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. P u b l i c A f f a i rs
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.
ESTABLISHING GOOD MEDIA
RELATIONS
Four key words should govern your relations with
representatives of the mass media. They are as follows:
security, honesty, accuracy and promptness.
Security
Make sure the information you release to the media
does not contain security violations. In addition to
getting yourself neck-deep in trouble, you may endanger
the welfare of your country. You should adopt this
slogan: “When in doubt, check it out.”
Honesty
Your good name is your most valuable asset. Justify
the media’s belief and trust in the Navy by playing the
news game honestly. Never fake a story or serve a selfish
interest. Do an honest, straightforward job of reporting
the news. Credit your source. Never plagiarize or use
copyrighted material without permission.
Accuracy
Every news release or statement released to the
media must be 100-percent accurate. Make one blunder
and the media will lose confidence in you. Be sure to
check and double-check all statements, names,
addresses, dates and numbers. Be sure your personal
opinions do not interfere with your media relations. Your
job is to tell the facts.
Promptness
A good Navy journalist aims for speed without
sacrificing accuracy. Reporters want their material
quickly, because competition is keen and the public
demands fresh news. As long as you can supply this
material the way they want it and in time to meet their
deadlines, you can expect cooperation.
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