SAR and the Media.

1209 · February 22, 2011, 02:17:29 AM

im curious i want to hear everyones 2 cense on this subject, do you work with the media, hate them, love them, etc.

i know that we (most squadrons around mine) dont like them because the helos force us to remove our aircraft, and we have had things like them taking pictures and broadcasting deceased victims so were not fans

RiverAux · February 22, 2011, 02:42:20 AM

The media can be CAP's best friend and about 95% of the time they do a good job for us (aside from messing up our name frequently "Civilian Air Patrol" or "Iowa Air Patrol", for example).

Unfortunately, too many of ICs and others in leadership positions are scared to death of them and don't make as good as use of their PIOs and PAOs as they should.

Although not restricted to them, I notice this attitude most frequently in ex-military CAP members who carried it over from their time in service and haven't quite figured out that we need the media and they have absolutely no axes to grind with us like some of them may have with the military.

PHall · February 22, 2011, 02:52:01 AM

Having the media deal exclusively with the Mission PIO just ensures that just one message is being sent out.
When you start dealing with more then one source you start getting multiple versions of what's going on.
Which may or may not agree with each other.

Smithsonia · February 22, 2011, 03:11:11 AM

I've been in the media for 40 plus years. I've been a news director, TV consultant, producer, broadcast executive, yada yada... the media isn't any stranger than an IC. They want what they want. They have their own agenda. They'd rather have incomplete information that is unconfirmed than solid facts... it builds drama, can be revised in later broadcasts, and they'll blame the screw up on you. Other than that... people normally give them too much credit and think there is too much power. Both are misconceptions but promoted by the media for their own benefit.

Lots of people will argue about the media. Then they'll tell you about who they like and don't. What is true about the media - it is a resource like a radio and van. Use it carefully. Use it as intended. Plan on an occasional accident and all will be fine for backgrounders. Once you are in Mission mode - leave it to the pros. AND that is good advice for ICs too. If you've got a good PIO and staff - you can't make miracles happen... but you can fashion the work of the devils.

Oh by the way I love working in the media and I still work in it everyday.

Flying Pig · February 22, 2011, 03:15:24 AM

Quote from: RiverAux on February 22, 2011, 02:42:20 AM
The media can be CAP's best friend and about 95% of the time they do a good job for us (aside from messing up our name frequently "Civilian Air Patrol" or "Iowa Air Patrol", for example).

Unfortunately, too many of ICs and others in leadership positions are scared to death of them and don't make as good as use of their PIOs and PAOs as they should.

Although not restricted to them, I notice this attitude most frequently in ex-military CAP members who carried it over from their time in service and haven't quite figured out that we need the media and they have absolutely no axes to grind with us like some of them may have with the military.

Try California Air Patrol!!! The media can be your best friend. Control the message. When I worked road patrol the media would show up at scenes, shootings, crashes, etc. I got to talk to a local news anchor who came out. We had a really good talk on the perimeter. I told him, "look, you know Im not the PIO." He said "Look Deputy.....Just give me something!! I know your rules, I know your not the PIO. Just tell me something...ANYTHING so I can be first to report it, Ill worry about the meat of it after the dust settles. I just need to be able to say, "First to Report."

CAP is usually treated pretty well by the media. We arent LE or the military so they usually arent out for an angle with us for the most part. That being said, you have news helicopters cruising around in your search areas? If so, if your local LE agencies have aircraft, they probably have an MOU with the news media regarding altitudes, etc. Just getting a hold of the pilot or the company that contracts the news helicopter may be a start. if not, contacting the LE agencies and seeing what kind of arrangements they have. If you in CA, drop me a line, I could maybe grease the wheels for you. Even if your not in CA, I could probably do that too if it involves contacting a local LE air unit. Ive helped a couple CAPTalkers get connected with their local LE for an issue that was a little awkward without an intro.

Eclipse · February 22, 2011, 07:22:39 AM

Using proper punctuation and good grammar is the first step when dealing with the media...

SarDragon · February 22, 2011, 08:13:24 AM

Quote from: Eclipse on February 22, 2011, 07:22:39 AM
Using proper punctuation and good grammar is the first step when dealing with the media...

