Public Affairs lacking on all levels.

[afgeo4]

Here's an article written by a squadron PAO and posted by NHQ PA on the national website:

http://www.cap.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=display&nodeID=6192&newsID=4384&year=2008&month=6

How long will our public affairs officers continue to NOT pay attention to the content of their writing? How long will our NHQ public affairs not check articles for mistakes and false content? Don't they understand that serious damage can be done one day?

The unit in question is clearly not "ANG" or "Air National Guard".

How can we be the Air Force auxiliary if we don't even know who's Air Force and who's Army? Talk about unprofessional!

[2LTShawDSQ307]

What makes you say they are NOT "ANG" or " Air National Guard"?

http://www.minnesotanationalguard.org/units/unit_template.php?unit=P7TB1

[dhon27]

What makes you say they are NOT "ANG" or " Air National Guard"?

http://www.minnesotanationalguard.org/units/unit_template.php?unit=P7TB1

Well, this link clearly demonstrates that the unit is Army National Guard.  Plus, unless things have changed, Air Force doesn't fly Chinooks.

[Eclipse]

I don't see anything wrong with the "ANG" either. 

If you want to take exception with something:

We have CAP members in flight suits, in violation of regulations.

And the abbreviation for 2d Lt is incorrect and uses a superscript font.

But the story itself, and the photos are actually pretty good.

Edit: OK, I see - yes, no Air Guard units flying S%^hooks, well not something I would have known, either, though you're right,  the writer of the piece and NHQ should have known / checked.

[RiverAux]

What, we can't wear flight suits now?  Please enlighten...

[NC Hokie]

And the abbreviation for 2d Lt is incorrect and uses a superscript font.

This bugs me too.  I know that 2d Lt is the "correct" form, but my CAP ID lists me as 2Lt (with a different font type to boot!).  It's a small thing, but it reinforces the perception that NHQ operates under a different set of rules than the rest of us.

[RiverAux]

As I recall, CAP public affairs officers are instructed to use the Associated Press guidebook and it has different abbreviations for military rank than what CAP has in our regulations. 

[Eclipse]

As I recall, CAP public affairs officers are instructed to use the Associated Press guidebook and it has different abbreviations for military rank than what CAP has in our regulations. 

I've never heard that one before.

This is a CAP article for a CAP website, it should be correct for us and/or the USAF.

[dwb]

As I recall, CAP public affairs officers are instructed to use the Associated Press guidebook and it has different abbreviations for military rank than what CAP has in our regulations. 

I've never heard that one before.

This is a CAP article for a CAP website, it should be correct for us and/or the USAF.

He may be referring to verbal guidance from another PAO.

Besides, look at af.mil and read some of their articles.  They all use the AP style guidelines, ending rank abbreviations with a period.

When I was a PAO, I always published press releases using the AP guidelines.  The fewer revisions someone has to make to your press release to print it in the paper, the better your chances of publication.

[Eclipse]

What, we can't wear flight suits now?  Please enlighten...

I'll chalk this up to a wishy-washy CAPR 76-1 coupled with local experience.

b. While using military aircraft for travel, senior members and cadets may wear either civilian attire or any CAP uniform except flight suits or fatigues, described in CAPM 39-1, CAP Uniform Manual. Members are encouraged to wear appropriate civilian attire (no jeans, T-shirts, shorts, sandals, etc.) or either the CAP jumpsuit or blazer combination. For a military aircraft orientation flight, members will wear one of the uniforms described in CAPM 39-1, appropriate to the mission. The dress requirement for IACE airlift travel is as published in the IACE Guide for Participants.

While wear of flightsuits is prohibited for "travel" (which is defined in this case as a "different beginning and end point"), they are allowed by default for orientation rides (defined as a continuous flight with the same point of origin and landing).

I have been involved in two flights recently - a C-130 and a KC-135, and the people on the military side of the planning were explicit in that CAP members were not to wear flight suits for safety reasons to insure that in an emergency situation there would be no question of who was crew and who were civilian passengers.

I understand its a common practice by seniors, but when someone offers you a free ride in a cool airplane, you do what you are told, and there's no operational reason for seniors to be in flight suits on a military o-ride.

[NC Hokie]

As I recall, CAP public affairs officers are instructed to use the Associated Press guidebook and it has different abbreviations for military rank than what CAP has in our regulations. 

I understand that (as well as the stated reasons for alternate abbreviations on computer-generated documents) but Joe Bagodonuts might not.  Thus, he gets yelled at for signing in as 2Lt Bagodonuts since that's what he sees when he reads Volunteer and looks at his membership card.

Multiple standards cause confusion, which can lead to an unprofessional image, which is the point of this entire thread.

[dwb]

Multiple standards cause confusion

Well, there are going to be multiple standards no matter how much one may want otherwise.

The 2Lt/1Lt thing is stupid -- and should have been fixed a long time ago.  You'll get no argument from me on that.  That's not even how the AP stylebook says you should do it.

However, there will always be an internal/external difference.  It may be "Maj" internal to CAP, but all of our forward-facing publicatons should still say "Maj.", because that's what the AP style guide says, and that's what pretty much every print media outlet uses.

[RiverAux]

The current online guidance for submitting articles to the Volunteer specifies AP stylebook usage.  The old PA regulation also specified the use of the AP stylebook.  

[Pylon]

The rank abbreviations thing is not that difficult to understand and to do correctly for each circumstance.

As for the article, that's pretty bad that nobody picked up that it was Army National Guard (aka: ARNG) not the Air National Guard.  I'd be embarrassed.  Has anybody contacted National PA office to let them know they may want to change that?

[davidsinn]

As of 2130z ANG shows up one time on that whole page in the middle of the word "rANGe"

[RiverAux]

NHQ public affairs must monitor CAPTalk pretty closely and usually fixes any mistake that we bring up pretty quickly when it is fixable.  Or, if they're not doing the monitoring some helpful elf usually lets them know about it and they fix it almost immediately. 

[Major Carrales]

Ya' know, some of you that are making a big deal of this sort of thing could do their part for CAP-Public Affairs by writing acticles, taking the pics and submitting it all yourself.

Or is it far easier to critize on these forums than do anything to actually help resolve these faux pas?

[RiverAux]

I have been involved in two flights recently - a C-130 and a KC-135, and the people on the military side of the planning were explicit in that CAP members were not to wear flight suits for safety reasons to insure that in an emergency situation there would be no question of who was crew and who were civilian passengers.

Oh, I bet all those "NOMEX is critical to flight safety" folks just loved that position. 

[SarDragon]

And the abbreviation for 2d Lt is incorrect and uses a superscript font.

This bugs me too.  I know that 2d Lt is the "correct" form, but my CAP ID lists me as 2Lt (with a different font type to boot!).  It's a small thing, but it reinforces the perception that NHQ operates under a different set of rules than the rest of us.

As has been explained several times in the past, anything generated from a computer database will probably not comply with CAPR or AP Stylebook standards. This has to do with bits and bytes when they were more precious than they are today.

[NC Hokie]

As has been explained several times in the past, anything generated from a computer database will probably not comply with CAPR or AP Stylebook standards. This has to do with bits and bytes when they were more precious than they are today.

Yes, I know that, but for those who don't, it still contributes to the perception of "different rules for different folks."  In any case, I know that there is no realistic fix for this issue, so I'll just salute and drive on.

[Short Field]

he gets yelled at for signing in as 2Lt Bagodonuts since that's what he sees when he reads Volunteer and looks at his membership card.

Multiple standards cause confusion, which can lead to an unprofessional image, which is the point of this entire thread.

Sounds like a fertile training subject for some sharp Aerospace Education Officer to prepare and present...

[NC Hokie]

he gets yelled at for signing in as 2Lt Bagodonuts since that's what he sees when he reads Volunteer and looks at his membership card.

