cool” head. Do not stoop to a reporter’s level of unprofessionalism. Always maintain your professionalism and military bearing no matter what the reporter’s demeanor may be.Do not accept the reporter’s fact or figures. Not all of the reporter’s facts or figures are as accurate as they may present them to you in an interview. Do not confirm facts or figures if you aren’t sure of the authenticity.

y Do not answer hypothetical questions. There’s no room for speculation. Never ever answer the hypothetical “what if” questions.

y If you do not know the answer, admit it.

y YOU are the expert – act like it – be confident.

y NEVER say “no comment.” Tell the reporter why you can not answer. Not being able to answer may be as simple as operational security. You either don’t know or it’s a security issue.

y Have prepared points you want to make. Getting the commands message or anything that will explain the situation better to the public is key to a good interview.

y Relax. If you have prepped your SME and have had a chance to do a mock interview, your SME should naturally be relaxed going into the interview. Remind him that he is the expert and to be confident about his answers.

A properly briefed and expectant interviewee can help you tell the military story and keep information well-balanced.




Preparing responses for the media including command messages Preparing someone on your installation to go on-camera is half the battle, now let’s talk about how to respond to a media request and what main points or messages your installation commander wants to get across to the public through the media. When dealing with media, the public affairs office exists to provide the public with the command’s position. Your commanders will expect you to both develop effective responses and to teach members of his or her organization on how to effectively deliver the responses to the media. Since no one individual can have the answer for everything, you as the public affairs specialist must know where to go to get the correct answers before you can even begin to respond to or answer a query. To answer a query we need to weigh several factors:

Determine the feasibility of supporting the media. The two questions you should ask yourself are Can we do it? and Should we do it?

Can we do the interview?

y Is it answerable within SAPP guidelines?

y Is the release answerable at this level? Do we have the authority to answer the questions or speak about the topic?

y Will the commander be available for the interview? Some commanders

want to know everything that happens with public affairs, especially when media interviews are involved. Therefore, know your commander’s schedule. Your public affairs officer should be aware of the commander’s schedule 24/7.

y Do we have other key events scheduled at the same time? The worse thing you can do is schedule an event when other events could hinder your ability to facilitate the media’s need. Plus, when media are on your installation and they see other events taking place, you can bet they’ll asked to cover it. Don’t over-schedule your office.

y Will other staff officers and subject matter experts be available? Never schedule an interview without having the proper subject matter experts available to go on camera or get you up to speed on the topic!

y Do you have the time and resources to prepare properly for the interview? This is simple. Never go on camera if you are not prepared.

Should we do the interview? This question is critical.

y Is the topic the reporter wants to discuss within our area of expertise? Do we have a subject matter expert present to even speak on this topic or do we have to get help from higher headquarters or defer the entire interview to higher headquarters.




y What will we get out of it? Is there anything positive that the installation will get from this interview or will it clear up a gray area that is keeping your installation in a bad light.

y What are the risks? Will the interview be physically dangerous? Safety for the media is paramount. Don’t risk the safety of your service members or the media crew to get a story!

y Will our comments be used to balance the story, or is the interview only a formality to make the story look balanced? In other words, has the story already been written and the reporter just wants to see how we respond to the charges or see the commander sweat?

y What is the reputation of the publication? Your office should have a data sheet on all the media in your area. Are they pro military or are they always doing negative pieces about the base or service members.

y What is the size and makeup of the audience? It’s good to know who or what audience the media is reaching. Is it a publication that reaches a younger audience, or is it a technical publication doing a story on a new piece of equipment your service has purchased. Is this a local publication or is it read or seen nationally? Know your audience!

y Background - unit and the reporter. During the preparation phase, the reporter may ask for some background on your organization or topic to help prepare for the story. You should already have that kind of information available, but it’s also a perfect opportunity to ask the reporter

for a biography. Look at other articles on similar topics the reporter has written. Know the reporter’s level of expertise on the issue before you commit yourself to an interview. Remember what the famous poker player Amarillo Slim said: “Only a fool would sit down and play cards with strangers.”

Again, don’t forget the audience. This will enable you to tailor any specific messages you have for the audience. Both Aviation Week magazine and Women’s Wear Daily had reporters in the mid-east during Operation Desert Storm. We can see that the messages we’d give to each publication would differ slightly.

