Community Relations and the US Army

8/12/2019 Community Relations and the US Army

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COMMUNITY RELATIONS AND THE U.S. ARMY

By

Paul R. Hayes

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Arts in

Public Relations

Iona College

New Rochelle, NY

December 2007

APPROVED:

______________________________________Project Advisor

______________________________________

Program Director

DATE :________________________________


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Community Relations 3

I - Sample Installation Community Relations Program...81


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Part I - Introduction

Background

Environmentalists fight Army expansion. The U.S. Army is at odds with environmentalists and

ranchers over a plan to more than double its Pinon Canyon, Colo., site to 635,000 acres (UPI, 2007).

Fort Meade Expansion

Ignites Fears. 5400 new

workers will clog roads and

crowd schools residents say

(Washington Post, 2006).

These headlines could be a

nightmare for any Army public affairs officer. When communities unite against their local installations,

media coverage such as the above and public protests may soon follow. How does the Army, PAOs, and

installation commanders not only accomplish their goals, but maintain a strong positive relationship with

surrounding communities? The answer, in short, is successful community relations practices.

In the recent past, the Army has had numerous communications challenges with communities

neighboring their installations. Some of the more contentious issues were:

2006: Fort Carson announces plan to expand its Pinion Canyon Maneuver Area by some 635,000

acres. The plan would impact some 40,000 persons and over 500 farms and ranches. Community

opposition is strong and has spawned websites (www.pinoncanyon.com), physical and online protest

videos, and numerous unflattering articles accusing the post of neglecting its neighbors, strong-arming

land-owners, and gobbling-upun-needed land (PCEOC, 2007).

2005: Army announces in Base Realignment and Closure Commission report that it plans to

relocate over 20,000 workers to Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County Virginia. Community leaders and

neighbors of Fort Belvoir clamor that county roads and infrastructure cannot support the influx of new

Colorado Springs Action Allicance protests Pinion Canyon expansion. Photo from CSAwebsite - http://www.csaction.org/.
http://www.pinoncanyon.com/http://www.csaction.org/http://www.csaction.org/http://www.csaction.org/http://www.csaction.org/http://www.pinoncanyon.com/


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commuters. As a result, the Army is required to negotiate with the county to reduce the number of

personnel to be transferred (McCouch 2007).

2006: Environmentalists use Federal Court ruling to block entry

of Stryker Brigade into the state of Hawaii. Community and

environmental activists claim the Brigades vehicles will cause

unnecessary environmental impact on the islands ecosystem and should be

stationed somewhere else. The Army is forced to re-submit environmental

impact statement and the issue is still unresolved (Hoover, 2007).

2007: Protesters sue in federal court to obtain entry onto the U.S.

Military Academy at West Point. The Democratic Alliance of Orange

County sought permission to protest the graduation address of Vice

President Cheney. Although denied their request, some 500 protestors and

counter-protestors picketed outside the posts gates during graduation

exercises (Doherty, 2007).

Despite such public demonstrations, objections, and protests, Army

Public Affairs Officers do their best to rapidly get out the facts and tell the

Armys side of the story. This project will attempt to identify best practices from industry and the Army

that will assist Public Affairs professionals in countering the effects of such events.

Purpose of the Study

From 1947 to 1977, the General Electric Company (GE) discharged as much as 1.3 million

pounds of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from its Hudson Falls and Fort Edward facilities into the

Hudson River. Since 1976, high levels of PCBs in fish have led New York State to close various

recreational and commercial fisheries and to issue advisories restricting the consumption of fish caught in

the Hudson River (EPA, 2007). The communities of the upper Hudson River to this day continue to view

GE and its representatives as an enemy. According to one GE executive, this community relations

Protesters and police meet outsidethe gates of West Point. Times

Herald Record, 27 May 2007

Michele Haskell

Stryker Protest, Honolulu Star

Bulletin, Craig Kojima Photo


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problem is still being cleaned up today among the

communities that neighbor the Hudson River (Sharon, 2007).

More and more companies are recognizing the

importance of community relations. Major corporations such

as John Deere and Toyota spend millions in donations, salaries,

and programs to maintain their reputations in their local

communities (Dillon and Salley, 2007). Subtracting the

monetary spending, does this effort translate to the government sector? In particular, what efforts does

the U.S. Army take towards building and maintaining community relations with the cities and towns that

border its installations?

The purpose of this study is to (a) examine how the U.S. Army as a whole conducts community

relations, (b) identify organizational structures and personnel at Department of Army level in place to

conduct community relations, (c) identify how Army installation Public Affairs Officers conduct

community relations at a lower level and how they utilize the press and other programs to communicate

with their local communities, (d) identify how the Armys community relations practices stack up against

industry leaders in community relations, and (e) identify what lessons can be learned from industry

leaders and can they be applied by Army Public Affairs practitioners.

Key Terms

CONUS: Continental United States.

CRD: U.S. Army Community Relations Division. This division falls under the Chief, Office of the

Chief of Public Affairs. This division plan and conducts marketing for the Army, community relations

and outreach activities with key audiences, and specialized executive communications programs.

Doctrine: Doctrine are the approved set of texts, rules, regulations, and training manuals that dictate how

the Army does business in a given area. Army Public Affairs doctrine specifies how PAOs are trained

and should conduct public affairs activities.

The GE Hudson Falls Plant discharged PCBs into

the Hudson River (Photo from EPA)


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Embedding: A program by which a reporter is placed with a unit for the purpose of covering their

activities. The reporter eats, sleeps, works, and travels with the unit wherever it goes. A journalist

embedded with a unit is called an embed.

Installation: An installation is an U.S. Army fixed and self-contained community. These are comprised

of camps, forts, barracks, depots, arsenals, and proving grounds. Multiple units (division, brigade) or

activities (finance center, safety center) may reside on the post as well as personnel housing.

Installation Public Affairs Officer: This person (may be either Department of Army civilian or officer)

is responsible for planning, executing, and assessing public affairs for the entire installation.

OPSEC: Operational Security. Information, briefings, documents are classified based on OPSEC.

Secret documents or briefings may only be accessed by those with a secret clearance.

PAG: Public Affairs Guidance. Official Army position on a given subject. Usually, the Army publishes

PAG when it expects a query on that subject (treatment of patients at Walter Reed Hospital etc.).

PAO: Public Affairs Officer. U.S. Army term for officer assigned to perform functions of command

information (internal communications), media relations, and community relations.

Satellite Installation: An installation geographically separated from corporate headquarters. In the case

of the U.S. Army, all installations located away from the Pentagon would be satellite installations. For

Deere and Company, a satellite installation would be any factory or corporate function located outside

Moline, Illinois.

SME: Subject matter expert. For example, if media have a question about environmental compliance on

an installation, a PAO will likely contact the post environmental compliance officer to answer questions

as the SME.


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Part II - Literature Review

Like any research project inside or outside of the Army, it is essential to peruse important

literature on the subject. In this project, academic journals, professional journals, and textbooks were

reviewed prior to conducting interviews or writing surveys to add scope and background to the problem.

While not a comprehensive list of all community relations literature, the following list of helpful articles

went the farthest to put the entire project into perspective. These articles not only assisted in this project,

but could also become recommended reading for Army Public Relations professionals seeking a deeper

understanding of community relations.

The first group of literature pertained to handling activist organizations within local communities.