Multiple standards cause confusion, which can lead to an unprofessional image, which is the point of this entire thread.

Sounds like a fertile training subject for some sharp Aerospace Education Officer to prepare and present...

Not a bad idea (I'm always looking for good material), but I don't think my wing DAE will accept that as a valid aerospace presentation.

[Short Field]

Well, what is aerospace education?  We just had that discussion here and decided it really goes far beyond paper airplanes and history.   If the Yeager is AE, then surely how to correctly write Brig Gen Yeager's rank is AE.

[Major Carrales]

And the abbreviation for 2d Lt is incorrect and uses a superscript font.

This bugs me too.  I know that 2d Lt is the "correct" form, but my CAP ID lists me as 2Lt (with a different font type to boot!).  It's a small thing, but it reinforces the perception that NHQ operates under a different set of rules than the rest of us.

As has been explained several times in the past, anything generated from a computer database will probably not comply with CAPR or AP Stylebook standards. This has to do with bits and bytes when they were more precious than they are today.

My friend, and I mean no spite nor vitriol to you in pointing this out, however to that I have to say that excuse rates bupkes because e-services memeber search list a Lt Col as "Lt Col" and C/MSgt as "C/MSgt."  That it lists 2LT and 1LT does not stand up the "they can't list it properly because of bits and bytes that need to be saved."  I just think the original programmer thought it was proper to label it so.

[JohnKachenmeister]

As I recall, CAP public affairs officers are instructed to use the Associated Press guidebook and it has different abbreviations for military rank than what CAP has in our regulations. 

Its called the Associated Press STYLEbook, and both CAP regulations and AFI's require adherence to it in any news released and PA publications.

And I don't care what 2LT Bagadonuts thinks.  That is the reg.  If you are going to write for the news media, you better get in bed with your stylebook.

[BuckeyeDEJ]

I agree that if you're going to write for the media, or for ANY external source, you follow the AP stylebook. Period.

The first three words I heard in my first newswriting course in college: Accuracy, accuracy, accuracy. Misspelled names in an assignment got an automatic F. So you can bet we knew the difference between ANG and ARNG, not that we used those acronyms in stories.

If public affairs efforts are lacking on all levels, it's because we're not doing our jobs individually as CAP members. Honestly, if I'm an IO for a mission, when I'm taking pictures, I avoid people in golf shirts (do we want the flying-club perception?) and improperly worn uniforms. I wish the people who submit photos to the Volunteer would do the same, but instead, here's a few glaring issues from the last edition:

-- Some bozo in an Air Force flight suit with a goatee. Where's the respect?
-- Additional patches below the zippers on the front of a flight suit. Where's the attention to detail?
-- IDs hanging from flight suit zipper pulls, with pockets hanging open. Where's the pride?

And that's just three examples. Adobe Photoshop can't possibly fix everything. It's up to unit commanders to ensure proper uniform wear. But it starts with us policing ourselves and each other.

There's all this talk about uniforms in CAP, almost as if there are people who just joined to wear one. But for all the talk, there's one unavoidable premise, and it's one everyone should memorize and repeat to others: If you don't have the discipline to wear the uniform correctly, how can you be trusted to have the discipline to follow other regulations?

[Eclipse]

-- Additional patches below the zippers on the front of a flight suit. Where's the attention to detail?

The sardog and old-style ES oval are allowed below the zipper on the MAJCOM side.

Otherwise, I agree with everything you said....

[BuckeyeDEJ]

-- Additional patches below the zippers on the front of a flight suit. Where's the attention to detail?

The sardog and old-style ES oval are allowed below the zipper on the MAJCOM side.

Otherwise, I agree with everything you said....

Not sure about that. Here's from CAPM 39-1, page 34: "Optional Breast Patch: Embroidered Emergency Services patch may be worn on the right breast or corresponding position." Seems that would preclude anything below the zipper, and in fact insinuates the MAJCOM patch may be replaced with the ES patch. The patch could go in the "optional" position on the wearer's right shoulder, could it not?

If the patch is indeed authorized in that position, it's unprofessional and not military, IMHO. But then again, I find the ES patch redundant to other insignia that rely on ES requirements to earn. Just more needless bling.

[Eclipse]

Not sure about that. Here's from CAPM 39-1, page 34: "Optional Breast Patch: Embroidered Emergency Services patch may be worn on the right breast or corresponding position." Seems that would preclude anything below the zipper, and in fact insinuates the MAJCOM patch may be replaced with the ES patch. The patch could go in the "optional" position on the wearer's right shoulder, could it not?

If the patch is indeed authorized in that position, it's unprofessional and not military, IMHO. But then again, I find the ES patch redundant to other insignia that rely on ES requirements to earn. Just more needless bling.

No - this is another typo.

If you read further to page 77 (where the dark blue flight suit is defined):

5. Optional Breast Patch: Embroidered Emergency Services patch may be worn on the right breast pocket or corresponding position. (emphasis mine)

This has been the placement of those two patches since before I joined CAP, going back to the smurf suit and light blue Nomex flight suit.

Since everything else on the flight suit is identical, there is no reason to believe this should be different only for the green one, and other areas of 39-1 are very clear that the only thing authorized in the MAJCOM space is a MAJCOM or region insignia.

[BuckeyeDEJ]

Not sure about that. Here's from CAPM 39-1, page 34: "Optional Breast Patch: Embroidered Emergency Services patch may be worn on the right breast or corresponding position." Seems that would preclude anything below the zipper, and in fact insinuates the MAJCOM patch may be replaced with the ES patch. The patch could go in the "optional" position on the wearer's right shoulder, could it not?

If the patch is indeed authorized in that position, it's unprofessional and not military, IMHO. But then again, I find the ES patch redundant to other insignia that rely on ES requirements to earn. Just more needless bling.

No - this is another typo.

If you read further to page 77 (where the dark blue flight suit is defined):

5. Optional Breast Patch: Embroidered Emergency Services patch may be worn on the right breast pocket or corresponding position. (emphasis mine)

This has been the placement of those two patches since before I joined CAP, going back to the smurf suit and light blue Nomex flight suit.

Since everything else on the flight suit is identical, there is no reason to believe this should be different only for the green one, and other areas of 39-1 are very clear that the only thing authorized in the MAJCOM space is a MAJCOM or region insignia.

The CAP-distinctive uniforms do, to a point, mirror the AF uniforms, BUT.

Here's hoping they'll nix that additional patch. The Air Force doesn't authorize patches there. What makes us so special? The CAP flight suit's another thing.

If it's a typo, it's a typo, but it's one that thousands of CAP members are following, or are incorrect on, or something, all because of a typo.

To get back on track, if the unit commander won't police uniforms, and if individual members won't be conscientious enough, it's up to the photographers to police CAP by avoiding a bad image in their viewfinders.

[Eclipse]

If it's a typo, it's a typo, but it's one that thousands of CAP members are following, or are incorrect on, or something, all because of a typo.

Yes, but IMHO the typo is that its supposed to say "pocket" for the green one, too.

To get back on track, if the unit commander won't police uniforms, and if individual members won't be conscientious enough, it's up to the photographers to police CAP by avoiding a bad image in their viewfinders.

Agree 200%, its something that we hammer on our PA people in my units, but is not consistently taught.

CAP PAO's are not disinterested third parties with no agenda other then presentation of the facts, they are a benevolent
agent with a responsibility to always show CAP in the best light possible (both internally and externally), including policing images and story content.

[lordmonar]

To get back on track, if the unit commander won't police uniforms, and if individual members won't be conscientious enough, it's up to the photographers to police CAP by avoiding a bad image in their viewfinders.

I'll grant you that to a point.....the other side of that is National's duty to provide clear guidance.

39-1 is often too confusing, too contradictory and has too many simple errors to really be of much use.

