Serving Meat and Potatoes into the 21st Century: Fixing the Problem of the Marine Corps' Internal Information News Program
Abstract
Hope has long been a course of action relied upon by many Marine Corps public affairs officers (PAO) responsible for providing news and information to their local audiences via command newspapers. Base and station PAOs work diligently with their correspondents and editors to ensure that their local commander's message is placed in the right spot, in the right edition, and at the right time to reach specific audiences. However, once the paper hits the street, it is often anyone's guess as to whether or not the message was received and understood. Basically, PAOs just hope their limited audience picks up a copy of the paper, reads the commander's message, and spreads the news. Marine Corps-produced newspapers alone cannot meet the information needs of their intended audiences; therefore, reorganizing and refocusing certain public affairs resources must be done to effectively serve Marines, family members, civilian employees, and associated audiences. The public affairs study published in 2003 clearly articulates their audiences' shift in news gathering preferences. They want timely, comprehensive and customized news products. Newspapers nationwide have recognized the need to adapt and offer new choices to maintain old customers and attract new patrons. Unfortunately, a tired main entree of plain old meat and potatoes is still the weekly special being served to today's Marine Corps-wide news consumers. The public affairs study and this paper propose some alternatives and it's clear that without change the Marine Corps' audiences' information needs will not be met by installation newspapers alone.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA498294
Entities
People
- J. O. Caldwell
Organizations
- Marine Corps University