Who makes the final decision? Get a decision – You were asked by the media for an interview, you have thought of all the variables – pro and con. How do we approach the boss for a decision? A meeting, memo or a formal staff package or proposal? Whom do you need to talk to first? What coordination is needed?

These answers will depend upon your particular situation and command staff relationships. You should be able to ask the commander directly, or you may have to go through the chief of staff or vice commander first. A good idea is to give a “heads up” to staff members or subject matter experts you’ll be working with on staffing the query.

A common method to ask the commander if he/she wants to do the interview is a formal staff paper or decision briefing. If your office recommends approval for the interview, be prepared to answer questions about




the subject, anticipated questions, interview logistics, ground rules and potential outcomes from the commander or his staff members. Once you have the decision, communicate it to applicable staff members and higher headquarters (if necessary).

Final preparation stages - PLAN

Now that a decision has been made by your commander, you need to plan, prepare and rehearse. Plan. Ask yourself:

What are the objectives of this interview?What points do we want to make?What is our message? You don’t want merely to sit back and field the questions. That’s reactive…we want to be proactive. We want to communicate what is important to our commander and our service. We want to work OUR agenda. In order to set our agenda, you must first anticipate what specific points might be asked.

y Anticipate Questions. Identify issues and develop questions. Start with the basics (who, what, when, where, why and how) but don’t shy away from the tough ones you hope DON’T get asked. An example for an aircraft crash might be: Type of aircraft, number people killed/injured, location, type of mission, names of crew.

y Anticipate follow-on questions a reporter might ask. Draw relationships between the facts: for example, what is the safety record for this type of aircraft in this unit? Is it lower or

higher than the service as a whole? Why was Captain Smith aboard the aircraft? Was he qualified to fly the aircraft?

y Identify service policies related to the circumstance. If the crew was using night vision goggles at the time of the mishap, what are service policies about training with the goggles? Are passengers allowed on such training flights? Many good reporters will already know the answers about policy questions….just make sure you or your SME know the answers.

y What you are doing is simply

anticipating the questions a reporter might ask. It may be helpful to place yourself in the role of the reporter. Ask yourself, “If I were writing a story on this topic, what questions would I ask?”

y Develop command messages. What is a command message?

A command message is the point, policy, or statement your command wants to get across to the audience during an interview.

A command message is short, positive and memorable. You’ll want to use them throughout the interview. Keep in mind that interview newspaper quotes — or broadcast “sound bites” — are by necessity short. Keep your message brief by knowing what you wamt tp sau befpre the interview. Remember, if command messages are not used correctly, they can sound trite and uncaring. Examples of command messages can be found on pages 105-6 in the Public Affairs Hanbook.

To prepare for the interview you’ll need to do several actions, the first is:




y Staff the questions and answers you have come up with. Always ask the reporter what questions they think they’ll ask. Some reporters don’t give the questions before the interview. An easy way to counter that is to tell the reporter you just want to give him the best interview possible and give him the answers to all his questions. Farm out the questions to the appropriate staff members or subject matter experts to get the official answers. You may have to rewrite their answers in English — basically, make the response less technical or remove any jargon—and re-coordinate your answers to make sure your version is still correct. If you don’t know where to staff questions, ask the chief of staff for advice.

y Collect background papers and other documents for use by the interview subject. Also, the reporter may request copies of documents, photos, tapes, etc. referred to in the interview. This step may also include a biography of the reporter and examples of stories he/she may have written on the topic. By knowing the reporter’s level of expertise and passing it onto the interview subject, the participants of the interview can “cut to the chase” and make the limited interview time more productive.

y Depending on the subject matter and who is doing the interview (local, local national, international media) you may have to contact your higher headquarters to notify them of the interview and also to make sure you have the latest available guidance on the topic. Higher headquarters may have a command message they want you to deliver.

Final preparation stages – rehearsal

Finally, you should rehearse the interview with the interview subject.

y Provide the subject with the completed staff package consisting of the questions and answers, along with copies of any associated material— background documents, suggested command messages, biographies, clippings, etc.

y Depending on the media experience of the interview subject, you may want to rehearse by playing the role of the reporter and asking questions. This is sometimes called a “Murder Board” and is a very effective way to prepare a person to face the media. If a TV interview is planned, you may want to videotape the responses to show the interview subject any areas that can be improved upon. Formal media training for senior officers and civilians is available from many higher headquarters.

y The fourth of our five-step process is actually conducting the interview.

