TRANSFORMING INFORMAL REPORTS
Another reason for rewrite is to turn an informal
report, such as telephoned information, into a properly
written news story.
Cooperation between the JO in the office and the JO
on the scene is important to the Navy, especially during
times of fast-breaking news events, such as those
experienced during a major accident or a natural
disaster.
The initial release in these cases is generally
compiled by one person who receives reports
telephoned by reporters in the field. To make a single,
comprehensive release, the office-bound JO adds
background material available. in office files and
sometimes works with material brought back from
interviews by other public affairs personnel.
Other routine news stories are handled in much the
same fashion, without the hectic atmosphere and
pressure of disaster stories. For example, the
command’s MWR petty officer maybe the public affairs
office correspondent for athletic events. That does not
necessarily mean the correspondent brings a finished
story to the public affairs office, but rather, the
correspondent telephones a contact there and reports the
details of some sports event, and the JO turns that report
into a professional release for local media and the
command newspaper.
with that in the general release — playing up the local
aspect — and you will have a story of interest to local
LOCALIZING
Public affairs offices receive news from a variety of
people and places. News releases from the DoD, DON,
weapons manufacturers, shipyards, aircraft manu-
facturers and other outlets provide good sources for
outside news. However, this news is usually broad in
scope and slanted toward a general market. Therefore,
it will require a certain degree of refinement and
localization to meet the needs of your local readership.
When these releases are rewritten, the local angle
should be introduced in the lead and the more general
aspects minimized. For example, suppose you are
attached to a naval air station and receive a handout from
an aircraft manufacturer stating that a new type of
aircraft is in production and will soon be made available
to the Navy. The release contains a wealth of
unclassified information about the plane and its
potentialities.
A little research on your part uncovers the fact that
an aircraft squadron at your command will be one of the
first squadrons in the Navy to receive and operate the
new planes. You can now combine your information
readers.
COMBINING STORIES
In the case of combining stories, the rewriter often
puts two or more stories together to make one. The
combination generally results in a roundup story with
the first paragraph carrying a combination lead to
emphasize various news developments.
An example might be a combination of the
following stories:
A story is carried in the local paper about a
hurricane that struck the area.
A news release is issued by a nearby naval
command citing several men assigned to that
activity who aided victims of the disaster.
Both of these stories, wrapped up with a fresh
release about awards for heroism presented to Navy
personnel by the mayor of the nearby town, nets the
rewriter a multi-interest, highly readable story.
SHIFTING EMPHASIS
In Navy public affairs, it is standard policy to release
the same story at the same time to all media. However,
you will get better media mileage if you rewrite the same
release several times to meet the needs of different
media.
Suppose you wanted to get a certain story published
in a variety of publications, such as the local papers,
Navy Times, Naval Aviation News, one or more of the
trade publications and several individuals’ hometown
newspapers. In addition, you think the story is worthy
of airtime on radio and television.
Under normal circumstances, you cannot take the
time to rewrite the same story several different ways and
slant it to the particular needs of different media. Yet
there are occasions when this is necessary, if you want
to obtain maximum coverage for a special type of story.
When this is the case, you will have to keep rewriting
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