PROMOTING THE FLEET HOME TOWN NEWS PROGRAM

LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Describe the methods used to promote the Fleet Home Town News Program.

Participation in the Fleet Home Town News Program by individual service members is strictly voluntary. Nonetheless, you should present it in a positive reamer to encourage involvement. While some people may not be interested in the "publicity," their relatives and friends back home probably are interested.

Soft sell the program, but do attempt to sell it. If an individual still chooses not to participate, honor the person's decision and do not forward the release form to the FHTNC.

You can sell the program in the following ways:

Run Plan of the Day notes.

Make SITE-TV spot announcements.

Make promotional spot announcements on ship's radio.

Ask the CO, XO or C/MC to make promotional announcements during Captain's Call.

Promote the program during command indoctrination classes ("I" Division).

PROCESSING FHTNC MATERIALS

LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Recognize the correct method of processing FHTNC materials.

The success of the Fleet Home Town News Program depends on your continuous, active support. Therefore, you should give the people at your command ample opportunities to participate in the program and you should encourage future involvement. A good starting point for you to solicit participation is when military members first report to your command, so make sure the public affairs office is on the command check-in sheet.

FLEET HOME TOWN NEWS RELEASE FORM

At first glance, conducting a home town news program appears to be a monumental task. However, closer observation reveals it is a relatively simple process in terms of meeting public affairs objectives. The FHTNC has simplified the procedures for submitting home town news material by designing a standard release form, the Fleet Home Town News Release Form, NAVSO 5724/1 (Rev. 8-88). You must use this release form for all home town news releases.

NOTE: Contact the Center or check SECNAVINST 5724.3 series for the most current release form revision date.

When properly completed (mostly by the individual about whom the release is being made), the release form contains all the information necessary for writers at the FHTNC to prepare the homeowner. Figure 17-2A is an example of a completed NAVSO 5724/1. The reverse side of the release form (fig. 17-2B) carries block-byblock instructions. For this reason, we will not provide a block-by-block breakdown of the release form.

The NAVSO 5724/1 was designed to give uniformity to the Fleet Home Town News Program and to accelerate the processing of home town news releases. They are available through the Navy supply system, so maintaining an adequate number of them should be easy. However, if you run out of release forms, you may use locally produced copies until your stock is replenished. The information may be typed or printed.

NOTE: The FHTNC should receive completed release forms no later than 30 days after the event occurs (allowances are made for submarines). After the release forms are processed and the subsequent news releases

Figure 17-2A. - Completed NAVSO 5724/1 (front).

Figure 17-2B. - Completed NAVSO 5724/1 (back).

are mailed, the forms are maintained for 90 days in an alibi file and then destroyed.

On occasion, a few release forms do not get processed and are returned to the activities that submitted them. Along with the returned release forms is a short explanation listing the reason(s) they were not accepted. There are several reasons a particular release form may not be processed. It could be that there are no media in a particular community or area that desires the stories. The release form might be received without the required signatures, or there might not be enough information with the release form to develop a meaningful release.

You can reduce the number of nonreleased forms by following all of the directions on the back of the NAVSO 5724/1. Check all blocks on the front of the release form for completeness, accuracy and legibility before the release form is mailed to the FHTNC.

Log Book/Index File

You should maintain a 90-day logbook or index file of each release form mailed to the FHTNC. The record should include the following information: l Name and social security number of the individual l News event l Date mailed

By tracking your release forms in this manner, you can work with the Center in purging release forms that belong to an injured or deceased crew member. It is embarrassing when a release is made on an individual's participation in an exercise when he was discharged months earlier. More important, the release of a story about an individual who "recently visited Sasebo, Japan," when in fact he was hospitalized or deceased, will cause confusion and additional grief to family members.

The FHTNC is an addressee on all death or serious injury messages. Upon receiving a casualty message, the Center immediately inputs the social security number of the casualty into the computer system. The computer indicates whether a news release is currently being processed or has been mailed out on that individual, as well as the names of the hometown media that received it. If the release has left the Center, the appropriate media outlets are called immediately and requested not to run the story.

Command Releasing Authority

Each submission to the FHTNC must be authorized for release and verified for accuracy by the submitting command. The command's "releasing authority" may be whoever the commander has designated to conduct the fleet home town news program within his unit (usually the PAO, but it can be a JO). The command releasing authority prints and signs his name in block two of the release form and indicates his duty telephone number.

Social Security Number

Make sure the service member understands that the social security number listed in block 12 will not appear on the actual news release. It is required solely to track casualties.