Strategic Use of the Media in Successful Community Activism: Case of Concerned Neighbors in Action is

an example which stresses the importance of utilizing the media in creative and strategic methods when

you dont have a huge public relations staff available for community relations. This work is of critical

relevance to Army Public Affairs Officers who usually have one person to assign to community relations

projects. Additionally, the article provides the perspective of the community activistthe group usually

opposing Army installations and their policies (Simmons, 2003). Another example of dealing with local

activists is found in Succeeding When Environmental Groups Oppose You (Bodensteiner, 2003). This

article serves as an important primer for Army Public Affairs officers on how activists environmental or

otherwiseoperate. The author argues it is of benefit to engage activists in an ongoing manner and

bring them to the table as opposed to ignoring them out of hand.

The second grouping of literature deals with measuring feedback within local communities.

Public affairs officers have limited resources with regards to measuring opinion within their local

communities. These works provide insight on how this might be accomplished. Feedback in Community

and Government Relationshighlights the importance of soliciting and measuring feedback within

communities to accurately adjust community relations programs. The author provides numerous

examples of how to accomplish this and ways to improve positive sentiment without simply throwing


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money at the community (Braman, 1980). The next work of use to Army PAOs is Corporate

Philanthropy and Corporate Community Relations: Measuring Relationship-Building Results (Hall,

2006). This study investigates the impact of corporate philanthropy and community relations programs

on the relationship between a company and its customers. Most importantly it demonstrates how this

relationship can be measured. For the Army, this study is important evidence that the more its neighbors

know about its interest and activities within the community, the stronger the relationship with its

neighbors will be.

The final grouping of literature includes several detailed case studies. One of the advantages of

case studies is the amount of detail provided on a given subject. These community relations case studies

provide important lessons for the Armys PAOs on community relations. Community Relations: How an

Entire Industry Can Change its Image Through Proactive Local Communications (Smith, 2003) examines

how an intrusive industry (construction firm) changed its behaviors to nurture good relations with its

neighboring communities. The paper also outlines a number of best practices or tools that are essential

for good community relations. Another detailed case study is What Policy Makers Can Learn from

Public Relations Practitioners: The Siting of a Low-Level Radioactive Waste Facility in Cortland County,

New York (Coleman, 1989). Army installation commanders often find themselves within a firestorm of

public criticism over a number of issues. This case study is an excellent example of how to improperly

address community concerns and the ramifications of distancing corporate policy makers from trained

public relations professionals. Community Relations and Risk Communication: A Longitudinal Study of

the Impact of Emergency Response Messagesis another study which proposes that there is significant

benefit for corporations to inform neighboring communities of what to do in case of a disaster at their

neighboring manufacturing plant (Heath and Palenchar, 2000). This study is of relevance to Army

installations as they too have serious risk communications concerns (terror, hazardous waste) which

should be shared with local communities. The final community relations case study isDefining Publics

in Public Relations: The Case of a Suburban Hospital. This work by one of the most respected Public


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Relations scholars defines in detail the process by which publics are defined (Grunig, 1978). The author

uses research to argue that focused research is the best method to determine a corporations key publics

not common sense. This study is also a valuable source of research techniques which may be used by

Army Public Affairs professionals.


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Part III - Research Methodology

Research Questi ons

Prior to initiating research, several research questions were developed to help define the scope of

this project. The primary research questions to be answered were:

1. How do successful corporations conduct community and media relations at satellite

installations?

2. How successful is the Army in conducting media / community relations?

Other supporting research questions were:

1. What are the demographics of Army installations within the Continental United States

(CONUS)?

2. What scholarly literature has been written on building and sustaining a successful community

relations program?

3. How is the Army organized to execute community relations programs?

4. How do local media covering army installations characterize their relationships with their

installation public affairs office?

5. How do installation PAOs view their neighboring media?

6. What is the tone of media coverage for selected army installations?

7. How do media and PAOs routinely communicate with each other?

8. How often do media and their PAOs communicate with each other?

9. How do communities view their neighboring installation?

10. What do major corporations view as best practices in community relations?

Research M ethods

To answer the research questions, various methods of research were used. Research consisted of

both qualitative (interviews) and quantitative (survey) methods. Additionally, review of demographic


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2. Installation community relations representative (if available or named), e-mail, and phone

number.

As a result, a population of 81 public affairs officers was identified for use in surveys at a later

time.

The final step in initial research was to identify the weekly and daily newspapers that covered the

Army installations. Using the internet search engineNews Voyager and Cision (formerly Bacons), a list

of papers for each community neighboring the installations was developed. Next, reporters who routinely

covered the installation were identified. To accomplish this task, an archival search for each newspaper

was performed. Searches were conducted on each papers website to identify articles written about the

installation and who had written them. In some cases, multiple writers covered the installations. In other

cases, the articles were unattributed. In a few cases, there was a dedicated installation beat reporter.

As result, if a reporter had written an article in the past year about the installation he was included in the

master database. A final population of 90 reporters was identified for use in later surveys.

Surveys:

Once the installation database was organized and e-mal addresses for the sample population were

obtained, the process of surveying began. The two surveys undertaken for this project were descriptive in

nature. According to Wimmer and Dominick inMass Media Research, descriptive surveys, attempt to

describe or document current conditions or attitudesthat is, to explain what exists at the moment (179) .

For this project, the descriptive purpose of the survey was to identify how the Army interacts with its

neighbors and local communities. To answer this question, a survey was designed to provide answers to

the following research questions:




4. What is the relationship between PAOs and their local media?
http://www.newsvoyager.com/newspaperlist.cfmhttp://www.newsvoyager.com/newspaperlist.cfm


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6. What do Army installation PAOs view as best practices in community and media relations?

With the assistance of two former installation PAOs and current Army Public Affairs doctrine (all

field manuals, regulations, and government texts pertaining to public affairs), a 14-question survey was

designed and refined. (Appendix A.) The survey was broken into two parts. The first section asked

questions that attempted to identify the PAOs relationship with local media and the type of coverage the

installation received. The second section asked the PAO to gauge the installations relationship with its

surrounding communities. Both sections utilized multiple choice, open ended, and ranking type questions.

Of these 81 invitees, 45 invitees completed the survey (56% response rate). All surveys were

taken and compiled using Survey Monkey (www.surveymonkey.com)

The second survey created was also descriptive. The media survey (Appendix B) was created

with the assistance of a local beat reporter who covered an Army Installation. This survey attempted to

identify media views of their neighboring installations. How well did the media get along with their

local PAO? What was the medias view of the installations relationship with the local communities?

The media population was initially sent an e-mail invitation (Appendix F) to participate in the survey over

a two-week period. Based on a low initial response rate (3 of 90), a reminder e-mail was sent to all

invitees asking them to complete the survey. After only two additional responses, a final reminder was

sent asking for participation. Respondents were also asked to provide a reason if they could not

participate. In the end, only 5 of 90 (5.5%) media invitees completed the survey.

Interviews:

One of the advantages of an intensive interview is that it can provide a wealth of detailed

information that allow the respondent to elaborate on their opinions, values, motivations, recollections,

experiences, and feelings (Wimmer and Dominick, 135). As a result, intensive interviews were selected

as the method for helping to answer the following research questions:


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6. Of the media outlets available in your local community (broadcast, web, print), which do you

feel are the most valuable in communicating with key local audiences?