Sure. Have you taken a close look at the crap that's coming from the media today? Some of it isn't much better than what I see on here every day.

bosshawk · February 22, 2011, 03:58:09 PM

Roger that, Dave. We have bred several generations of young people who cannot write nor speak coherently. Shows up here all the time: fortunately, we don't have voice overs on CAPtalk.

jimmydeanno · February 22, 2011, 04:42:10 PM

I have never been on a mission that was high-vis enough to warrant press conferences, interaction with reporters face-to-face, etc. However, I think that we could help ourselves a lot by doing something as simple as providing an information sheet about CAP and providing a separate briefing about CAP and the missions we do to familiarize the media with us while they're writing their articles, etc.

At my last unit, I had a piece of paper that I gave to journalists covering some of our bigger events (Squadron's 65th anniversary, etc) that literally said "ORGANIZATION NAME: Civil Air Patrol", "LOCAL SQUADRON NAME: XXXXX TOWN SQUADRON", "MISSIONS OF CIVIL AIR PATROL: AE, CP, ES"

The reporter appreciated it because it provided accurate details about our organization in a format that could be easily referenced. We didn't have a single error in accuracy for any of the articles published.

A lot of times, the internal folks in CAP don't understand that the problem isn't the media, but that we are often times the cause of the problems we experience. The Steve Fossett search, for example, was a tremendous success in terms of media exposure - until we bit ourselves. Of course, the more you work with the media, the better relationship you have with them - but for a lot of people that is just "too much work."

Spaceman3750 · February 22, 2011, 04:46:06 PM

This one probably varies by wing PAO, but why do we not have a canned press release that we can send to the local media for every non-distress find we get? It wouldn't get picked up every time, but on a slow news day some outlets would love to have it. I can think of three things this would accomplish:

1) Raise public awareness of CAP and what we do
2) Raise public awareness about distress beacons and why pilots/boaters should check 121.5
3) Help the IC/PIO/whoever put additional experience under their belt

jimmydeanno · February 22, 2011, 04:52:27 PM

Quote from: Spaceman3750 on February 22, 2011, 04:46:06 PM
This one probably varies by wing PAO, but why do we not have a canned press release that we can send to the local media for every non-distress find we get? It wouldn't get picked up every time, but on a slow news day some outlets would love to have it. I can think of three things this would accomplish:

1) Raise public awareness of CAP and what we do
2) Raise public awareness about distress beacons and why pilots/boaters should check 121.5
3) Help the IC/PIO/whoever put additional experience under their belt

It seems to me that this would be similar to reporting that a car alarm accidentally went off. There really isn't a story except that nothing happened. The news doesn't report fire department responses where there aren't fires, police responses where nothing happens, so I can't imagine they would report a non-distress find.

"Local Volunteers Find Plane Not in Distress"

"False Alarm Prompts Volunteer Response"

1209 · February 22, 2011, 06:23:23 PM

Quote from: bosshawk on February 22, 2011, 03:58:09 PM
Roger that, Dave. We have bred several generations of young people who cannot write nor speak coherently. Shows up here all the time: fortunately, we don't have voice overs on CAPtalk.

if your referencing my grammar i'm dyslexic and spell check doesn't do grammar, so il thank you not to chastise me for it

davidsinn · February 22, 2011, 07:04:40 PM

Quote from: 1209 on February 22, 2011, 06:23:23 PM
Quote from: bosshawk on February 22, 2011, 03:58:09 PM
Roger that, Dave. We have bred several generations of young people who cannot write nor speak coherently. Shows up here all the time: fortunately, we don't have voice overs on CAPtalk.

if your referencing my grammar i'm dyslexic and spell check doesn't do grammar, so il thank you not to chastise me for it

Your grammar isn't half bad but you could capitalize words correctly.

EMT-83 · February 22, 2011, 08:00:03 PM

If you write your posts in a word processor, it will catch spelling, grammar, punctuation and capitalization. Copy/paste to the forum and you're good to go.

No, it doesn't take any longer and folks will pay more attention to what you have to say. I compose all my emails and forum posts this way. It doesn't prevent me from saying something stupid, but the usage will be correct.

Smithsonia · February 22, 2011, 08:56:22 PM

If you desire to become better in your expression both written and spoken - Learn to read what you write. Read it aloud. Read it over more than once. Edit all things that are extraneous. Don't speak worthlessly. For instance, a common thing you see on TV is an interviewer who will say before a question is posed - "Let me ask you this?" THAT IS A completely superfluous begging of an interviewees and audiences time. It is said to fill space while the interviewer composes a question. Instead of filling space it wears out the audience. It is blathering. Candy Crowley on CNN does this every Sunday and I turn the channel after her 5th or 15th beg. Other than that she is pretty darn good. So the pros ain't perfect, ju-knw.