So the commander won't police uniforms because he is just as confused about what is "right" as the rest of us....individuals usually have never read the regulations....someone just showed them how to wear the uniform...or the "remembered" how they wore it on AD.  Bad training, bad memory and too many changes to 39-1 (and sometimes a lot of "I don't care" too) have resulted in "bad" uniforms.

Finally.....while the PAO may have a duty to present CAP in as good a light as possible, they also have other compelling duties as well.  What is more important....publishing the picture showing your unit doing great things and getting a full page in the Volunteer or just a 1/2 collumn on page 95 because someone was not in 100% perfect uniform.....an error that would not hurt our "image" in anyones eyes except for us Uniform Gurus?

[afgeo4]

As of 12:53am, the article has been changed to "National Guard" and all mention of ANG and Air National Guard are gone.

A big THANK YOU to whoever read this and made the change and please reinforce how important it is that we cite the military units that help us properly.

If I was an ArNG aircrew member who flew the CAPpers and saw this article in its previous format I would have probably been a little bit upset.

And guys:

1. It wasn't just the CH-46 that gave it away (soon, USAF will be flying them too). It was also the unit designation as the "Company B 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion", which is clearly an Army designation since USAF doesn't have "companies" or "battalions".

2. On the comment of why I criticize and not write my own articles... 1. You don't know that I don't and... 2. Even if I don't, perhaps I stick to what I'm good at and not pretend I'm good at things I'm not? Especially when my performance reflects on all of CAP?

[SAR-EMT1]

As far as PAOs recieving quality training, there is a pretty good set of PAO courses availible on the AFIADL website that we can enroll in.  Excuse me, the A4/6 Air Force Education Branch of the Communications and Logistics Center website... I think I'll still call it AFIADL since AFEBCLC seems a bit longwinded.

Sidebar:
AFIADL has gone the way of ECI and been deactivated ... don't worry, the website core, requests page, and enrollment form (online) are all the same.

Seems CADRE was also deactivated and renamed (and that new organization was just deactivated and renamed; now the LeMay Center for Doctrine)

I took a joint warfighters course through CADRE once, they had some other courses I wanted to take but they were deactivated before I could enroll. The new webpage has nothing of value, merely the new /CC's picture. No links, no courses, nothing.

However with all the deactivations and new names... one can only hope CAP is stood down and reactivated as what it really is: the USAF Auxiliary. 

[JohnKachenmeister]

I agree that if you're going to write for the media, or for ANY external source, you follow the AP stylebook. Period.

The first three words I heard in my first newswriting course in college: Accuracy, accuracy, accuracy. Misspelled names in an assignment got an automatic F. So you can bet we knew the difference between ANG and ARNG, not that we used those acronyms in stories.

If public affairs efforts are lacking on all levels, it's because we're not doing our jobs individually as CAP members. Honestly, if I'm an IO for a mission, when I'm taking pictures, I avoid people in golf shirts (do we want the flying-club perception?) and improperly worn uniforms. I wish the people who submit photos to the Volunteer would do the same, but instead, here's a few glaring issues from the last edition:

-- Some bozo in an Air Force flight suit with a goatee. Where's the respect?
-- Additional patches below the zippers on the front of a flight suit. Where's the attention to detail?
-- IDs hanging from flight suit zipper pulls, with pockets hanging open. Where's the pride?

And that's just three examples. Adobe Photoshop can't possibly fix everything. It's up to unit commanders to ensure proper uniform wear. But it starts with us policing ourselves and each other.

There's all this talk about uniforms in CAP, almost as if there are people who just joined to wear one. But for all the talk, there's one unavoidable premise, and it's one everyone should memorize and repeat to others: If you don't have the discipline to wear the uniform correctly, how can you be trusted to have the discipline to follow other regulations?

I went off in the "Uniform" forum about Volunteer so bad the topic got locked.  I pointed out the same things.  Is the editor of Volunteer even a member?

I went through active duty training as a PAO at DINFOS, and their standards were just as high or higher than the J-schools.  That's why I go ballistic about CAP PAO's turning in garbage for copy and CAP editors not smelling it.

[BillB]

In probably every Wing you'll find members that are or have been professional journalists. But I'll bet in 9 of 10 instances, the professional journalist is NOT the Wing PAO. The average Squadron or even Wing PAO will send out news releases with little or no news value, just to get the name Civil Air Patrol in print. A good PAO will limit the "non-news" releases submitted to news media to ensure that a news story gets printed rather than placed in file 13. While Wing PAO, I found it amazing what a Squadron PAO thought was news and submitted to the Wing newspaper. So cadet Jones in South Podunk Squadron earned the Curry award. So what? How many cadets in the Wing got the same award the same week that justifies a news release to the media? But then how many Cadet O-rides with a photo is not submitted showing a cadet experiencing flying? That has four times the news value to a newspaper than just a blurb on a minor award. But judging by "The Volunteer" a news release does not have to have news value or even have been spell checked for publication. In one Wing, more often than not, a news release includes the PAO's daughters name. Granted the daughter is very active in the Squadron, but it seems that the release is more or less a platform for the daughter rather than a news release of value to local media. Even to the extent of lessening the "publicity" to other cadets involved in the same story. Every Wing should hold an annual or semi-annual weekend training activity for PAOs to provide the basics in news writing and dicovering what is a news release of value to the media.

[Smithsonia]

I am attempting to pull military PA up a notch. I've worked as a media consultant for 40 years. I've worked in Newspaper, TV, Radio, Magazine, and new media. I've also worked for the military, NASA, and military suppliers too. The problem with military PA versus News media is:

1. (CAP) Military PA is template based. This allows the military to train a large number of people quickly and efficiently. News media (done right) train their people over an entire career. Once you learn the basics you're expected to embellish and extend from the basic format and become an editorially honed writer of excellence. The military prefers the templates. Military press releases haven't changed in eons.

2. Military models are based on the -- "learn one, do one, teach one" principle. Media is based on learn, learn, learn, do do do, teach teach teach. Because a media career can last 40 years and a military PA career seldom goes over 10 -- experience eventually wins out. Military PAs are at a great disadvantage.
Even the Officers at the 5-6-and 7 level miss this point. They were probably trained as war fighters and have taken the PA job as a final 10 year route to retirement. They are capable of managing many people who are on the "learn one, do one, teach one" track... but are less capable in the elements of craft.

3. Media pays better (or at least used to) so you get a higher degree of professional, if motivated by money and prestige.

4. Very few military PAs make it in the media business. So the influence of the military and value of their work is dismissed.

5. Lot's of military PAOs (most, if not all, actually) have never been to the holy of holies... a working press rooms daily news budget meeting. So they have little idea why stories rise to the level of needing coverage and requiring time and effort from the media. They don't know how to pitch a story. They know little about story shaping or promotional value.

There's much more detail and advice to give on this topic... but inside CAP there is much consternation. It seems that change is needed, but fought at every turn because it's easier to complain that we never get coverage than to adapt. I am not the PA for either my squadron or wing and won't be... until I can work at a level that is at the same professional standard that I work at everyday. The same level I teach everyday. Media is a craft. Media craft is tough to define. Media definitions change too fast to write a journalism book that is of much value for more than a few weeks. Journalist's do. Journalism teachers
can't keep up. You gotta be in the media fight every hour of everyday to stay ahead. The military PAs won't be in the fight until they get this right. Otherwise, they're just doing press relations and hoping the media will take pity on them.
With regards;
ED OBRIEN 

[RiverAux]

I think CAP is much much closer to civilian rather than military public affairs in terms how we are set up and how we do things.  Most CAP PAOs are dealing a local newspaper or tv station in their home town and assuming they stay with CAP and stay with PA, might be working with the same media folks for many years.  That sort of non-mission PA work is pretty much identical to what might be done by any other local volunteer group out there though we probably put more of a focus on it. 

