In our office we have a whiteboard with the words, “Must Haves” written quickly across the top.
When we get close to an event the person responsible reviews the list in front of the rest of our crew. Here are the must haves and why-
Forever lines. Always, always give context. One way to be sure you give context is via your organization’s forever lines. “Mr. John Smith was killed while performing range control duties on a live fire range. John was participating in training with 1st Brigade. 1st Brigade trains for and is ready to deploy anywhere in the world. John was a key part in preparing 1st Brigade’s Soldiers for combat.” Context, give it out like free condoms at the health clinic.
5 Ws. I can’t tell you how many times we have had confusion over the exact location or time. If you’re dealing with operations forward, the location that your operations section reports may not be translatable to the public. Local time or Eastern? Local. The 5 Ws you put in language meant to be public has to be verifiable and understandable by the public and media. Google everything you know reporters are going to Google. Sort this out before sending the communication guidance.
Who else needs to know? Think through it. On any given communication venture many people need awareness. Remember John Smith? You probably need to involve/inform your communication counterparts at higher HQ, 2 or 3 levels up; the contracting company; the local police PIO; probably even the Army. Information travels fast and wide. This incident will hit the Army Media relations desk–given that, who needs to know? Don’t be afraid to reach beyond your immediate chain of command. Stretch. YOU are the PAO on the ground.
What else can we add? Here we are considering additional quotes, graphics, photos, video or comment. Is there a subject matter expert that can provide a sit down with the media? What about some photo from your unit’s archives? You might be able to show the ‘type’ of range that John was working on. What about a picture or B-roll of the Range Control building, or the type of targets that John was working on? Be clear about why you are adding these things. You will see these photos run on the local news, vice photos that the editor finds on Google image search, or his old B-roll where everyone is still wearing ACUs.
Must Haves have forced us to think all the way through an event from a public perspective. Try it at your place.