Go through everything you say and write with energetic rigor. It will take a while but eventually the language will sink into you. You will love it as you do your closest friend. Words well chosen will become a might instrument, confidant, and resource. After years and years of practice eventually, if you are scrupulous - you will have a "editorially honed mind and great facility in the word." It is an ambition that I am still working on... but I am getting better. In this, it is like golf. No matter how good you are you can always do better. In this golf analogy, the object is not to shoot par but 18. Nobody shoots 18 for a full round of golf, of course... but then no one is ever a perfect writer... only better writer.

Spartan · February 22, 2011, 09:13:55 PM

Quote from: jimmydeanno on February 22, 2011, 04:52:27 PM
The news doesn't report fire department responses where there aren't fires, police responses where nothing happens, so I can't imagine they would report a non-distress find.

I think a non-distress find would still be an amazing opportunity to show off our organization. Rather than blow it off as another non-distress find, think of it as a way to publicize CAP and what we do.

To me rather than "false alarm prompts volunteer response" as a headline, "Civil Air Patrol responds to distress beacon"

In the article, it could be stated that while the beacon was not signaling distress, the situation was treated as though it was until presented evidence otherwise. Talk about the response time for a volunteer SAR team, what CAP is, specifically how the mission fits into CAP's overall ES mission. Get a quote from the GTL about how they are proud of the team's performance and quick handling of the situation. Have something from the IC about how they are satisfied with the safe conduct of the team in accomplishing its assigned mission.

How something is presented is just as important as what happened.

Smithsonia · February 22, 2011, 10:01:49 PM

A news article might look like this: THIS IS AN EXAMPLE ONLY> THIS EVENT DID NOT OCCUR.

"An aircraft emergency beacon was detected by an airliner last night over Meeker, CO. The Civil Air Patrol dispatched a ground team to pinpoint the beacon. The radio signal was likely emitted in error as a plane broadcasting its distress signal was found on Meeker Airport property and "in good shape." The owner was contacted at a local motel and the distress beacon disarmed. Public Information Officer for the Colorado Civil Air Patrol Lt. Jonn Smith stated; "This happens from time to time. We aren't sent on wild goose chases as much as we are tasked with sorting out the serious from non-distress radio signals. It is part of the search and rescue services that Civil Air Patrol does every day in every part of the country."

The Civil Air Patrol has 60,000 volunteer and unpaid members in all parts of the United States and is the auxiliary of US Air Force.

Reports from emergency aircraft locator beacons (ELTs) are sent to the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Tyndall Air Force base in Florida, then a local direction finding team is dispatched. In this case the direction finding team came from Steamboat Springs which is the closest squadron with the proper equipment. According to Incident Commander Maj. Joanna Smith; "The entire incident took about 3 hours to resolve."

All civilian aircraft in the U.S. carry an ELT. "Being electronic gear, these things can fail and cause a false positive," said Maj. Smith.

This wouldn't make the paper in Denver but it would in Meeker, CO. and surrounding towns.

RiverAux · February 23, 2011, 01:54:32 AM

If a non-distress find was in a town or locale where they are very, very rare I think that you might have a chance of getting some coverage. I used to think it might be worth doing for every one, but I've changed my views on that. If it isn't unusual, or in a rare location, you've got no chance.

1209 · February 23, 2011, 02:14:33 AM

sorry everyone on that i over reacted (I'm used to my grammar being a problem).

Smithsonia · February 23, 2011, 02:50:10 AM

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
River;
You are likely right however there is an art to the sell. In this instance as a PIO, I would with the agreement of the IC, contact the paper the morning after the Faux Mission described above.
I would state that we had a mission in your town last night.

We had members in military dress wandering around with odd pieces of equipment. People who passed us on the road, at the airport, and when we went downtown to eat dinner might have a question as to our presence in your wonderful hamlet. Let me offer you this story so to relieve apprehension. We wouldn't want anyone to think there was an invasion. We come in peace to deliver
a valuable service.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1209;
I am dyslexic too. As a boy I was was extremely dyslexic. However, back then there wasn't a word for it. So I was backwards or stupid. That was fortunate for me. Fortunate indeed - a blessing disguised as a problem - Because it made me mad enough to do something about it. And in this doing create for myself a wonderful career in the media. (Reader - did you catch the double was was 2 lines above this one? - if not you are dyslexic too.)

The best way to fight it is to dedicate yourself to curing it by writing routinely. Make every post a polished piece. Make your emails zing and sing. Don't ever think you can't conquer your issue. It is only a matter of noble work and investment in your mind.