Of the three companies contacted, interviews were confirmed and conducted with Toyota and

Deere and Company. Coordination with GE required 14 phone calls and 9 e-mails between 30 March and

11 June 2007. After all coordination, and a verbal promise of an interview, my request was finally

handled by GEs New York director of military recruiting. In the end, GE refused to honor the interview

request as they believed the study was an attempt at a job interviewnot legitimate research (Sharon,

2007). Interviews were conducted at the Moline, IL headquarters for Deere and Company and the TMMI

plant in Princeton, Indiana for Toyota. Traveling to the company headquarters was preferable as

additional supporting interviews could be conducted with local directors of chambers of commerce and

media if available. Questions for these individuals would hope to answer the following questions:

1. What makes (insert company name) a good neighbor in your community?

2. What would you say (company) stands for?

3. What types of things does (company) do within the community that you wish other

companies would emulate?

In addition to the interviews of corporate communications professionals, select interviews were

also conducted with critical Army personnel serving in community relations positions. Interviews were

conducted in New York City with the ArmysNew York Outreach office and its staff. Additionally, an

interview was conduct with the head of Army Community Relations at the Pentagon.


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Executive Communications Team

- Media training for GOs and SES- Holiday and special event speechwriting

- Worldwide Public Affairs Symposium

- GO speakers bureau

Community Relations Team

- Joint Civilian OrientationConference- Joint Service Open House

- Public Service Recognition Week

- Interservice ComRel Liaison

- Aerial Requests

- Non-aerial Requests

Marketing Team- Outreach Council

- Golden Knights Liaison

- The U.S. Army Field Band

- Commemorations

- The U.S. Army All-American BowlOCPA Liaison

- USO Liaison- CFSC and Army Entertainment

Liaison

- Sports Outreach- Outreach Web site/ Calendar

- Soldier of the Year/NCO of the

Year

- Accessions Command Liaison

Community Relations Division 22 personnelPentagon

OCPA-NY

- Outreach in NYC metro area

- Outreach in Northeast- Book and publications lead

OCPA-LA

- Outreach in Los Angeles

- Movie industry lead

OCPA-SE

- Outreach in FL, GA and PR- Based in Tampa

OCPA-MW

- Outreach in ND,SD, NE, KS, MN, IA,

MO, IL, WI, MI, IN,

OH

- Based in Chicago

None available or published

Mission

Authority and Communications

functional and project

project only

distributed communications

(e-mail, telephone, VTC)

Core Functions

None available or published

Installation PAOs (x 61)

-1 5 persons

-Responsible for Community relations,Command information, media relations at each

installation

--Reports directly to Installation Commander

Part IV - Findings and Analysis

How is Army Communi ty Relati ons Organized?

One of the most critical research questions of this project was to determine how the Army

currently is organized to conduct community relations. Using interviews and the U.S. Army Community

Relations (COMREL) Divisions own documents, it was determined that community relations within the

Army is challenged by both the scope of its mission and its own organizational structure.

The mission and core functions of the Community Relations Division (CRD) are not officially

stated on any of their websites or communications. From reviewing their contact list and lessons gained

in interviewing one of their subordinate divisions, a proposed mission that covers their activities is:

Community Relations Division plans and conducts marketing for the Army,

community relations and outreach activities with key audiences, and specialized

executive communications programs.

To accomplish these activities,

CRD is organized into seven teams

consisting of 22 personnel stationed

across the United States. As

opposed to the project oriented

organizations of Armys Media

Relations and Plans Divisions, CRD

is functionally organized. The

Marketing Team handles

appearances by high-profile Army

units (Golden Knights, Old Guard

Drill Team) at sporting events and coordinates annual all-Army outreach events such as Army Birthday

and Soldier of the Year. Additionally, each of the Armys 61 forts, arsenals, and barracks nationwide has

public affairs offices (3-5 Army civilian employees) which handle community relations for its respective

OPCA Communit Relations Division


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Communications Within OCPA

Push vs Pull

PushPush PullPull

Daily Stand-to

Annual World Wide Public Affairs

Seminar

Messages to the force via e-mail

Weekly balcony brief

Daily Stand-to

Annual World Wide Public Affairs

Seminar

Messages to the force via e-mail

Weekly balcony brief

Earlybird

AKO resources:

Data depot

Notes from the Blogosphere

PA homepagePAG

Division AKO pages

Editorial Roundup

File sharing directories

Individual unit PAO pages

Requests for information to each

division

Earlybird

AKO resources:

Data depot

Notes from the Blogosphere

PA homepagePAG

Division AKO pages

Editorial Roundup

File sharing directories

Individual unit PAO pages

Requests for information to each

division

can be a tall organization. Working directly for the director is a deputy. This deputy normally reviews

initiatives from each team prior to the director making a decision. Additionally, each of the Divisions

teams is organized in a similar manner. Further lengthening the organization are the installation

commanders and their staffs who can serve as buffers between a CRD initiative and the installation public

affairs officer. As a result, CRD is really an example of a tall organization.

The impact of this structure is seen in several examples. The first example is the issuing of

community relations or public affairs guidance (PAG). The function of PAG is to create standard

messages, talking points, and clarify official positions of the Army on a given issue. One example might

be guidance on setting up media days in local communities. Once a staffer in the division has created the

PAG for the issue, it must be approved by his division chief, passed higher through the Office Chief

Public Affairs (OCPA) deputy chiefs and usually returned for changes. Once changes are complete, it is

forwarded again to the OCPA where it is eventually approved and signed by the general in charge of

Army Public affairs. Only then can it be distributed to the force via electronic means. This process is not

timely and can result in delays in providing official Army positions on critical community relations

issues. Both the Community Relations Division and OCPA have developed methods to help speed this

process using websites and discussion boards.

Communications within the organizationvariety of methods

Communications within CRD and its subordinates

is accomplished by multiple methods. The easiest

way to describe these methods is by using the terms

push and pull. Pushing information to the force

occurs when guidance is sent unprompted to

members of the Public Affairs Community. One

example of pushed communication would be the


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daily Stand-to. Stand-to subscribers receive a one page update on communication themes and messages

focus for the day. Additionally, the update includes key articles and links to communications relating to

the Army. Another method of pushing information to the force is the use of e-mails from COL McCouch.

This occurs only when the issue is of such great importance that it warrants mass distribution. This

method was used prior to the launch of the Army Strong campaign. The Annual Public Affairs

Conference is also used to push community relations information to the force, but is usually sparsely

attended by those outside the Washington D.C. area. The final method of pushing information to the

force is the weekly balcony brief. The balcony brief is chaired by General Cucolo and attended by all

the division chiefs within OCPA. This meeting is used to synchronize messaging, coordinate projects

across all divisions, and publish weekly guidance. Members of the Community Relations Division such

as OCPANY receive the minutes from these meetings electronically.

The other way of distributing

information to the force is

through pull methods.

These methods work much

like a grocery store. Any

public affairs officer working

on a community relations

project can access the CRDs

website. This website

provides access to CRD

products event information,

community relations guidance, and contact information. Another pull method is the community

relations file sharing directory. Located within the AKO (Army Knowledge Online) community pages,

this directory allows PAOs to access presentations and information packets created by other community

Communit Relations Divisions Website


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relations officers. The final method of pulling information would be to contact the person directly who

created the community relations project or activity. An example of this was when I created my directory

of installation community relations officers. Names and contact information were found in the

Worldwide PAO Directory which allowed me to contact each PAO directly.