Make sure that you and interviewee know that an attitude adjustment may be necessary. Basically, it’s time to put your game face on. If you’re having a bad day or not, focus on the interview at hand! Remember, the interview begins the moment the reporter steps on the installation. Beware that any information you speak about, even small talk, can show up in the interview in print or be asked in a form of a question during TV news taping. Treat everything you say as if it were for ‘on the record’ attribution.




Final preparation stages – logistics Check logistics. Make sure the interview location is secure…make sure that no sensitive material is lying around. Make sure to include any material that may not be militarily sensitive, but may be inappropriate (cartoons, calendars, etc.). Make sure the interview subject is properly attired (haircut within regulation., clean uniform and shave, ribbons and badges properly placed). When you’re setting an interview up for the installation commander, it never hurts to give a courtesy call to his chief of staff or staff secretary to remind the commander of the interview and tactfully mention that a clean haircut, shave and fresh pressed uniform would be appropriate because the television interview will be taped and sent up to higher headquarters. A flag or model of a plane or piece of equipment might make an attractive background for a TV interview. Reconfirm the ground rules. Any ground rules should have already been discussed separately with the reporter and explained to the interviewee.

It’s necessary to start the interview after the introductions by restating the nature of the interview (on the record), the general subject matter, and the time allotted for the interview (how much time the commander or subject matter expert has available).: Simply put as the interview begins, print or electronic – Example:

“I’d just like to remind all of us that this interview is for X,Y and Z. We’re going to stay on this topic and if you’d like to speak about anything other than X,Y and Z we’d be more than happy to set up another appointment, but for this

interview we’ll only be discussing X,Y, and Z. Let me remind you that Brig. Gen. Bennots only has approximately 45 minutes for this interview.”

Also, whether the interview will be recorded for your records. Recording an interview is rare, but does happen occasionally with events of national attention/interests. When this does happen, just explain to the media you’re recording the piece for historical purposes. You also use this recording to see how accurate the story is.

Implement – conduct the interview

A public affairs representative should of course be present during the interview. You are not there to be a part of the interview, but to facilitate it. Assist and protect the boss. Tape the interview for your records and to protect you from possible misquotes.

Listen with an objective ear: be ready to interpret any questions that might be misunderstood or answers that may need translating into “civilian.” If it looks like a misstatement is hampering the interview (for example, if a technical answer hopelessly confuses the reporter), be prepared to correct it on the spot. If the interviewee makes a simple misstatement (example: the unit came to this base in 1942 not 1972) make a note of it and correct it with the reporter after the interview. If it looks as if the interviewee is getting into areas that violate policy, be prepared to interrupt the answer with the correct response. Be the timekeeper. A few minutes before the end of the allotted time, say




“We have time for one more question.” At the end of the period, conclude the interview by saying “We’re out of time”. If the interview subject has the time and the interview is going well, continuing the interview gives the subject the chance to play the “good guy” and extend the time. Record follow-up commitments. Provide the reporter copies of any documents, photos, etc. promised by the interview subject.

Evaluation

The final part of the five step interview process is evaluating how it went. Get feedback from the reporter.

y How did he/she think it went? y Did the reporter understand the

material? y Did we help to educate the reporter or

just confuse him? Try to get a sense of whether we were successful in getting our message across to the reporter. Brief the commander and higher headquarters. They’ll both want to know if problems could arise from something brought up during the interview.

Track the story until publication/broadcast. Follow-up to see whether the reporter needs any additional information and of course to see when the story will air/or be published. Finally, assess the results against command goals and objectives.

y Did our messages come across? y Were the questions answered in a

way that was “user friendly” to the reporter?

y Did we correctly predict the questions asked?

y How could we better prepare for an interview next time?

y Is formal media training required for the commander or subject matter expert?

It’s not just enough to know how to answer a media query. As a public affairs specialist, you need to be able to recognize opportunities to turn a routine and often negative query into a positive, better balanced and factual story. Even a potentially negative story can be placed in proper balance by an experienced, knowledgeable PA specialist. Now let’s talk about




Actions to take after the media visit After the interview, as the escort, you have other responsibilities ... This is the time to clear up any points the reporter may not understand and to answer questions. It is also a good time to find out how they feel the interview went. You should also talk with the interviewee (after the media representative is gone) to make sure he or she felt the information they put out was accurate and articulated correctly. You will also clip the stories and or record the news cast/story to analyze it for an after action report so you can determine the media’s perception or angle.