Where we start getting closer to military PA is during missions.  Then, our IOs are probably dealing with a fairly large number of outlets, often not from the local area, with whom they have no relationship.  The media folks are not familiar with our organization or the sort of mission we're doing and the strategy and tactics involved in carrying it out.  In these situations there is often information that we'd rather not get made public at a particular time.  The issues involve life and death and the stakes are high and the pressure can be intense for the IO.  But, even then there are plenty of civilian public affairs officers facing similar situations. 

But, when it comes right down to it, I don't think there really is much different about military (or CAP) public affairs in comparison to other public affairs programs other than a need to pay a bit more attention to what the folks in our organization are wearing. 

[Smithsonia]

Riveraux;
You are right that CAP/PA is similar to other agencies. The military PA manuals are where CAP, FEMA, NASA, etc. go for the template and adopt military PA training to their own enterprise. It's not up to date. SO, Change the military PA and you'll change the world. So come sit in my course of 12 - 2 hour lectures on "Public Affairs a Battle Space Component, a Battle Space Competency". Followed by at 6 hour workshop -- almost all of it is writing and craft based.

IO on a mission with hot news is not the same as the everyday PAO duties. One should be able to DO both, if not fully competent in both. IO informs PA and vice-a-versa. I can view this thread and see a prime example of one of the problems:

Nearly every topic in every thread reduces to some argument about uniforms. While it's a valuable topic for us... we get into naval gazing enrapturements that mean nothing to the public. It is "Public" Affairs. Not Air Force Affairs. Not Military Affairs. We train ourselves to argue with ourselves, alone. To put this bluntly -- it's pretty juvenile. We train ourselves to care what our boss thinks first, and the public second.

We should learn to engage with a larger audience for the proper attention due the excellent men and women of the Patrol. In that way we represent the World to CAP and the CAP to the World. Believe me, they don't care much about 39-1. That doesn't mean we shouldn't... but, give me a great story full of daring-do, of volunteered souls in a battle of life and death -- then spike it because of a uniform violation -- and you're not doing much good.

Photo-shop it for 39-1 conformity and you'll be doing a further disservice by tainting the story with a false actuality. Get caught doing that and you won't be trusted by the news media. This ain't rocket science BUT, it's not a uniform inspection either.
With regards; ED OBRIEN

[JohnKachenmeister]

Riveraux;
You are right that CAP/PA is similar to other agencies. The military PA manuals are where CAP, FEMA, NASA, etc. go for the template and adopt military PA training to their own enterprise. It's not up to date. SO, Change the military PA and you'll change the world. So come sit in my course of 12 - 2 hour lectures on "Public Affairs a Battle Space Component, a Battle Space Competency". Followed by at 6 hour workshop -- almost all of it is writing and craft based.

IO on a mission with hot news is not the same as the everyday PAO duties. One should be able to DO both, if not fully competent in both. IO informs PA and vice-a-versa. I can view this thread and see a prime example of one of the problems:

Nearly every topic in every thread reduces to some argument about uniforms. While it's a valuable topic for us... we get into naval gazing enrapturements that mean nothing to the public. It is "Public" Affairs. Not Air Force Affairs. Not Military Affairs. We train ourselves to argue with ourselves, alone. To put this bluntly -- it's pretty juvenile. We train ourselves to care what our boss thinks first, and the public second.

We should learn to engage with a larger audience for the proper attention due the excellent men and women of the Patrol. In that way we represent the World to CAP and the CAP to the World. Believe me, they don't care much about 39-1. That doesn't mean we shouldn't... but, give me a great story full of daring-do, of volunteered souls in a battle of life and death -- then spike it because of a uniform violation -- and you're not doing much good.

Photo-shop it for 39-1 conformity and you'll be doing a further disservice by tainting the story with a false actuality. Get caught doing that and you won't be trusted by the news media. This ain't rocket science BUT, it's not a uniform inspection either.
With regards; ED OBRIEN

Ed:

I understand your point.  I have, and will continue (if I'm ever a PAO again) to release photos with MINOR 39-1 discrepancies.  Major sloppiness, unprofessional appearance, and outright being unable to dress yourself gets the photo killed.  You said it yourself... we want to make the organization look good to the public.  A story about great flying is ruined when the public sees an officer who looks like a clown, or worse, like the guy at the freeway off-ramp who tries to wash your windshield.  Then his good flying story is either not believed or written off to dumb luck. 

[Smithsonia]

Maj. Kachenmiester;

Do as you please. On this subject, I never try to change minds. If you like it that way, then do it that way. Just don't complain when people don't "get us." My advice is understand and practice the narrative process. Suck the reader in. Draw them to the center of the story. Make them live inside your words and outside their bodies. Pictures are seldom the center of gravity. Make a picture a bigger thing than it is and you'll always be frustrated -- that's what photographic studios are for -- to perfect pictures. In the media, writers who recognize a colleague can only write to picture will say things like, "nice caption." Nice caption, in this case, is not a compliment.

Try this -- writing anything BUT journalism. Make a go of that. In other words don't write to any pictures whatsoever. Learn to -- Own the interior monologue of the reader and they'll forgive you the uniform gig. Now the question becomes, can you forgive? Can you get over that uniform issue? Can CAP? I can't help you. I can only ask the question. By the way, and I've said it before, house organs (Volunteer) are different from news stories, which are different from "learn the craft" practice writing, which are different from Mission IOs, which are different from writing histories, which are different from... Become good at all of these and you'll become better at each of these.

When I teach writing I ask trained solid credited and otherwise qualified professionals to bring in some of their "other than journalism" writing. Most have none. Then the course is taught from the basics up. So make up a story. Do a little fiction. Own the reader. Don't worry about the picture. Feel the difference. Become a craftsman. Get better from this experience.
With regards;
ED OBRIEN

[JohnKachenmeister]

Maj. Kachenmiester;

Do as you please. On this subject, I never try to change minds. If you like it that way, then do it that way. Just don't complain when people don't "get us." My advice is understand and practice the narrative process. Suck the reader in. Draw them to the center of the story. Make them live inside your words and outside their bodies. Pictures are seldom the center of gravity. Make a picture a bigger thing than it is and you'll always be frustrated -- that's what photographic studios are for -- to perfect pictures. In the media, writers who recognize a colleague can only write to picture will say things like, "nice caption." Nice caption, in this case, is not a compliment.

Try this -- writing anything BUT journalism. Make a go of that. In other words don't write to any pictures whatsoever. Learn to -- Own the interior monologue of the reader and they'll forgive you the uniform gig. Now the question becomes, can you forgive? Can you get over that uniform issue? Can CAP? I can't help you. I can only ask the question. By the way, and I've said it before, house organs (Volunteer) are different from news stories, which are different from "learn the craft" practice writing, which are different from Mission IOs, which are different from writing histories, which are different from... Become good at all of these and you'll become better at each of these.

When I teach writing I ask trained solid credited and otherwise qualified professionals to bring in some of their "other than journalism" writing. Most have none. Then the course is taught from the basics up. So make up a story. Do a little fiction. Own the reader. Don't worry about the picture. Feel the difference. Become a craftsman. Get better from this experience.
With regards;
ED OBRIEN

Ed:

I like your approach.  In military PA, we have been taught that we should endeavor to send a picture because editors like pictures.  What is left off of that cognition is the fact that editors like GOOD pictures, pictures that aid in telling the story.

But without a picture, you can still have a good story.

I went to DINFOS, and I will agree with you, the writing that you are taught is boilerplate.  You can read any story by any DINFOS grad and the are almost interchangeable.  That works for hard news stories (Three injured in tracked-vehicle rollover) but is not as good for features, magazine articles, and similar outlets.