In all, The Armys Community Relations Division is organized mostly around functions. While

this organization is helpful when it comes to designing and completing projects, it is not manned or

organized to ensure they are accomplished at the lowest level (installations). For an Army community

relations initiative to be successful, it falls mostly on the shoulders of the individual installation Public

Affairs Officer to pull the correct information and ensure it is accomplished to standard.


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What Army PAOs Have to Say Survey Resul ts

For this project, the descriptive purpose of the PAO survey was to identify how the Army

interacts with its neighbors and local communities. To answer this question, the PAO survey was

designed to provide answers to the following research questions:




4. What is the relationship between PAOs and their local media?


6. What do Army installation PAOs view as best practices in community and media relations?

Survey Summary

The installation PAO survey provided a variety of insights into how they conduct media and

community relations. They survey overall indicates a number of conclusions in these two areas.

Media Relations: Most PAOs utilize a wide variety of methods to engage local media in

their surrounding communities. The results also suggest that relations between the PAOs

and their local media are good with nearly all stating their coverage as objective or

overly supportive. Perhaps this quality relationship is due in part to 88% of PAOs

indicating they engage each of their local media on a weekly or daily basis. Finally,

PAOs utilize a number of current media relations practices that are also recommended by

industry practitioners and public relations texts.

Community Relations: Overall, PAOs characterize the relations between installations

and their surrounding communities as good with nearly all (96%) describing the

relationship as excellent or satisfactory. In addition to this positive relationship with

their local communities, PAOs expressed that maintaining and promoting this

relationship is absolutely critical to the Armys success. The PAOs recommend utilizing


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Method of Contact

Phone, 59.52%E-mail, 23.81%

Personal visit,

4.76%

Other , 11.90%

Phone

E-mail

Personal visit

Other

a number of programs suggested by Army doctrine and regulations. In addition to these

programs, however, PAOs are creating and executing imaginative engagement activities

that suggest a proactive approach to community engagement.

In all, installation PAOs across the Army feel they have met with success in media and

community relations. These PA professionals indicate that hard work, personal interaction, and quality

programs are critical to these successes.

I ndividual Question Analysis

Question 1What is the primary method of contact between yourself and your local media?

This question was utilized to gauge how PAOs communicate with their local media. Current

Army public affairs doctrine recognizes the importance of utilizing many forms of communication with

local media. But with the recent explosion in electronic media, what is the installation PAOs preferred

method?

Of the PAOs surveyed, the majority

prefer to contact local media by phone.

E-mail remained the second preference

while making a personal visit to the

media was the least favored option.

The Other that made up 11 percent

of the responses collectively agreed that the primary method should include a combination of two of the

choices. One respondent highlighted this belief by stating, Phone and email weigh the same. We always

follow up with one or the other.

Question 2. How often do you talk to your local media?

Current Army Public Affairs doctrine does not address the frequency by which PAOs should

conduct routine media calls. Additionally, Army doctrine does not discuss the importance of building


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Inteaction With Media

Daily

49%

Weekly

39%

Annually

0%

Never

0%Other

5%

Monthly

7% Daily

Weekly

Monthly

Annually

Never

Other

strong relationships with the press. In their book Guide to Media Relations, Irv Schenker and Tony

Herrling suggest routine calls are critical to establishing relationships with local reporters. These

relationships, they state, are absolutely necessary and an investment.

Once you have made the introductions, you need to keep in touch with this

audience. Create occasions for interaction. But keep these kinds of events low-

key, non-pitch events. Laying a solid foundation with the press corps that covers

your organization ideally allows you to build trust and goodwill among reporters

with whom you interact (Schenkler and Herrling, 2004).

While the Army doesnt highlight

the importance of routine

communication with the media, most

PAOs acknowledge (88%) that they

communicate with their local media

on a regular (daily or weekly) basis.

Those selecting other did so to

point out they talk to the media twice a week.

Question 3. How would you describe the access you normally grant local media to units,

commanders, or subject matter experts (SME) on your installation?

This question was selected to help answer how much access to the installation and its units is

given to the local media. The Army has long recognized the importance of providing access to media to

accomplish the following information objectives:

Ensuring an understanding of the role of America's Armed Forces in American society.

Ensuring an accurate perception of the particular military situation or mission.


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Access Granted to Local Media

Controlled

76%

Other

7%

Unrestricted0%

Closed

0%Restricted

17%

Unrestricted

ControlledRestricted

Closed

Other

Ensuring an understanding of individual and unit roles in mission accomplishment.

Establishing confidence in America's Army to accomplish the assigned mission in accordance

with our national values.

Establishing confidence in and support for American soldiers (U.S. Army, 2000).

But how much access should be given and how is it measured? Should media be allowed to

wander unaccompanied on an installation? Should reporters have minders at their side when interviewing

troops? The survey presented this question to installation PAOs by asking what type of access they

granted local media. Their choices were:

Unrestrictedlocal media are cleared by phone or e-mail and allowed un-escorted access to the

commander, unit, or SME to whom theyd like to speak.

ControlledLocal media request a meeting with a specific unit or commander, and the PAO sets

up the meeting and escorts the media during the process.

RestrictedLocal media requests a meeting with a specific unit or commander, the PAO selects

an appropriate unit for the media to speak to, and he escorts them to the meeting.

ClosedAccess to units, commanders, training, and SMEs are normally denied due to security,

OPSEC, or other reasons.

Results of the survey revealed that a large majority of PAOs practice controlled access for press.

Restricting access of the local

media ranked second with no

PAOs using either closed or

unrestricted practices. Those that

selected other stated their

approaches fell equally in the

controlled and restricted categories.


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Finally, of note was one respondent who felt a combination of methods and flexibility was required to

accomplish the Armys goals of media access.

There is no cookie cutterapproach that works in each situation. Depending

on the news angle/story line, any, all or a combination of the approaches may be

used to achieve the desired effect.

Question 4. What methods of disseminating information to the local media are most useful when

getting a story out about an event or topic on your installation?

When Army public affairs professionals set out to accomplish strategic communications for their

commanders, they do so in a complex environment. The Army recognizes that a proliferation of

personal computers, the World Wide Web, the Internet, online services, fax machines, E-mail, cable

television, direct broadcast, satellites, copy machines, cellular and wireless communication and many

other information technologies have created an endless stream of data and information that flow into a

world filled with images, symbols, words, and sounds (Army, 4-2). How do installation PAOs manage

these channels to ensure their messages get out? Are methods such as press releases viable? Or do

installations need to monitor and disseminate information on blogs and specialized websites? PAOs were

asked to judge the usefulness of the following seven information distribution methods:

Direct phone calls or meeting with local media

Press release to local media

Setting up interviews with unit personnel, commanders, subject matter experts

Post newspaper

Official installation or unit website

Unit or soldier blog

Leaks


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Board of Visitors meetings. These periodic briefings by installation leadership to

local leaders are open to the public and media. However, specifically inviting the media

is useful and demonstrates trust and encourages a working relationship.

Media Advisories. These are much more efficient in getting coverage of post

messages and/or stories. Advisories are brief, giving just enough information to entice

media to do their own story.

Periodic media operations. These can include meetings with incoming and

outgoing commanders, media tours, morale calls, media leader luncheons which all

promote and enhance personal relationships.

