EIGHTH WESTERN RIVERS REGION PUBLIC AFFAIRS

ALWAYS REMEMBER TO WEAR YOUR UNIFORM
PROUDLY AND PROPERLY!

            HIGHLIGHTS TO ENLIGHTEN THE PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER

PARALLEL STAFF RESPONSIBILITIES:     The Public Affairs Officer will maintain close parallel staffing liaison with the flotilla, or division counterpart to insure a prompt flow of appropriate information among their respective
units.

CHAIN OF RESPONSIBILITY:    Protocol-All request the DSO-PA may wish to make of FSOs-PA and all helpful information the DSO-PA may be able to pass along, will be transmitted to the SO-PA for distribution to the
FSOs-PA. Any questions or suggestions FSOs-PA may have should be sent to the SO-PA.

COORDINATION OF EFFORT:    Close by and geographically overlapping flotillas and divisions may work together with the DSO-PA to reduce duplication of effort and possible alienation of news media through conflicting and duplicated material.

THE NEWS RELEASE:    An active unit should have at least one news release per month.

STRUCTURE OF A NEWS RELEASE:    The opening paragraph is the most important. It must capture the reader's interest enough to keep reading, not just scanning headlines. The three parts of a news release are: THE
LEAD-This is the famous five "W's: Who, What When, Where, Why and sometimes, How. The lead works hard,
compressing the highlights of the story into two or three sentences. THE ELABORATION-This puts flesh on the
skeleton, expanding the lead paragraph by filling out its statement of bare facts with pertinent details. The
elaboration should not exceed two paragraphs. THE CATCHALL-Points of minor interest or of an entertaining
nature may be used in this position. I might also include information about the purpose of the Coast Guard and the
Auxiliary and state where further information may be found.
The Public Affairs Officer is responsible only for the submission of the release and may not be held responsible
for rewrite by newspaper personnel.

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