That means, I think, that military PA guys like me are sort of like dogs.  Pet dogs stay in a kind of canine adolescene their entire lives, never maturing to the point that they can hunt on their own, because the don't have to.  Military PA guys stay at the level of a basic newbie journalist... capable of hard-news stories and obits... until they return to their regular assignments.  Personally, I struggle with feature leads to this day.

But CAP PA guys are even worse.  They are expected to learn the craft in a supervised OJT environment.  Until they reach the "Master" level, they would not know a good, newsworthy story and a quality picture if it bit them on the leg.

Improving the training of unit-level PA guys in CAP with a formal, classroom experience would help a little, but there are not enough people in CAP that know enough about public affairs to teach them anything beyond the absolute basics.

[RiverAux]

The CAP PAO communique had this in it:

Civil Air Patrol Public Affairs Officer Course – Everyone who has wondered why the ECI (now AFIADL) CAP Public Affairs Officer 02010 correspondence course talks about mimeograph machines, typewriter ribbons and gluepots, but makes no mention of the Internet, Web sites or e-mail, can rest easy. NHQ/PA has authorized a committee to develop a new basic training course for our PAOs that will ensure they have the skills they need to comply with CAPR 190-1. Chaired by Capt Steven Solomon, the SER director of public affairs, along with members 1st Lt. Don Penven of the North Carolina Wing, 1st Lt. Jeanne Stone-Hunter of the Wyoming Wing and Julie DeBardelaben and Jim Tynan, both of CAP National Headquarters, the committee's goal is to make the course relevant to today's PAOs as they satisfy the CAPP 201 Technician Rating requirement. Send comments to SSolomon@sercap.us.

So, now is your chance to start changing things.....

[BuckeyeDEJ]

I agree that if you're going to write for the media, or for ANY external source, you follow the AP stylebook. Period.

The first three words I heard in my first newswriting course in college: Accuracy, accuracy, accuracy. Misspelled names in an assignment got an automatic F. So you can bet we knew the difference between ANG and ARNG, not that we used those acronyms in stories.

If public affairs efforts are lacking on all levels, it's because we're not doing our jobs individually as CAP members. Honestly, if I'm an IO for a mission, when I'm taking pictures, I avoid people in golf shirts (do we want the flying-club perception?) and improperly worn uniforms. I wish the people who submit photos to the Volunteer would do the same, but instead, here's a few glaring issues from the last edition:

-- Some bozo in an Air Force flight suit with a goatee. Where's the respect?
-- Additional patches below the zippers on the front of a flight suit. Where's the attention to detail?
-- IDs hanging from flight suit zipper pulls, with pockets hanging open. Where's the pride?

And that's just three examples. Adobe Photoshop can't possibly fix everything. It's up to unit commanders to ensure proper uniform wear. But it starts with us policing ourselves and each other.

There's all this talk about uniforms in CAP, almost as if there are people who just joined to wear one. But for all the talk, there's one unavoidable premise, and it's one everyone should memorize and repeat to others: If you don't have the discipline to wear the uniform correctly, how can you be trusted to have the discipline to follow other regulations?

I went off in the "Uniform" forum about Volunteer so bad the topic got locked.  I pointed out the same things.  Is the editor of Volunteer even a member?

I went through active duty training as a PAO at DINFOS, and their standards were just as high or higher than the J-schools.  That's why I go ballistic about CAP PAO's turning in garbage for copy and CAP editors not smelling it.

Hey, now! I disagree. Journalism school graduate here, with a resume I'd put up against most anyone's, including stops in major-metro markets. DINFOS wouldn't get me there.

CAP PAs DO turn in garbage. NHQ editors can't catch it all. At wing level, they just let it fly many times. That's why we need to raise the bar for PAs at squadron level. The AFIADL-or-whatever-it's-called-today CAP PA course is a great start, but it probably wouldn't hurt to do a face-to-face course as well.

You'll never get J-school or DINFOS experience in CAP, but the more a PA learns, the better. The CAP PA needs to know and appreciate that he or she is at the tip of the spear when it comes to presenting CAP to the public. With a bad image, people turn up their noses.

We need to have PAs who are on the ball, and can think quickly on their feet. And at group level, we definitely need the best PAs, both as a backstop and an editor for squadron PAs. No 75-year-old, half-Alzheimer member should be thrown into PA just to hold a position (it's better for the group PA to carry that squadron's PA duties if there's no one who can do it well). The PA needs to wear the AF uniform, wear it well, and present a professional military image...

I've realized I'm ranting. Sorry, but feel free to add to this what your idea of a good PA should be.

[Smithsonia]

Guys... this is great. Three whole comments about craft first and uniforms second. This is a most positive trend. I'm much impressed and happy to have been of service. Or at least been provocative enough to niggle on your brains.

I left college early so I could work on a paper. I've been through every town and done every dirty job there was to learn. I've cleaned toilets to learn. I've made coffee to learn. I've been drank under the table more than once so I could go out with the old bulls to hear their war stories... to learn. Now I'm an old bull.

No matter what you talk about... if you know the craft it can be made an interesting thing. It can sparkle and dance at the end of dangling metaphor. I started off by wondering, "How'd they do it?" Make something as mundane as a class reunion, a meeting at the airport, or a shopping trip to the mall -- meaningful. Now I know. It's the hardest [darn] work there is in the world. It made Hemingway commit suicide and crushed Scott Fitzgerald into a gin tanker. It's life and death, it human and it's so very inhumane. BUT, once the words are inside of you. Once you are both their servant and master... there is nothing to do ... but your best. Find the right words and everyday left to you will be full.
With regards;
ED OBRIEN

[BuckeyeDEJ]

Oh, one other thing.

There was an earlier post in this thread that seemed (at least to me) to minimize the impact of a good photo, versus the written word.

Words are nice, don't get me wrong, but photos have more impact, especially in a society that's more and more visual. Before someone whips out that stupid cliche, "a picture is worth a thousand words," that photo can scream lots more than that, especially when the content is dead-on. If the photo is an image that can sink a thousand ships, it doesn't help our cause.

Throw too many words out there, and everyone glazes over. We're learning that the hard way in the newspaper industry, and we've learned it too [darn] late. That's why you're seeing so much alternative storytelling.

It may also be why CAP's recruiting literature has historically been more boring than Reader's Digest....

[Smithsonia]

Maj. Jessmer
I'm not against good photos. I'm for good photos AND good writing. Mundane photos need better writing. Writing down to the level of the photo is certainly less than an journalistic achievement. Not telling a story because you don't have a photo is not good either. If you can only write to picture, you haven't worked long enough on the craft. If a photo is worth a thousand words... then let it. Life Magazine could pull it off. Look Magazine could pull it off. For the rest of us... well, we should be prepared to add a little something. Those magazines had the best photographers and lot's of them -- you may too-- I don't -- so, I learned to write.

With regards;
ED OBRIEN

[Major Carrales]

Maj. Jessmer
I'm not against good photos. I'm for good photos AND good writing. Mundane photos need better writing. Writing down to the level of the photo is certainly less than an journalistic achievement. Not telling a story because you don't have a photo is not good either. If you can only write to picture, you haven't worked long enough on the craft. If a photo is worth a thousand words... then let it. Life Magazine could pull it off. Look Magazine could pull it off. For the rest of us... well, we should be prepared to add a little something. Those magazines had the best photographers and lot's of them -- you may too-- I don't -- learn to write.

With regards;
ED OBRIEN

Good photos with good captions tend to run in newspapers over well written articles.  Sort of like a "sound-byte" in print. 

In the end, it all depends on the publication in question.

[Smithsonia]

Riveraux, Maj. Jessmer and Captalkers; (Regarding military PA)
May I offer a near-to-over-wrought idea... one that is true but full of regret. Public Affairs failings are costing American lives in the military and in the field. The Jihadist's have a narrative that is compelling, although not true. It has launched suicide bombers, caved in buildings, blown-up weddings, destroyed funerals, and killed many many Americans.