Build a customer base for the PAO website. Once local media realize the PAO

website is an accurate and timely source of information, they get accurate facts more

quickly.

Question 5. What is your perception of the coverage your installation receives from local media?

Within their communities, PAOs recognize the importance of monitoring local press for coverage

of their installation. Part of the mission of PAOs is to recognize that, the vast majority of both civilian

and military media representatives are committed to providing responsible, accurate, balanced coverage,

of military operations. Regardless of this mission, do PAOs feel their installations are being covered

fairly? Are media outlets providing credible presentation, or are they overly negative/positive?

Installation PAOs were asked to gauge the coverage of their installation by local media by labeling the

coverage as:

Objectivelocal media provide coverage that is fair. They report equally on good and

bad events and can be counted on to research their stories prior to going to print.

Overly supportive - Local media are more cheerleaders than objective reporters. They

cover the installation in a positive light only and could be more critical at times.


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Type of Coverage

Overly supportive

16%

Overly critic al

5%

Tabloid

7%

Other

2%

Objective

70%

Objective

Overly supportiveOverly critical

Tabloid

Other

Overly critical - Local media report only on the bad events that happen on post. While

these stories are usually well researched and investigated, they paint a picture that only

negative things happen here.

Tabloid - The local media rarely research the stories they print. They rush to print stories

they view as scandalous that serve to build an us versus them mentality in the local

community.

Seventy percent of the respondents

noted that the coverage of their

installation was objective. Add to this

another 16% who deemed their

coverage as overly supportive and

some 86% of all installations are

getting positive coverage in their local papers. Worth noting, however, 13% of those surveyed believed

their local papers covered the installation in a tabloid or overly critical manner. When asked to clarify

this negative coverage, some respondents noted coverage that was, Regrettable, sensational, semi-factual

or less than fair.

Of all responses, however, one PAO distinguished between the coverage of weeklies and major

daily publications. Their premise highlights a growing concern among public relations professionals of

the difficulty in managing media who, ..are increasingly and uncritically publishing and broadcasting

information from individuals who fail to have credentials, who are self-anointed or self-appointed, and

who have done virtually nothing to authenticate the information they convey(Lukaszewski, 2007) . The

PAO lamented,

The dailies (Washington Post, Examinar (sic) Times) are objective and seek to

provide balanced coverage. The weeklies routinely serve as a mouth piece for

county supervisors who have an agenda to promote without regard to the facts.


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Weekly papers often run items regarding the installation without seeking comment

from the installation.

Question 6. What are the ethical practices of the local media covering your installation?

This question also attempts to identify the level of credibility between the PAO and their local

media. Do they trust their servicing media? When the PAO gives a quote or responds to query, are their

responses accurately represented in the media outlet?

The Army and industry both agree that mutual trust and credibility between media and public

relations professionals are essential. One media relations specialist stated, credibility is your ultimate

productshould your reputation for credibility ever be damaged, should you be caught in a lie, youll be

a long time repairing the damage (Schenkler and Herrling) . Similarly, if a PAO believes his / her local

media is not trustworthy, they might be less inclined to get accurate coverage of stories and messages.

In this survey, PAOs were given four choices to explain how they viewed their local media.

Their choices were:

Has your local media ever:

Lied to you. Told you something that was not true

Withheld information they eventually printed in a story that painted the installation or a unit in a

negative light?

Deceived you. Did not lie, but did not provide full information that eventually led to a crisis.

None of the above apply. All my dealings with the local media have been honest and truthful.


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How Are You Treated By the Local Media?

Respected

90%

Other

10%

Feared /avoided

0%

Ignored

0%

By far, the vast majority of those

responding noted they believed they

were respected by the local press.

None of those responding felt they

were ignored or feared / avoided by the

local media. However, 10% of those

responding noted other as their

treatment. Those who responded with other noted a variation in treatment which included:

Respected if they understand our position and mission but reporters who do not work with us on

a continuous basis get frustrated with us because they do not have unrestricted access.

Missing category: gatekeeper. Every gate entering post says that the post PAO is the person a

journalist must come through to conduct newsgathering on post. That role is established in AR

360-1. The local media understood that role and followed our ground rules, because they knew

we could limit the access they needed to do their jobs. We returned that respect for their

adherence our guidelines by not being jerks about it and granting frequent access to post in almost

all circumstances.

Almost impossible to answer. Our local print media is a sensationalist tabliod. Our local TV

and radio stations, however, are very fair. National and international media have great

professional relationships with our office.

Depends on the reporter. Some treat me respectably, some ignore me, and some act as though

I'm bothering them or hampering them.

Question 8. Describe the type of working relationship you have with the local media covering your

installation.


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This question relates to research question five which questions the nature of the PAO / local

media relationship. How do the PAO and his local reporters work together? Are they friendly to each

other? Are all dealings formal and rigid? Or do they informally meet for a cup of coffee to discuss

stories or background information?

Army doctrine is somewhat structured when it comes to defining the PAOs relationship with

media. There are a wealth of Army publications that dictate media ground rules. These ground rules

revolve around what can and cannot be said, what information can and cannot be released, and what

locations a reporter can and cannot access. No time is spent discussing the relationship between the PAO

and reporter. Is it ok to have a casual cup of coffee with your local media? What are the advantages of

nurturing relationships with your local media? Community relations specialists recognize that when

spokespersons practice openness, accessibility, truthfulness, empathy and engagement, they have a better

opportunity to manage coverage and opposition within their communities (Lukaszewski, 10). For this

survey, PAOs were asked the following:

Which description best characterizes your relationship with the local media covering your installation?

Formal Strictly professional and by the book All information and quotes on the

record.

Informalroutinely meet with the media in informal settings such as lunch or coffee to share

story ideas, background information, and off the record opinions.

Informal / formal mixa mix of the two above.

Hostile Dont speak with the local media.

Otherplease explain.

Of those responding, 78% described their relationship with local media as a mix of formal and

informal techniques. A formal relationship ranked second at 10% among respondents followed by

7% who favored a strictly informal method. No respondents admitted to a hostile relationship

although 5% stated they had a relationship that fell outside the presented options.


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Characterize Your Working Relationship With the Media

Informal / formal

mix

78%

Other

5%Hostile

0%

Formal

10%

Informal

7%

Those who delineated other explained

relationships that more than likely fit the

informal/formal mix category. One

respondent highlighted the concern of

what to do with an untrustworthy

reporter. How do you treat someone you

know you have to talk to, but dont trust?

Totally depended on the individual reporter. Some reporters you could

engage informally with and not worry. Others had to be handled with a long set

of steel tongs and asbestos gloves. Reporters who merited the latter treatment

were the ones who created quotes from me or misrepresented what was

happening on our installations. If I didn't trust the reporter to do their job

according to basic standards of the journalistic 'profession,' then I was going to

approach them very carefully. Having completed graduate school in journalism,

I often understood those standards better than they did.

In the end, some who have examined the problem of the media vs. PAO relationship suggest that

a strong professional relationship built on mutual respect and understanding is key to creating, a trust

and confidence between the two that will result in fairer media coverage of the military and greater media

access.(Willey, 1998)

Question 9. How do PAOs engage local media?

