In 1972, Rolling Stone reporter Timothy Crouse followed around Apple, Broder and the rest of the Boys on the Bus, writing how the pack “began to believe the same rumors, subscribe to the same theories, and write the same stories.” In the evening, reporters would talk out the defining moment of that day, the key line, and file their stories often repeating that narrative for the next day’s edition of the Chicago Tribune or Baltimore Sun. With the exception of a few national agenda-setting publications, like the Times and Post, reporters on the campaign trail primarily wrote for their local audiences.
Now political reporters are usually writing for the world, and the pack has evolved into a hive, constantly buzzing with the latest updates from the trail published via iPhones and BlackBerrys.
Working in military Public Affairs is sometimes complicated because you are covering a lot of things that have national and international interest but your audience is often very local in nature. It is important to remember that the people you are covering and the events they are involved in matter most to people at a local level. Towns most people have never heard of like Killeen, TX, Waynesville, MO or Rapid City, SD are where we and our families live. These are the communities that we serve. So it doesn’t matter if the story is on the drawdown of troops in a war zone or a local training exercise, at the very basic level these are the audiences for which you should be writing. Keeping “local first” in mind will not only help you do better stories it will also help you accomplish your larger mission of keeping the public informed.
This photo was taken by a guy I’m currently deployed with and is part of Business Insiders’ “45 Beautiful Photos Of The U.S. Military From The Last Year.” Click on the photo to see the rest of the feature.
Most of the photos in the feature were taken by military folks…either Public Affairs specialist or our cousins in the Combat Camera community. And this is just a very very very small sampling of the outstanding work our guys and gals do everyday.
PAOs, and the reporters we facilitate, tend to operate in rather austere environments and finding the right equipment for these environments is a full time job in and of itself (seriously, there are 2 guys at Ft. Meade, MD doing it for just the U.S. Army). During the beginning days of major operations we are often cut off from reliable electricity and internet in deserts, mountains, oceans, jungles, and lord-only-knows wherever else we get sent. While we have systems such as DVIDS to help us get the story out, such systems are bulky and can be cumbersome when weight and speed are a factor. Alan Arnette isn’t a Soldier (never has been to my knowledge) but he is a bit of a kindred spirit in that he has blogged, photographed, reported, and generally communicated literally from the top of the world. I’ve always followed his story because I believe in his cause but also because I was amazed at how he was able to reliably communicate from places that are virtual black holes. He shares the secrets of how he did if from the tops of the worlds tallest mountains in this post from his site. While the military and professional news outlets have their own equipment and ways of doing business this seems like a great primer for anyone planning to freelance in those parts of the world that few dare to tread.
At the core of the Public Affairs Specialist job is communication. We communicate with the American and International public to help make sense of seemingly senseless things. We act as a voice to explain what the troops are doing and provide the context for those actions. When I was in Iraq at the height of the war, this was difficult because of the sheer volume of interest…in Afghanistan, the reverse is true. It seems that much of the outside world has lost interest in what happens here. There are still teary-eyed memorial ceremonies for the fallen or bold-typed headlines when a massive bomb goes off in a major city like Kabul but for the most part the names of the places here are still as foreign to most Americans as they were 10 years ago. Iraq is over, Afghanistan is not. It seems that by-and-large this war is forgotten by the people at home. To a certain extent I can’t help but feel somewhat responsible. It is my job to inform the American Public but increasingly it seems that no one is listening.
This link provides a great lesson in the civilian world of a fairly common discussion in the military photo production community.
When I started in this job we still did wet processing of film. It was the cusp of the digital revolution and the military had yet to transition to the latest in technology. Back in those quaint and innocent days it wasn’t hard to alter photos; It was just time consuming and most of us didn’t have the time or inclination to mess with the photos much. Still, even in those days it was pounded into us that altering photos to the point of changing the meaning or circumstances was unethical. As Public Affairs professionals we were supposed to provide a service to the military and people by keeping them informed and documenting the world as it existed around us. Photographers that could capture photos with great composition and lighting were highly praised.
Somewhere around the late 90’s we joined the digital revolution and suddenly everything changed. Sure, it made media management easier but it also allowed us to “fix” mistakes in post production. If your white balance was off you could correct it. If your composition sucked you could crop and adjust on the fly back at the office. All these things were deemed acceptable because they were easily replicated in the darkroom. Then as more complex editing software come along at an ever cheaper price the lines begin to blur.
We still teach only limited photo “touch-ups” are allowed and anything beyond some simple minor adjustments must be listed as a “photo illustration.” We remind our younger troops and senior commanders that our credibility is key when communicating with the public and altered photos run afoul of accepted ethical guidelines. As a generation of people more and more accustomed to reality they can alter at will and distribute across the world with little seeming repercussions has entered our military we’ve been forced to be even more vigilant in enforcing the strict ethical standards governing our products. So I’ve shared this link in hopes of helping people understand that it isn’t some dictatorial military rule created out of thin-air we’re enforcing…it is a long standing ethical standard that is universally accepted.
So the next time you mouse over an editing button in photoshop stop for a second and remind yourself that there are reasons for why we do what we do and in some cases the answer is it is simply unethical.
Damn it! And people wonder why the press is leery of PAOs…This is not how we are supposed to operate. “First with the truth” should be a mantra not a catchphrase.
Hours before this McClatchy report was published, the Marine Corps inserted a disclaimer into its official online account of Meyer’s heroic actions. The Web page now reads that the summary “was compiled in collaboration” with Meyer and Marine Corps Public Affairs.
Military Public Affairs is, and always will be, home to some of the more creative types. This is a great example of what they do in their free time. The key from a leader’s perspective is capturing and channeling this energy into their everyday more mundane task.
UPDATE: I’ve spoken to the 1SG pictured in this video. This is one of his detachments in Korea. Being in charge of several detachments throughout Korea proves to be a challenge since he can’t be everywhere at once. One of the things he does to ensure he is keeping tabs on his troops is require everyone to wear their Class A uniform once a month and send in pictures. He then notes deficiencies and sends them the corrections. This video was produced for the Unit’s Holiday party. Beyond being a friend of mine, I know he is a good 1SG because no one puts this much effort into mocking someone they dislike. ;-)
