CHAPTER 17 HOME TOWN NEWS Most  of  this  TRAMAN  covers  your  responsibilities associated with keeping the public informed about its Navy. This chapter progresses along the same lines but focuses on the methods you use to gather and release hometown news about the men and women of the U.S. Navy. Navy people, not unlike their civilian counterparts, have  a  desire  to  be  appreciated  —  to  have  their achievements  and  contributions  noticed  and  praised The Navy’s Fleet Home Town News Program provides the  most  effective  and  economical  means  for  you  to release   information   about   individual   sea   service members  to  their  hometown  news  media  (fig.  17-1). Your  participation  in  the  program  also  produces  the following ancillary benefits: Improved command retention Improved recruiting Navy-wide Increased   command   readiness   through   the recognition of its people Increased  public  awareness  of  the  sea  services through   news   stories   about   the   services’ education, training and operational missions Increased individual and unit morale The   Fleet   Home   Town   News   Program   is administered  by  the  Fleet  Home  Town  News  Center (FHTNC).  Further  information  about  the  FHTNC  and the Fleet Home Town News Program is provided in the following text. THE FLEET HOME TOWN NEWS  CENTER LEARNING   OBJECTIVE:   Identify   the responsibilities of the Fleet Home Town News Center  (FHTNC). Since  1945,  the  responsibility  for  processing  and distributing hometown news releases has rested with the FHTNC. Located at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, the Center is a field activity of CHINFO. In effect, it acts as a   clearinghouse   for   the   sea   services   by   editing, reproducing and mailing homeowners to the media in communities  throughout  the  United  States,  American Samoa, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. (In 1992, the Center stopped sending releases to the Republic of the Philippines upon the departure of U.S. forces.) Through   a   mutual   agreement   with   the Commandants  of  the  Marine  Corps  and  Coast  Guard, the instructions and policies of the FHTNC apply to all Marine   Corps   and   Coast   Guard   commands, organizations  and  activities  participating  in  the  Fleet Home Town News Program. You should keep in mind that the Fleet Home Town News Program is not optional for your command — it is required by  Instructions  and  Policy  Concerning  Fleet Home  Town  News  Program,  SECNAVINST  5724.3 series.  Make  sure  you  examine  this  instruction  in  its entirety. CLIENTS Hometown media are the “clients” of the FHTNC, including newspapers, radio and television stations and special   interest   publications.   They   neither   pay   for stories,  nor  are  they  obligated  to  use  the  material. However, since they must request the material in order to receive it, most of the clients do use it. NOTE: You may not mail hometown news material directly  to  the  media,  unless  interested  media  have specifically requested it. SECNAVINST 5724.3 series emphasizes   that   all   hometown   news,   other   than specifically authorized exceptions, must be forwarded via the FHTNC. The authorized exceptions are as follows: l l Material prepared by recruit training commands concerning   special   recruit   units   may   be forwarded directly to the activity for placement in local media, when requested by the recruiting activity  that  enlisted  the  unit. Hometown news material concerning a member of  a  command  whose  hometown  is  in  the immediate geographic area (generally within 50 miles) of the command may be placed directly with  local  media.  This  provision  also  may include   media   in   communities   where   the 17-1