THE MEDIA

LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Identify and analyze the various types of media and recognize the media relations responsibilities of the public affairs office staff.

The Navy is a definite source of news. Some of this news will be good and some bad. Good or bad the rules established for good media relations dictate that all Navy news be treated objectively.

Media will publish or broadcast, and the public will learn about newsworthy events and other information concerning the Navy, whether or not the Navy cooperates. Furthermore, media will decide the interests and newsworthiness of Navy news - not the naval commander or the PAO.

MEDIA TYPES

Before we examine the elements that help create good media relations, it is beneficial for you to examine and understand all available media. In doing so, you must determine the requirements of each medium and then fulffll these requirements, using the guidelines mentioned later in this section.

At a minimum, your public affairs office should serve the following media and be familiar with their requirements: l Newspaper l Radio l Television . News services l Syndicates l Magazines l News magazines l Consumer magazines l Internal or promotional publications l Books

Newspaper

The newspaper is the oldest medium of mass communication and it remains the backbone of public information. While the number of newspapers published in America has declined with the ascendancy of television, total circulation is increasing.

There are differences between the metropolitan daily, the suburban or neighborhood daily and the weekly newspaper. Whereas, a metropolitan daily focuses on international, national and top-level local news and features, a suburban daily (or weekly) may limit itself to local and regional news with only brief summaries of national and international news. Suburban newspapers have grown in popularity recently, because of their comprehensive coverage of local news.

Radio

Radio became a medium of mass communication in the 1930s. Its advantages are immediacy, variety, mobility and aural appeal. Because of the recent resurrection of the AM news/talk format, the radio listening audience may include nearly every individual in the country.

Radio is conversational, informal, intimate and timely. It has an almost instantaneous reaction time to fast-breaking news, but it is limited to headlines and high points.

Television

Television is the newest and most potent of mass communications media. It combines the impact of sight and sound with the immediacy of radio. Communication satellites and roving news teams can relay live telecasts from almost anywhere in the world or even outer space.

Television news programs are network (60 Minutes, 20/20, etc.) or local in origin. Most local stations do live coverage and welcome the opportunity to consider videotapes of significant military news or feature events, including sports.

In many areas, television stations are owned by or closely allied with newspapers. Most use both The Associated Press and United Press International news services.

News Services

News services, often called wire services, exist to provide the mass media with coverage they cannot afford to get by any other means.

Currently, there are two predominant wire services in the United States: The Associated Press and the United Press International. You should be aware that there are also several foreign wire services, such as Reuters (England), Agence France Press (France) and Xin Hua (Peoples Republic of China).

Syndicates

Syndicates are either owned by a large newspaper or chain of papers, or they are the result of cooperative agreements among noncompeting papers. They often provide in-depth stories of what the wire services report as spot news. Examples are as follows: NANA (North American Newspaper Alliance), NEA (Newspaper Enterprises Association), New York limes, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and the Hearst Headline Service.

Magazine

Magazines may be grouped as news, consumer or internal/promotional publications. Magazines have wide circulation, though they are published less frequently than newspapers.

Requests for help on Navy features made by a national magazine must be approved by CHINFO before information is released or support is given.

News Magazines

News magazines (Time, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report) are national weekly publications that cover the major news of the week in greater depth than daily newspapers or the electronic media.

Consumer Magazines

Consumer magazines appeal to various special interests of the public. Technology, business, sports, hobbies, theater, gossip and humor are among the major subjects reported. These provide an opportunity to tell a story in greater detail or from a particular point of view. Stories need not be as timely as in a news magazine.

Internal or Promotional Publications

Internal or promotional publications reach the internal and external audiences of companies, agencies, professions or vocations. They are also called trade journals and house organs. Public Affairs Communicator is an example of a trade journal.

Books

Many PAOs are asked to assist authors of books dealing with military subjects. More than 30,000 books

are published in this country annually. Because of the continuing importance of the Navy and the armed services as a whole to our society, authors of virtually all classes of books (nonfiction, adult, juvenile, general, text and pictorial) rely on the public affairs office for help in gathering material.

A more in-depth study of the media can be found in the JO 1 & C TRAMAN.