It is fundamentally "a of war of words." In this war: a modern, highly trained, steeped in craft, dynamic professional cadre of PAOs can become the tip of the spear and draw tears instead of blood.

As certainly as Navy Seals, Armored Humvees, Delta Force, and Aircraft Carriers... a good Public Affairs Team can make a difference. I'm not talking about Psy-ops. I'm not talking about propaganda. I'm talking straight public affairs. I'm talking men and women who chase down every dirty lie, intercept every salacious rumor, and kill every slandering word with logic and narrative.

In this way Public Affairs can be more than inspirational... it can be aspirational, as well.

It'll take a generation to train them. Although in my idea -- we should reinstitute the draft... but for top flight media professionals only. We should send them right up to the razors edge and in harms way. We don't need a bigger bomb... we need a better story. We need 200 Ernie Pyle's (and 50 more that are Arabic Speaking Ernie Pyles) as fast as we can. We need a factory working 3 shifts a day, seven days a week, to turn them out.

Sign me up. I'm old (56) and crazy (I've been in the media since I was 14) but I'm good to go. Lash me to a tank, give me a camera, a cell-phone, a pad, and a pencil... and by-god... watch the difference it'll make. (slight exaggeration for editorial splendor but you get the idea)

If the power of narrative can light this fire... then a better narrative can put it out.
With regards; ED OBRIEN

[afgeo4]

You guys seem to forget the major difference between the press and government public affairs.

The difference is simple:

1. Press exists to tell the story in order to influence the reader (money)
2. Gov't PA exists to tell the story in order to influence the reader (power)

Yes, the answers seem similar at first sight, but when you really look into it, it's a whole other ballgame.

The military isn't interested in stories that sell. They want stories that justify. After all, the people and government budget makers need justification for all the money spent and all the money that needs to be spent.

The press couldn't care less about justification. They want readers to either take their personal/corporate stance in order to profit in a future venture... or they simply want to sell ad space in order to generate revenue.

Let us not compare the two. Let us not even talk about journalism. Let us define what Public Affairs is.

Isn't Public Affairs the creation and upkeep of the organization's image in the eyes of Americans?

If it is, then anything that falls into that category is Public Affairs and anything that is detrimental to that goal goes against our Public Affairs mission and against our organization.

[Smithsonia]

Capt. Luyre;

Points 1 and 2 are a false premisses. There are so many reasons to tell a story and so many agendas depending on what you're writing, for whom you are employed, what your readers expect, etc., So I disagree with those items in your posting as an over simplification in the extreme. For instance, I'm writing this for the educational benefit of people I do not know. BUT, I write for entertainment, moral lessons, relief of boredom, anger, and pleasure also, and that's just me.

To your main point. We gotta change the system for very simple reasons.
1. The old one (PA mission) is broke.
2. Soft-Craft items (advertising, public relations, publicity, marketing, etc.) are Managed By Objective in the military and most Federal Agencie's PA shops. Which is fine except: a) it's easy to pervert or corrupt the objective. Cover your boss first and deliver public information second -- seems to be in vogue at the moment. At the moment loyalty trumps competence. You need both. b) the quantifying metrics are easy to manipulate. Statistics are as slippery critters as opinions are. For instance, bad metrics are screwing up political predictions in the last 2 Presidential Elections. c) the people managing the objective come and go every few years. Unfortunately mission definitions come and go too. Staff can wait out almost any change. Every manager can not. Neither can every mission. I'm working this puzzle for a client tonight.

Image management comes in so many forms. The old style "spin it until you wear out the other guy," is not going to work. We're all smarter than that. SO, there is a change-a-comin.
To do this:
Better metrics must be established. Better management must be employed. Better missions must be
mounted. Visionary Strategies and Greater Longevity would help too. For most PA problems: it's corrupted missions, using improper metrics, executed poorly, over a short time span, with bad results, that will be repeated quickly and often. So, stop making the same mistakes. Do something better.

First, quit thinking PA is a backwater small time gig and please don't buy another pig then ask me to put more lipstick on it... that hasn't worked the last 4 million times you tried it.

To that point, the best Medical Schools are Stanford and Harvard. The Best Law School is Yale and Harvard. The Best Engineering School is MIT and Cal-Tech... the Best PA School? According to US NEWS and WORLD REPORT. The University of Syracuse. I have nothing against U of S... but what if Harvard, Yale, and Stanford took PA seriously too it might mean something. That said, PA is not an academic enterprise... it's a craft-skill. PA is taught by the best practitioners to their staffs as a mentor and in a craft-guild way. Find a smart PA practitioner to learn from and let everything else run off you like rain... and you'll be fine in the Media/PA game.
With regards;
ED OBRIEN

[JohnKachenmeister]

Ed:

Let me share with you the basic lessons I took from DINFOS so many years ago, and tell me where I have gone wrong.

1.  The PA guy is the spokesman for the organization.  He should be at the side of the boss, and involved in every major (and most minor) decisions.  Perceived minor decisions sometimes have major consequences in the public mind.

2.  I've said it before, the PA practicioner is the organization's lawyer in the Court of Public Opinion.  This is not to say (as has been flamed at me) that PA people should adopt the lawyer's ethical stance, which is NO ethics at all.  Rather, the PA practicioner should act as both an advocate for the organization and an advisor, providing information to decision makers about the anticipated public reaction.

3.  The PA professional shares a skill set with journalists, the ability to write and speak well, and to prepare professional news copy.  This is because most of the public gets its information from news media, and that is one vehicle for reaching the target audience.  The PA professional, however, must also seek out new ways to communicate, and not limit himself to the role of "Stringer."

4.  You must give the same message to internal audiences that you give to external ones.  This is because your internal audience is out there communicating all the time with your external audience on a personal, one-on-one basis.

[Smithsonia]

RiverAux;
I certainly agree. Well said. I hate the lawyer analogy, as you know, but inside each analogy there is room to maneuver a peaceful coexistence.

Why does man write? Why does man care about what others do? Why is anything on paper worth more than an actual experience? These are good questions to answer for yourself. It lays a good ethical foundation.

Considering 1/3rd of all human activity is story based (all media, religion, internet, dreaming, social interaction, education, sports when you're a spectator, etc) accepting your place in the firmament of storytellers will lead you to higher achievement.

Even business is story based as all investments are first a call for human enterprise and capital... the call is made in the form of a story.

It's a great topic for discussion. BUT more, it's a fabulous calling. All things being equal, the best story wins. All things being equal, he who dies with the best stories spoken about him and kept in the hearts of those that remember him, wins. (Of course, "her" in that statement, works equally well) Storytelling is the best job you'll ever get and I wish you well in every endeavor.

With regards; ED OBRIEN

[aveighter]

This discussion is becoming esoteric to the point of irrelevance.

Bottom line here is the editorial choices regarding content and photo selection range from ho-hum to incompetent to outrageous. 

I suspect that the editorial oversight and issue planning have, in fact, been outsourced to a former call center in India.

[Smithsonia]

(Being that this is the basic skill of PA) Writing is an individual journey. Go if you like. Stay home if you don't. It's up to you. Thanks for your kind attention. Good luck to all. ED OBRIEN

[afgeo4]

Smithsonian, I think you're reading too much into this. Your commentary is on a writer. Anyone can be a writer, you, me, Joe Schmoe, etc.

I'm not talking about writers. Especially not about amateur writers. I'm talking about Public Affairs vs. Journalism.

Journalists write because it's their job, not because they're bored. They may be bored at the time or they may not be, they may be enjoying the process or may not be. That's unimportant. They have to write to get a paycheck.