This question once again attempts to answer research question six. What do PAOs view as best

practices in media and community relations? Media and public relations experts agree that to maintain a

quality relationship with local media; a spokesperson should utilize multiple channels to engage the media

(Schenkler and Herrling, 19). These channels should include a mixture of three main types 1) releases, 2)

individually targeted channels, and 3) broadly targeted channels. The offering of engagement


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Of those PAOs surveyed, all

responded they offered

interviews with SMEs and

installation leadership. Close

to 80% of those surveyed

offered some variety of story

pitches (90%) and media

visitation days (78%).

Embedding of reporters was the next most frequent technique of media engagement with 59% of PAOs

offering that option. However, less than half of all respondents offered editorial boards (39%),

unaccompanied access to events (37%) and attendance at town hall meetings (37%). Once the preferred

techniques were identified, at what frequency were these opportunities offered?

Since interviews with SMEs and installation leadership were offered by all those responding to

the survey, how often were these engagement activities offered? Most PAOs stated they gave local press

greater access to SMEs than they did to leadership. This is seen in that interviews were usually granted

with SMEs on a monthly (44%) and weekly (44%) basis. This is contrasted with leadership interviews

which were more often given semi-annually (49%) and monthly (31%). Of those surveyed, very few

granted daily access to either SMEs or installation leadership.

How Frequently Is The Press Offered Interviews

With Subject Matter Experts?

Semi-Annually

3%

Monthly

44%

Weekly

44%

Daily

6%

Annually

3%

How Frequently Is The Press Offered Interviews

With Installation Leadership?

Annually

11%

Daily

3% Weekly

6%

Monthly

31%

Semi-Annually

49%

Do You Offer the Media.....

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100

%

Town hall meetings

Unaccompanied access to select events

Editorial boards

Embedding

Media days

Story pitches

Leadership Interviews

Subject Matter Expert Interviews

Percentage Responding Yes


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How Frequently Is The Press

Offered Story Pitches?

Annually0%

Daily

21%

Weekly

47%

Monthly

29%

Semi-Annually3%

How Frequently Is The Press Offered Attendance at

Media Days (visit training, installation junket)?

Semi-Annually

34%

Monthly

13%

Weekly

9%

Daily

6%

Annually

38%

How Often do you Offer Local Media the

Opportunity to Embed with Units?

Semi-Annually

20%

Monthly

25%

Weekly

0%

Daily

20%Annually

35%

The next most popular engagement activity was utilizing story pitches. Of those PAOs that

pitched stories, almost half (47%) offered

these pitches weekly while 29% pitched

monthly. Surprisingly, 21% of PAOs

pitched stories daily to their local media

outlets. Very few (3%) offered pitches

twice a year.

The next most popular engagement activity

for PAOs was the use of media facilitation

days. These events usually include a

combination of briefings, training visits, and

access to soldiers. Of those offering media

days, most did so on an annual (38%) or semi-

annual (34%) basis. The remainder of those

surveyed offered them on a monthly (13%),

weekly (9%) and daily (6%) basis.

The next method of engagement for PAOs is

the embedding of media. Embedding usually

occurs over an extended time period and

normally requires the media representative to

travel with the unit into a combat theater.

While this was not the most popular method of

engagement among PAOs (only 59% offered),

those who did offer the opportunity did so


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How Often Do You Invite Local Media to Installation

Town Hall Meetings?

Annually

7%

Daily

0%

Weekly

0%

Monthly

21%

Semi-Annually

72%

How Frequently Does the Installation Conduct

Editorial Board Meetings?

Annually

60%

Daily

0%Weekly

0%

Monthly

0%

Semi-Annually

40%

How Frequently Is The Press Given

Unaccompanied Access to Installaiton Events?

Semi-Annually

29%

Monthly

29%

Weekly

14%

Daily

7%

Annually

21%

with somewhat varied frequency. Some offered the opportunity monthly while others offered it only

twice a year. Some (20%) offered to embed reporters daily. The data did not support a preferred

frequency of how often to offer a local reporter

the chance to embed.

The three remaining media engagement

activities (editorial boards, unaccompanied

access, and town hall meetings) were also

favored by relatively the same percentage of

PAOs (39%). Those that extended invitations to

installation town hall meetings for local media did so most often on a semi-annual basis. The next most

popular frequency was monthly (21%) and annually (7%). No PAOs offered attendance at town hall

meetings on a weekly or daily basis.

Editorial boards were also utilized by 39%

of the respondents. Of those using editorial

boards, a majority utilized them annually (60%)

while all others offered them on a semi-annual

basis. No respondents offered the engagement

activity on a daily, monthly or weekly basis.

The final engagement activity consisted of

unaccompanied access to events on post. Of those

responding that this activity was offered, there was

no clear majority. Respondents offered the activity


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Engagement Preferences

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Combination

Interviews

Media Days / Visits

Meetings With Local Officials

Pitches

Unaccompanied Access

monthly (29%), semi-annually (29%), and annually (21%). A minority of respondents offered

unaccompanied access on a less frequent weekly (14%) and daily (7%) basis.

Question 10Which engagement activities do PAOs view as most beneficial?

Based on the results of question nine, PAOs utilize a number of community and media

engagement activities. Which of these, however, do they view as most effective? With only 1-3 public

affairs personnel available in their offices to plan and coordinate these activities, which engagement

initiative provides the most, bang for the buck.? PAOs were asked in this question, Which of the

above (those l isted in question 9) media engagement activit ies do you view as most successful in

developing a good worki ng relationship with you local media? Why?

The most poplar

options for PAOs were

utilizing media days and

visits (37%) and

offering interviews with

SMEs and unit

leadership (34%) After

these options, 14% of

respondents stated that it was best to utilize a combination of engagement techniques. The remaining

respondents stated that building relationships with local officials (9%), utilizing story pitches (3%) and

granting unaccompanied access to events (3%) were the most effective ways to engage local media and

communities.

Not surprisingly, the PAOs had numerous reasons for selecting their most effective engagement

activities. Some reasons included:


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Media Days:

Media days, especially those where we take a new reporter to the beat and let them peek behind

the curtain to better understand who we are, what we do, and how they can cover us, and story

pitches (usually held informally)

Media Days with hometown newspapers of deploying units result in some of the best

presentations of the mobilization and deployment process we have seen. These are best when

usually put in the words of junior Soldiers.

With media days we were able to focus on a particular facet of life on the installation and allow

the reporters to live itfor a day.

Interviews with SMEs and Leadership:

One on one interviews are the best- they are the most personal and show trust for the

reporter.

Setting up interviews with SMEs works best. Anticipating their intent and staffing the proper

SMEs and visuals for stills/b-roll makes their job easier and thus builds a better relationship.

Interviews with SMEs work the best. These strengthen the credibility of the individual, the

organization and public affairs; provides opportunity to pitch other story ideas before and after

the interview; good barometer for journalist's style and trust for future engagements

Combination of Methods:

None works well alone. A PA professional, with command support and involvement, has to use

them all in order to be successful.

A combination of all with a mix of interviews with command leaders and story pitches. In our

medium sized market, local media appreciate us streamlining important issues that appeals to

our various publics. They also like to have direct and personal access to our command group.

The bottom line is all. It must be a mix to ensure the complete Army story is told.


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All. Feeding the media story ideas and opportunities not only tells the Army story, but it also

improves relationships with the media. I always say, You don't want to meet your local media

the first time when there is a crisis.

Personal Meetings with Local Officials and Media:

Our periodic meetings with local officials offer a great opportunity to show our commitment to

forthright communications. By allowing them in to see what we are doing, media are much more

receptive to our releases and advisories.

