Chapter 1 The Navy Journalist

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. 1-1 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