Public Affairs people write, organize meetings, create images and generally make sure they're seen because... that's what they do for a paycheck. They may or may not enjoy their job and it doesn't matter either.

Now... when and if you can step back and look at the press and government as an organization and see why it does what it does, you'll probably learn why it does those things that specific way.

[Smithsonia]

George; (regarding statement above)
Anyone can be a writer? Anyone can be a typist, perhaps. When a barista gives me change for my latte he's not really a professional mathematician or a banker. Although he's performing similar actions for pay. Now is this less true for writers and typists? BUT, there are writers and then there are... w r i t e r s.

That said, this isn't a zero-sum-game. You don't need to be wrong for me to be right. I choose to like my writing assignments, work hard, enjoy my clients, make good money, have a long career, and be happy with my choices. Others can hate their jobs, not do well, and be poor performers. I think that's a fairly accurate restatement of your position. Which is true, if not obvious. See, it's not a zero-sum-game. We can both be right and write.

Since the topic is "Public Affairs lacking on all levels," I figured I'd address it from a craft side. But, as I said, do as you please. I think I've stated my case fully, and so I leave you to get a latte... or if you prefer, visit with my banker.

With regards; ED OBRIEN

[jimmydeanno]

The last couple of comments made me think of William Zinser, he says the same thing.  He gives the example of a surgeon who enjoys writing is his free time.  That surgeon calls writing theraputic and relaxing.

Zinser, a professional writer, considers writing to be a gut-wrenching craft.

[afgeo4]

My point was that this thread isn't about writing or writers. It's about Public Affairs in the Civil Air Patrol and how we (CAP members) can improve on it.

[jimmydeanno]

Improving our PA team would benefit from having better writers - it goes hand in hand.  Typically the PAO at a squadron ins't a professional journalist or writer.  Having a team of PAOs without experience or training ins't the best step.

I think that we made good progress with the creation of the PAO academies, but in general our PA system is pretty ramshackle.

Someone mentioned that we should write articles and such if we don't like the product being produced.  I think that if I were to try to write an article it would probably be far worse than what we have now.  But, I don't need to be a movie director to tell you if a movie is good or not.

I don't know what a first step to improving the quality would be, but I'm sure that it has something to do with training and putting the right people in the right spot.

[BuckeyeDEJ]

Wow, I make a couple of comments, leave for a few days, and this thread becomes a flame war!

The PA academies help, or will help. There's a national one coming up in August about two hours away from here, in some little mouse-infested burg you might've heard of, Orlando. Encourage your PAs to go there.

Knowing that travel isn't an option for everyone, we need a way to get a professionally put-together PA course into the hands of EVERY PA. There's already a CAP PA course available through AFIADL, or whatever it's called these days. And knowledge needs to transfer through all levels of PAs, using workshops and other meetings.

We won't be able to train the next Pulitzer Prize winner, and we never will, but we can raise the bar when it comes to shooting even the most mundane award presentation. We can raise the bar when it comes to writing an effective press release. We can realize synergies in words and visuals. We can even make our Web sites look professional -- for a federal organization to have many Web sites that look like a 14-year-old put them together is a craptastic shame.

That's what I hope for.

[Smithsonia]

There have been Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners (Dr. Martin Luther King, Winston Churchill, Ted Sorenson AND John Kennedy as examples) who've written Public Affairs pieces. To say these weren't better than average standard pedantic PA blither would be wrong. These writers were engaging an idea or arguing for a cause and to do so, they brought skills and pluck to the page.

I think if you examine the first page and half of threads on this topic, you'll find the arguments were based on items other than craft. To introduce craft to the topic is an aid. Of course, aid can be dismissed, denied, or refused by anyone. 

Perhaps -- Instead of writing a news release and complaining, " that no one cares?" The better question is to write a press release and ask... "why should someone care?" Then completing your task only when you make sure there is public benefit front and center... and not just institutional justification to your release.

We have the same issue when a Television executive wants a piece done about some tech-wiz golly gosh new weather radar unit for the TV weather cast. What the executive wants is techno-speak, "a kajillion watts of power throttling glowing silly-adjective-over-speak"... what we change it to a viewer benefit "you'll get more accurate severe weather information, faster." The TV executive usually thinks they wrote it just that way and the audience understands why this expensive toy is important to them personally. It ain't rocket science. In fact, it is just the opposite.

I can't jump up and down on this dead horse any longer as there are live horses (clients) to ride. I hope the new CAP/PA academies will be attentive to craft. If not, we'll have this discussion again when there's a brand new barn full of dead horses to jump up and down on...

With regards;
ED OBRIEN

[BuckeyeDEJ]

There have been Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners (Dr. Martin Luther King, Winston Churchill, Ted Sorenson AND John Kennedy as examples) who've written Public Affairs pieces. To say these weren't better than average standard pedantic PA blither would be wrong. These writers were engaging an idea or arguing for a cause and to do so, they brought skills and pluck to the page.

No, what I said was that CAP will not train and develop the next Pulitzer winner.

I think if you examine the first page and half of threads on this topic, you'll find the arguments were based on items other than craft. To introduce craft to the topic is an aid. Of course, aid can be dismissed, denied, or refused by anyone. 

Welcome to CAPtalk....

I agree that attitude has a lot to do with selecting things to play to outside-CAP audiences. And a PA has to put a positive face on CAP activities.

And going into all those technospecifics doesn't help, unless it's germane to explain what ARCHER does or how triangulating an ELT signal pinpoints a beacon.

The academies will help. But they'll only help a small number, compared to the number of PAs out there. The word HAS to get to them all, to commanders, and to anyone who's remotely interested in PA... which, to an extent, is everyone. That's why uniform wear is important. That's why attention to detail by the average member is important.

[Smithsonia]

Maj. Jessmer;
In a way writing and craft are like marksmanship --  Aim low and you'll only scuff boots. Aim higher and you'll hit'em in the head and the heart. When I write, that's my aim.

In doing so:
1) You'll create proper decorum by something more than official orders... you'll create order through inspiration and aspiration. I suggest we need both 39-1 AND PA craft-skills... thereby, developing a real and personal sense of responsibility and integrity. This personal sense works better than fear of retribution.
In practicing this soft-craft better, should help our cause.

2) Regarding Pulitzer Prize Winners -- If your only model/template/formula is standard PA press releases then you'll likely follow along that "boot-scuffing" way. By pointing out that Public Affairs has been written for higher purposes, I've attempted to point out new templates. Examine these and you'll discover the reasons public affairs is important and should be taken seriously. Read Martin Luther Kings "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and you'll see what I mean.
3) IF your only purpose is institutional justification (to please your boss, or justify your job title... let's say) then you'll continue on the routine path. You won't include reader/viewer benefits. Once again this is "Public" Affairs. Remain wedded to the unsuccessful and you'll remain ignored. I assume this is not your purpose. Right now I see lots of "make work projects" that fall in to this category. In that, these are likely and orginally made for "training purposes" only, that quite surprisingly over years of repetition, became the "practices of the job." 

To urge you further with specifics: You can find better written press releases, better Public Affairs articles, better done PA events, and higher examples of PA soft-craft work by searching the web. Look at some of those items. Instead of chugging out a routine press release... put together a press event. I'm working on a couple of those. One is on ES (The Largest Single Mission Save in CAP History, 30th anniversary commemoration). One is on History and the Curry Award. (In that one, Maj. Gen. John F. Curry is buried in Denver at Ft. Logan National Cemetery. I propose that we should salute his memory, attend to his grave, and award new Curry decorations in one single event... and do it yearly. Have a color/honor guard and Gen. Curry's family in attendance too. Perhaps tie it in to Wreaths for America, the founding of the CAP, or the anniversary of Gen. Curry's Death or Birth. I'm still working out details. I think it will be better attended than the standard Curry Awards Ceremony at a squadron meeting. I think it will mean more to CAP cadets and senior members. I think it will mean more to the press and I think it's a good and uplifting press event also.) Find some of your own and make it an event. Do 2-3-4 a similar things a year, add a couple of missions and you've got good press 6 times a year up to once a month. Stuff like that. In other words do fewer but bigger Public Affairs projects. AND now back to the marksmanship analogy, don't spray and pray, aim your shots and target your audience. In this way the pen is also mighiter than the sniper.

