CHAPTER 1
THE NAVY JOURNALIST
To the young man or woman choosing a Navy career
field, whether for one enlistment or for 30 years, the
journalist rating offers endless avenues for an
imaginative, yet mature, thinker.
Many of the duties and responsibilities of the
journalist rank among Americans’ favorite hobbies and
pastimes, such as writing, broadcasting and
photography. The Navy journalist learns and practices a
distinguished profession and becomes an official
representative of the Navy in public affairs matters.
The first enlisted specialists to work full time in the
field of Navy journalism were Naval Reserve personnel
selected during the early years of World War II. They
were designated Specialist X (Naval Correspondents).
In 1948, under a major overhaul affecting almost every
enlisted rating, the journalist (JO) rating was
established.
MAJOR TASKS AND
RESPONSIBILITIES
LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Identify the major
tasks and responsibilities of the Navy
journalist, the personal traits required for one
to best perorm the duties of the rating, the
applicable NECs, and the purpose of the
JO 3 & 2 training manual (TRAMAN).
In our democratic society, government depends on
the consent of the governed. This important principle
means that, in the long run, the United States
government does only what the people want it to do.
Therefore, we can have a Navy only if the people know
and understand the importance of the Navy and support
i t .
The Navy, like the other services, depends on this
country’s citizens for the four key tools of its trade —
personnel, money, materials and the authority to carry
out its mission. As a Navy journalist, your main function
will be to make the facts about your Navy available to
the Navy’s three main publics — the people at your ship
or station, Navy people in general and the people of the
United States as a whole.
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Your CO is responsible for informing the Navy’s
publics. Your responsibility is to assist your command’s
public affairs officer (PAO) in accomplishing the
Navy’s and the command’s public affairs goals.
Some of the key assignments for Navy journalists
include the following:
Writing Navy news releases and feature articles
from personal interviews, examination of
messages or witnessing events
Taking and processing news photographss and
writing cutlines
Preparing material for commercial radio and
television use
Serving on the staff of an Armed Forces Radio
and Television Service (AFRTS) station or Navy
Broadcasting Service (NBS) detachment as an
interviewer or announcer (subject to the
requirements for voice quality, public speaking,
presence and sense of timing)
Preparing command histories and CO, XO and
C/MC biographies
Rewriting and localizing news releases received
from the Navy Internal Relations Activity
(NIRA) and other sources throughout the naval
establishment
Coordinating special events
Editing material and preparing copy, art and
layouts for the printing of Navy publications,
such as ship and station newspapers, command
information brochures, welcome aboard
brochures, cruisebooks and fact sheets
presentations on naval topics
Preparing material on individual Navy members
for release to the Navy’s Fleet Home Town News
Center
Preparing official correspondence and directives
and performing other administrative functions in
a public affairs office
Assisting in the preparation of speeches and other