Developing a good working relationship with media is an ongoing process which crosses all

the above activities. To me the most critical ingredient is the personal integrity of the PAO

professional. The media has to believe the PAO will not lie to them and will provide maximum

disclosure with minimum delay.

Unaccompanied Access and Story Pitches:

While these two engagement activities were selected, respondents did not expand upon their

selection. Of interest, however, were the comments of one respondent on the use of unaccompanied

access:

If a journalist isn't working under embedded media ground rules, unaccompanied

access is a violation of AR 360-1. All media should be escorted, even to on-post

football and basketball games by the school staff/information officer. It's a

reminder to the reporter that military installations, while like a city, are special

because of their activities in support of national security.

This statement, however, is not true. AR 360-1 does not prohibit unaccompanied access

to public events on installations. In fact, the regulation states:

News media representativesmay visit those areas of an install ation normall y

open to the public when the subject matter is of l ocal interest or deals with news

events that happen wi thout pr ior planni ng or knowledge and the information is


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releasable under exi sting regulations.The news media and the public are

restricted from areas where access must be controlled for criminal justice purposes

(U.S. Army 2000).

Question 11. Does your installation get along with its surrounding communities?

As mentioned in the opening of this project, some installations suffer through protests and

challenges from a variety of activist organizations. But do all Army installations share these problems?

More importantly, how do PAOs rate their installations relationship with the local community?

Specifically, respondents were asked, How would you characterize the current relationship

between your installation and its neighboring communities? PAOs were then given the following

choices:

ExcellentThe post is involved with numerous community events (festivals, parades) and

supports local charities, non-profits, and benevolent organizations. The post hosts the

community and attempts to create a lasting partnership.

SatisfactoryThe post is involved with the community, but could do much more. The

community is hesitant to engage and slow to react to our concerns. There is a mutual respect

between the community and the installation.

PoorRelations are not good. We do not engage the community unless a crisis arises there.

There are very few engagement activities and these are not resourced by the community to be

successful. There is not a mutual respect between the installation and the community.

HostileRelations could not be any worse. Community and installation goals oppose each other.

The prevailing attitude of the community and its leaders is that things would be better off without

the installation here.

Other (Please describe the relationship your installation has with its local community)


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Those responding to the survey

overwhelmingly chose to characterize their

relationship with their surrounding

communities as excellent. A remaining 17%

of respondents characterized their

relationship as satisfactory. No PAOs stated

their relationships as poor or hostile. Of

those that selected other, one provided insight that might mirror the concerns of other installations.

The respondent noted that even though the relationship between the community and installation was

satisfactory or excellent, there was no way the installation could provide all the community thought it

needed. This comment highlights the communitys frustrations:

Overall our relationship is satisfactory to excellent. The issue is not the

amount of support we provide, which is considerable in the community events

realm, but the unceasing amounts of support they request that we cannot legally

provide. The community is unwilling to accept this fact.

Question 12. What are some tactics you utilize?

Army guidance and regulations concerning community relations are sparse at best. In

AR 360-1, The Army Public Affairs Program, only allocates 3 pages of 107 to the topic of

community relations. (seeAppendix H) Within these pages, the Army suggest some tactics of

community engagement to include:

An active speakers bureau program.

Ongoing liaison with organizations (including those at local, State, and regional events).

Participatory membership in civic, business, and professional organizations.

Using exhibits, bands, color guards, and other ceremonial units in the public domain.

Characterize the Relationship Between Your

Installation and the Local Community

Poor, 0%

Hostile, 0%

Other, 5%

Satisfactory,

17%

Excellent, 79%


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Periodic open houses and an active installation tour program (see para 75).

Participating in national holiday observances.

Supporting overseas host nation activities (American youth, holiday, and traditional

programs).

But do installation PAOs actually use these recommended programs and activities? In the

words of one PAO:

Rather than the passive respond to request for support by the Army envisioned in AR

360-1(e.g., bands, color guards, marching units for parades, equipment displays), the

installation establishes an aggressive, proactive community outreach program to support

the local community and foster understanding and support of Army programs and

activities through active, personal, hands-on participation in all aspects of community

life.

From the survey results, most PAOs share this active approach. Below are samplings of

some of the respondents top three tactics of community engagement. (see next page)


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School / Youth Engagement Activities:Adopt a schoolprogram

JROTC Tours Area schools mentoringprogram

Participation in localschool events

Local State University /Installation day: Hostcompetitions, informationbriefing for nearby

university students andleaders

Soldier reading programs inlocal schools

Host adventure camps forcommunity youth

Arrange donation of computersto local youth groups

Local Opinion Leaders Engagement Activities:

Getting community leadersto key events on post

Scheduled visitsto installation byopinion leaders.

Conduct historical tour forlocal opinion leaders

Conduct periodic meetingswith military affairs committee/ Chamber of Commerce

Annual visit of LeadershipOklahoma (a year-long classof state leaders of business,

industry, education andgovernment.) They visit to

learn about the military'simpact on the state.

Establish board of advisorsfrom local elected officials

Establish volunteerparticipation in local groupsto include: neighborhood

boards, city, county and stateadvisory committees, land

use commissions, StateDepartment of Land and

Natural Resources, U.S.Department of Fish andWildlife, Communityservice and volunteer

groups, AUSA, MOAA

(former TROA), Scouts, andschool partnership groups

Liaisons on local boards (citycouncil, school, etc.)

Media Roundtable with

Installation Commander

BRAC Board of Advisors

(quarterly; sort of aCOMREL Council)

Attend county fiscal court /

zoning meetings

Army Visibility Activities:

All installation concerts

open to local community

Ceremonial mounted color

guard sent to nearly alllocal communities for theirfestivals / parades

Demonstrations by

installation teams /units to includestatic displays ofequipment.

Armed Forces Day celebration.

Soldiers and units provideparticipation.

Cultural, environmental,

and hunting access toinstallations and trainingareas.

Installation provides guided

tours on special days orevents

Torchlight Tattoo and

Armed Forces Day

Establish special events

[Largest July 4th activity;dinner theater offerings, Cincode Mayo, etc.] to which the

community are invited to.

Other Engagement Activities:

Participation in communityeconomic development

events

Promoteattendance at

local job fairs

Community/BusinessAppreciation Night

Host community updatebreakfast (annual)

Create installation-community council

And meet quarterly

Develop partnershipbetween installation and

local library

Interface among emergencyresponse organizations on

and off-post

Adopt a siteprograms. IE:

memorial, cemetery,park

Develop

installationspeakers bureau

Create installation civilian

employee appreciationevents

Develop Co-Op programs

between units and localbusinesses


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Question 13. How do PAOs conduct research?

In addition to providing guidance on community relations activities, AR 360-1 also provides

recommendations for research of local opinion and attitudes. The Army recognizes that, Community

surveys and analyses are helpful in developing a sound community relations program (U.S. Army,

2000). It does not, however, provide any suggestions, examples, or doctrine to help PAOs conduct this

analysis. The only help the Army provides is an outdated regulation, AR 600-46 Attitude and Opinion

Survey Program which was published in 1979.

