My boss listens to BBC’s daily podcast. I listen to BBC’s daily podcast.
My host nation counterpart prefers news company X, so I read company X. I also read the enemy’s preferred means of media.
The Commander follows these people on Twitter. So do I.
One of my journalism professors would always say, “If your mom says she loves you, verify.” While he was usually referring to verifying what our sources said when we were writing a story, the same goes for what we read and hear in the news. The first question I got in journalism school was what news sources do you read? The right answer was and is more than one source. Why? Because we need to verify what’s really happening, but we also need to be aware of what’s out there so we better know what our audiences think or believe, or so we can better understand our enemies in a time of war. That whole perception vs. reality thing.
There is a lot of fake news out there. As a PAO, you need to know what’s real and what’s not. You need to know what people think and believe. Know what’s happening so you can inform your boss and provide him or her with messaging options that are best for the current situation.
Find what works for you and your team. That might be podcasts, Twitter and/or reading a newspaper (you know, that thing that got left on your grandma’s doorstep). Know the information environment and what pertains to you and your job. Get smart and be the best at communicating.
My teams and I have group chats where we share relevant stories and social media posts. It’s one way of getting news. What is yours?
Photo by Mark Herlihy
