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Media Relations

Newsletter 09-11
December 2008

Chapter 2: Contemporary Public Affairs

Section III
Public Affairs Officer: What Are We Doing to Tell That Story?

Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures Associated with Developing a Story
from a Public Affairs Perspective

MAJ Vinston L. Porter, Jr.

It is almost midnight Baghdad time when Fox News cuts to breaking news: "Straight to our developing story out of Iraq right now. This picture just in to us from the American military. Take a look at this."

What follows is a report: Soldiers, acting on a tip from local Iraqis, discovered five rockets aimed at the Soldiers' patrol base. Included with the report are pictures of the recovered rockets and a taped interview with an officer from the unit. It is just eight hours from the time of the initial push to national TV outlets until the time of broadcast. This broadcast is an actual example of a quick turnaround on a newsworthy event that occurred in the 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) operational area as compiled from the various situational information products.

Several tactics, techniques, and procedures made airing this story possible:

• Knowing where to look for the story
• Working with the brigade public affairs officers (PAOs)
• Coordinating with other agencies inside the division operations center (DOC)
• Using imagery to add context to the story

Knowing where to look for stories made a difference in finding the story moments after the event was reported versus seeing the event reported (much later) in the daily brief to the commanding general (CG) on the following day.

The primary source used to search for the story was the Command Post of the Future (CPOF). Advances in information technology, such as CPOF, enhance war-fighting and battle-tracking capabilities, making it possible for staff sections to view an event occurring on the battlefield in real time. Scrolling over the various icons on the CPOF digital (situational) map allowed for a quick snapshot of each reported event, including a brief event summary.

As a PAO, I used the event summary to identify information that warranted a follow-up call to a brigade combat team (BCT) PAO or a visit to the respective BCT liaison officer (LNO) for clarification. Whether it was a planned operation or an event recently reported via CPOF, in many cases the BCT PAOs had visibility of the same events at their level. Once I identified an event for follow-up, the BCT PAOs gathered the detailed information surrounding the event.

A second source of information was the division G3 operations section. The G3 chief of operations has the most information in the DOC. Unit reporting goes to and through this individual. Maintaining a close relationship with the chief of operations allowed the public affairs section to remain in the loop on issues and events (especially those that may not be displayed in the CPOF).

The division staff conducted a daily synchronization meeting. As the LNO for each BCT briefed its upcoming operations, the PAO representative took note of which were potentially newsworthy operations. Embedded reporter and internal PAO asset coverage options were considered; the former was the priority.

The division PAO section could convey information gathered from scanning the CPOF events and the daily division synchronization (synch) meeting during the PAO daily synch meeting later the same day. This meeting helped ensure the division PAO staff had visibility of BCT events in which the BCT PAOs might need assistance in attracting an embedded reporter. Additionally, the meeting allowed the BCT PAOs an opportunity to talk about their experiences with recently embedded reporters. The CG also passed down any guidance for the BCT PAOs at this meeting.

This daily PAO synchronization provided a focus for the types of events to exploit with internal assets or embedded coverage. If it was an upcoming mission, the background details served to add context to the event when soliciting the interest of the Western media outlets. Knowledge of newsworthy events occurring in the operational environment coupled with vertical and lateral coordination was only possible because of the coordination between the public affairs representative and representatives of other agencies.

Keeping an open dialogue with the LNOs proved beneficial in acquiring specific details about an event or incident. The respective BCT LNO can clarify anything not already delineated in the CPOF summary. The LNO's direct line to the BCT staff facilitated getting accurate numbers for events.

A strong PAO-air liaison officer (ALO) relationship helped the ALO personnel understand the news cycle and how their initiative could help the PAO stay in front. The ALO personnel were vital in their assistance with acquiring weapon systems' video from fixed-wing engagements in support of ground troops and expediting the declassification of this video.

The PAO's relationship with the combat aviation brigade (CAB) LNO helped determine if weapon systems' video from an air weapons team engagement would be a part of telling a particular story. In some cases, the aircraft were still airborne at the time of the reported engagement. The CAB LNO's visibility on aircraft station times helped to determine if video from the engagement would be a part of initially telling the story to Western media outlets.

The contracted operator/analysts monitoring the unmanned aerial system (UAS) feeds across the division's operational area had visibility on many events in real time. This visibility has provided the PAO with another resource for telling the division's stories. There were many occasions in which an unmanned aerial vehicle was flying over an event and the outcome became a good news story. The UAS operators were able to capture still images and record video from the UAS imagery feeds. The most valuable capability PAO had in the DOC was the ability to declassify images and video in less than ten minutes. Because of the quick turnaround, UAS footage became the primary source for footage of many lethal engagements. The relationship worked so well that when there were key lethal engagements overnight, the operator/analysts would have a declassified copy ready for PAO first thing in the morning.

How do we get media interested in the story? There are good news events happening throughout the country, albeit at the local level. So what can increase the media's interest in a story? Imagery, either still or video.

In the case of the 3ID, PAOs used several tools to enhance a story-the unclassified storyboard, still and video imagery, designated speakers, and a media advisory. Upon identifying a good news event in the operational area, PAOs used the storyboard submitted to division by the BCT. Classified information was removed in order to incorporate the new declassified storyboard as part of the story package. In that situation, the BCT PAO ensured the individual .jpeg photos files were sent up as part of the press release. At the same time, the BCT PAO identified and prepared a subject matter expert interviewee about the event via telephone or Digital Video and Imagery Distribution System. While still imagery helped paint a picture of an event, quality video footage enhanced a story's appeal to a media outlet.

Over the course of the deployment, many lethal events involved UAS footage and/or weapon systems' video from the aircraft involved in the event. Before this footage was used for marketing the story, the classified information on the display had to be removed. The owning agency declassified video from fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft . The operator analysts in the DOC declassified footage from the UAS. These proved to be the quickest respondents in providing video footage for use with a story.

Ultimately, the command group needed to approve the footage, but the quick turnaround on UAS footage expedited that process. Whereas a rotary-wing asset would likely still be in the air several hours after the good news event took place, the UAS footage of the event was readily available for possible release as soon as several minutes after the UAS recorded the event. Rotary- and fixed-wing footage had to undergo a lengthier declassification process before it could be used with a story. The diagram on the following page outlines the process for acquiring approval to release video weapon systems' video or UAS footage.

In the end, when it came to story production, the DOC public affairs representative brought all the pieces of the puzzle together in order to provide a detailed story to the media. Serving as the conduit between the DOC and the media operations portion of public affairs, it was paramount for the PAO to know where to look for the story, to know the key points of contact within the DOC, and to quickly process any video imagery associated with the story. If packaged right, the true success was the story playing on the news.

Figure 2-3-1: Weapon systems' video approval process (a way)