Types of attribution Before talking with reporters or when conducting an on-camera interview, one thing you need to know is you must be prepared to live with everything you say to a reporter or you shouldn’t say it at all. But, there are situations when information you give will be attributed in different ways. There are four types of attribution a reporter uses when reporting information.

1. On the record - Everything you say can be quoted and you can be named (name, rank, title, office). Advisable/preferred method.

2. Off the record - The reporter agrees to take information from a protected source without writing a story or using the information in any way. This, however, does not prevent the reporter form getting the same information from another source and using it. Not advisable.

3. For background or not for attribution - The reporter can use the information with direct quotes but not name the source: e.g. “A senior official close to the investigation who asked not to be identified said, ‘This problem has been bubbling below the surface . . .’” Not advisable.

4. Deep background or guidance - A protected source who can’t be identified or directly quoted, but the information can be used to guide the reporter in the direction of the story: e.g. “It is well-known within the Department of Defense that this situation …” Not advisable.

For a newly graduated basic public affairs specialist, there is only one type of attribution that should be used – on the record. Now let’s talk about special considerations needed for electronic media.




Considerations for electronic media/emerging technologies Electronic media (radio and television) rely on visual and audible senses to help tell their story. As a public affairs specialist, we need to keep that in mind while setting up interviews on our installations or on-location while conducting training or real-world missions.

Planning the visit

y Ask what is the focus of the story? y Also ask the media what are their

needs, desires and story ideas. y Think of who your subject matter

experts are on the installation who will give the best response to fit the media’s needs.

Planning the visual aspect

y Think like a cameraman and look at all the angles for the cameraman to shoot from. Are there obstructions? Is the background appropriate? Are all recording devices restricted in the area you want to do the interview?

y Determine the best location(s) for media to get the story. The closer to the action the better; however, you must weigh the importance of getting the shot against safety. And safety is paramount!

y Lighting conditions. What time of day will it be? Will the camera crew have to shoot into the sun? What kind of

lighting will be needed – if any? Will the camera crew be allowed to use lighting?

Planning the audio/sound aspect

y Think like a sound man. What sound sources are available to meet the stories needs?

y Natural sound is always the best way to go.

y What noise distractions are there? (construction, maintenance, band, flight line, etc.)

y Will emission control conditions prohibit the output of radio frequency?

y Interview location (is a quiet location desired?)

y Will ear protection be required?

Planning the visit -- Logistics

y Live or taped? Identify security concerns (especially for live shoots). - If live, will transmission interfere

with military Radio Frequency signals or vice versa?

- If taped, how will the tape be transmitted (especially critical in an overseas contingency operation environment)?

y Transportation - will equipment dimensions/weight be a factor? Will you need a sedan, van, truck or bus?

y Coordinate arrival through security. Always let the security force know you have media in the area.

y Arrival area/welcome briefing on guidelines, safety and operational considerations. When media arrive, give a quick brief. Make sure they know the basic layout of the area and any safety or operational considerations.

y Power requirements? Most important. Make sure your media have enough batteries if you’re taking them to the field.




y Climate -- plan for the weather (heat and rain). Is a covered area necessary? Remember, extreme cold or heat will drain camera batteries.

y Will extra escorts be required? Ensure they are fully briefed.

y Table, desk, chairs, food, phones, etc. y Prepare press kits/stock footage

(B-roll)/background information y Work smarter, not harder!

The Defense Information School, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland

Basic Public Affairs Specialist CourseMedia Relations

19

Conclusion


Understanding the basic policy on the release of information within the Department of Defense is the cornerstone of everything we do in public affairs. It affects what information we release to the public, how we handle the media, what we publish in our base newspapers and how we respond to the public in general. We or someone we prepare to speak to the media are key in getting the message out to the public – the taxpayers!



References


(1987) SECNAVINST 5720.44A: Public affairs policy and regulation. http://www.cpf.navy.mil/subsite/ehimemaru/legal/Exhibit_11.pdf Retrieved May 04, 2009

(2005) Joint publication 3-61: Public affairs. http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/new_pubs/jp3_61.pdf Retrieved May 04, 2009

http://www.cpf.navy.mil/subsite/ehimemaru/legal/Exhibit_11.pdf

http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/new_pubs/jp3_61.pdf

escorting the media - blackboard inc. content...escorts media we escort the media to ensure sapp –...

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