So, make it important to CAP, make it important to the public, provide a larger story, teach some history, learn from the PA mistakes of the past, do better work than is expected, and in doing so, better serve the patrol.

With regards;
ED OBRIEN

[BuckeyeDEJ]

If we only accorded the Curry achievement ribbon once a year, that'd put cadets as much as a year in the "motivational phase." Maybe CAP can do more with Curry's legacy, but I'm not so sure that the first achievement in the cadet program needs that sort of elevation.

I've never thought of the metaphor of writing and marksmanship, but I can see it. It's important to remember that press releases aren't works of art, nor should they be. They can be a great starting point for working media to develop a story; if not, they can be briefs or whatever an editor sees fit. A good PA is a facilitator more than a content generator. The PA should be a tool for transparency. Let the media do their jobs, and let the PA help guide the newsgatherer.

For audiences of house organs, like the Volunteer, longer-form writing can go farther. But more alternative storytelling is also appropriate, whether it takes the form of statistics, quotes, diagrams, whatever. Sometimes the best way to tell a story is no story at all.

[Smithsonia]

Maj. Jessmer;
I'm not for holding all cadets to the once a year Curry Award schedule but gathering those during a particular month for the commemorative event. Not to get too in to the particulars, but those that would attend would have higher uniform attention and drill. It would be good for your 39-1 issues and better for PA also.

Public Affairs Suggestion Specifically For Florida: Find as many of your old Florida CAP Anti-Sub Pilots and crew as you can, see if any of the planes still exist, see if any of them are around, put together an event... coordinate with the next national CAP event that is scheduled for Florida, say in 2010. OR, the Sun and Fun Fly-in... or something similar. Do your own band of brothers. I'll bet you somebody from that group is close to you and would like to talk to you about it. If they have a reunion soon, all the better! Make it a thing.

If you can sell the big stories, the little ones will be treated better by the press too. Become a resource for news not just a beggar of coverage.

In this way you'll develop respect for your product (Florida Wing of CAP) and train PA, AEX Officers, Historians, and Cadets how to run such a project. If that doesn't wind your clock... do a similar thing of your own design and good luck to you all.

By the way, I just photographed Gen. Curry's Home from 1946-1973. I don't know what I'll use it for.. but heck it was only a mile from where I live so it made for a nice Sunday walk. Someday, I'll likely need it for something like a Gen. Curry Biographical Lecture. In this and so many other ways coincidence makes providence. Find these coincidences and make them providential and these things get easier to do over time.
With regards;
ED OBRIEN

[BuckeyeDEJ]

The coastal patrol bases here are now all gone. Recently, there was a story down here about how the last one, which I believe was near Palm Beach, closed. (To my understanding, CAP's coastal patrol activity was on the Atlantic coast. I'm in the Tampa Bay area, over on the Gulf.)

I don't think we'll have a big national CAP event in Florida for a while. National Board is in Orlando, two hours' drive east of here, in August. The National Board rotates between the seven regions, and the last one in Southeast Region was in Atlanta, several years ago.

I think this thread has pretty much died, don't you?

[BillB]

Your right, there is no National event in Florida for a long time, next month to be exact, The National Board and Conference at Kissimmee.

At Lantana, there is a CAP memorial to the "sub-chasers" A museum that is to open at Keystone Heights, FL will have a CAP section including 1942 uniforms.

And the new Squadron that has started at Kissimmee, MAY have their cadets at the Conference wearing old unforms from 1942-1985 and be able to tell the story of each style uniform.

[mikeylikey]

And the new Squadron that has started at Kissimmee, MAY have their cadets at the Conference wearing old uniforms from 1942-1985 and be able to tell the story of each style uniform.

That would be awesome!  I hope that pans out. 

[SarDragon]

I know we're starting to drift, but I have two comments.

Why shouldn't our press releases be works of art? If the average press release is only written as well as the average post on here, I would be ashamed to lay any claim as a CAP member. I am one of the resident Grammar Grumps on here, and I am appalled at the lack of care about good English in many of the posts on here, especially from folks who have PAO in their sigs.

I am by no means perfect, but I consider the quality of the appearance of my posts as important as the content. If we present ourselves in poorly worded articles with spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, it's really no different that using pictures with poor uniforms.

Writing is an art as well as a technical skill. It requires practice and attention to detail. I view this forum and Cadet Stuff as arenas to practice in. Our PAOs should put out their best product all the time.

YMMV. Enough on that rant.

My second comment concerns my present location, Denver, Colorado. If I can work it in, I may make a trip to the Curry grave site, and get some pictures. I'm not quite sure what I'll do with them, but I'll take some anyway.

Now back to our regularly scheduled discussion.

[RiverAux]

Why shouldn't our press releases be works of art? If the average press release is only written as well as the average post on here, I would be ashamed to lay any claim as a CAP member. I am one of the resident Grammar Grumps on here, and I am appalled at the lack of care about good English in many of the posts on here, especially from folks who have PAO in their sigs.

Obviously there is some minimum level of readability that a press release has to meet to avoid being thrown in the trash immediately.  However, beyond that I think it depends quite a lot on the purpose of the release and where you are sending it. 

Something like a mid-day mission press release (no find yet) will probably not give you a lot of opportunities to write Pulitizer-winning material in the first place, and you have to realize that you're primarily providing facts that someone will incorporate into their article anyway.  I took the FEMA Basic Public Information Officer course last year and they were teaching everybody to just lay the facts out there, pretty much in one-sentence chunks and no more than a page in length (double-spaced) as fast as possible. 

Of course, if you're writing something that you know will probably be published as written, thats a different situation. 

[Smithsonia]

When you hear good writing and you think flowery prose... then you know nothing of good writing. Commanding, brief, on target, potent, spare, all are components of the command language formula.
Similarly all are components of good writing.

Which of the following phrases is more commanding? "Get this done." "Get the done, please." "Call me when you're done." "Do it." If you know the answer, you'll do better as an IC/IO. You'll do better as a writer too. The answer is -- at certain times any of these choices are best. Since command is about results, you must be ready with lots of practiced choices.

Craft is knowing the large number of options. Having this large number of options at the ready. Picking through the large number of options quickly. AND, producing the best product. One formula doesn't always get you where you want to go. It just like driving directions... do you want the scenic route, the fastest route, or the shortest route? When you have all the right skills brought upon the problem in very critical times -- You're in the thick of it. Well, for CAP Public Affairs this is that time. Do you know the short, scenic, and fastest routes?

Let's see your skill set. How many variations on the press release can you do? There's more than one basic template, you know. How about invitations to an event? How about a news article? How about a critical review of a subordinate? Analysis of a problem with a solution in text form? How about a speech written for the commander? How is that different from a speech written for yourself? If you don't have answers you'll likely just have more complaints. Complaining that you don't understand solves nothing. Entering into a personal development plan would help. Study the problems you face. Research the best PA solutions and spend 30 minutes a day reading and test writing. Develop a new skill every month. Practice the new skill too. Make it part of your PAO skills kit.

Talk to each other. Share your work with each other. Research the web. Answers abound. PAOs with the right stuff don't. Take personal responsibility for improvement and like a fine steak you'll be rare and HOT!

Good Luck. With regards; ED OBRIEN

[mikeylikey]

DEAD Horse says what?!?!         

[MIKE]

Lock.