Respondents, therefore were asked specifically, Which of the following qualitative and

quantitative measures do you find helpful in determining community attitudes towards your

installation? (check all that apply) The PAOs were given the following choices:

Phone surveys

Content analysis of local media

coverage

Interviews with opinion leaders

Attendance at community meetings

Informal surveys conducted by

attending local events

Hosting installation town hall meetings

Call-in-line (CGs hotline)

Focus groups

Web surveys

Mail surveys

Analysis of local blogs

Phone surveys

Other - please specify

Based on the survey results, content analysis of local media coverage was the most frequently

used method with 68% of respondents utilizing it as a research practice. Interviews with

opinion leaders and attendance of community meetings were also popular as they were utilized

by over 50% of respondents. The more labor intensive research methods, surveys and meetings

were utilized less frequently. Of these methods, only hosting installation town hall meetings

were utilized by PAOs over 40% of the time. Phone, mail and web surveys as well as analysis

of local blogs were utilized by PAOs less than 10% of the time.


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Those who selected

other as their choice

provided insightful

comments. Most of

those selecting other

suggested personal

contact, daily

interactions with locals

and constant

engagement with

community leaders, as

their preferred method of research. Additionally, three respondents noted that they did not

conduct research, did it poorly, or were not organized to conduct analysis of any kind.

Question 14. What is your philosophy of community relations?

Even though the Army spends very little time in manuals and regulations addressing

community relations, it does define its objectives for installation community relations programs.

These objectives are:

increase public awareness of the Armys mission ,policies and programs

inspire patriotism

foster good relations with the various publics with which the Army comes into contact at

home and abroad

maintain the Armys reputation as a respected professional organization responsible for

national security

support the Armys recruiting and personnel procurement mission (U.S. Army 1997)

How Do PAOs Conduct Research?

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

phone surveys

analysis of local blogs

mail surveys

web surveys

focus groups

call-in line (CG's hotline)

Other (please specify)

installation town hall meetings

informal surveys conducted by

attending local events

community meetings (zoning

boards, city council, etc.)

interviews with opinion leaders

content analysis of local media

coverage


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How do PAOs meet these objectives? What philosophies guide them in their daily operations

that help them meet a myriad of challenges? Respondents were asked the following hypothetical

question:

Hypotheticall y, you have been asked to teach a class to a group of new publi c affair s

off icers on community relations. Based on your professional experience, how would

you descri be to them your phi losophy of commun ity relati ons and engagement?

While it is impossible to list each response, there appeared to be similar themes among all.

Engagement. Installations and their leaders need to be engaged in the community.

PAOs should ensure this engagement is proactive not passive. More often than not,

your engagement activities are the face of your installation in the communitys eyes.

Participation. Community relations is a PAO planned and leader executed program.

The installation commander and their subordinate leaders must show an interest in the

community. Getting leaders to participate is difficult and some will not be willing to

give up their time. But when they do participate, they are perceived as a genuine

community partner, willing to roll up their sleeves and assist in programs that may not

be seen as directly benefiting the military.

Personal contact leads to credibility. Personal contact with community leaders and

citizens in general builds a mutual respect and builds the perception that you care.

Sometimes personal contact means telling the bad with the good. Ideally, this contact is

in person and by phonenot e-mail. When leaders and soldiers are up front and active

in their communications, it builds, mutual respect leading to truthful, productive

relationships.

You are not alone! Often PAO offices are staffed with 2-3 people. Successful

community relations cannot happen if it is just the PAO participating in the program.


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PAOs suggest using the talent within the installation to help. Enlist volunteers,

empower subordinate units and encourage others to participate.

Support the local community. As much as possible, support the local communitys

requests for personnel, equipment, participation, and other forms of support.

Realistically, the community must understand you cannot support every request, but

should be willing to listen to every request. As one PAO stated, Not all installations

have assets they can throw at the communitywhich is not necessarily a bad thing as

you quickly see the community turn when the assets are not available.

Dont be afraid. PAOs stress knowing all applicable regulations and doctrine. Beyond

that, however, they suggest imagination is the only limit to communications with the

local community. Utilizing breakfasts, meetings, speakers bureaus all help when getting

the word out on installation activities and news. Installations should strive to remain

transparent within the limits of regulations. Opening the post for dinner theater,

concerts and youth sporting events are all creative ways to help the community

understand what happens behind, those guarded gates.

What I nstall ation Media Have to Say Survey Resul ts

As discussed in Part IVresearch methods, a parallel survey was developed to gauge the

effectiveness of Army media and community relations by engaging the media that cover Army

installations. Initially, over 100 survey invites were sent to local print media. Only 6 invitees

completed the survey by the required completion dates. The low response count to the survey

prevents utilizing data for conclusions. The lack of responses and reasons given for not

completing the survey, however, provide some insights in and of themselves.

Lack of a dedicated beat reporter. In some cases, reporters responded to the survey

invite that they no longer covered the installation or did not feel writing one article


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about an installation qualified them to complete the survey. Additionally, the military

beat appears to be one of the least popular beats. For instance, one paper utilized five

reporters for five articles covering an installation over a period of a year. This beat

coverage by committee was seen in at least one other installation where a former

military beat reporter left six months ago and still has not been replaced.

Military reporter participation in beat coverage. Some installation Public Affairs offices

retain their own specialists that serve as reporters for the installation newspaper.

Installation Public Affairs offices often partner with small local print publications for

assistance in printing, typesetting and other technical aspects of publishing a weekly

newspaper. As a result of these agreements, some Army installation public affairs

specialists may serve as reporters for these small local dailies. This is especially

prevalent when covering on-post stories. In several cases, invites to these reporters

were returned with the reason of not being allowed to complete surveys.

Regardless of the low response count, those that did participate provided feedback on

their relationships with the local installation that could prove helpful to installation PAOs. These

insights focus in two main areas.

Communications with local media. Those responding to the survey noted a high

frequency (daily and weekly) communication with their local PAO. Additionally, all

responded that requested information was provided in a timely manner in order to meet

their deadlines. One respondent noted, however, that the process of information

gathering sometimes becomes cumbersome.

PAOs haven't actively withheld info, but have required me to file FOIA

requests for info they were directed not to freely distribute. Also, by

serving as go-betweens w/ subject matter experts in answering questions,

they have slowed info-gathering, to the point that stories on deadline

sometimes cannot get all questions answered in time.


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While another PAO added that while they get information it might not

always be what they need.

We get lots of stuff we don't need from PAO pitching feel good stories.Response to important stories varies from good to avoidance in most

cases, but we do have situations where they call us, tell us there is a big

problem going on we'll find out about eventually, and give us their

perspective in advance. In other words, we sometimes get treated

properly, depending mostly on which one of several people is in charge.

Mutual respect. In the PAO survey, respondents agreed that mutual respect was an

important part of successful relations with local media. Those responding to the survey

noted that they felt respected by their local PAO. Only one respondent countered this

attitude noting:

Historically our installation has not respected the local media at all.

We now have two reporters with backgrounds in Army Public Affairs

who have worked for much larger media outlets in the civilian sector,

understand what PAO should be doing, and are not hesitant to demand

that we be treated according to Army regulations. That has solved most

of the problems.

Building a good working relationship with the PAO. All reporters noted they were

provided with engagement opportunities consisting of story pitches, interviews, and media

days. In general, these opportunities to interact with the installation population and PAO

helped build a good working relationship. Once again mirroring the PAO survey, interviews

were favored by most of the respondents. Contrary to the PAO survey, however, one

reporter felt greater access was the answer to building strong relationships noting:

Any event that allows unfettered access to NCOs and soldiers--

without a PAO listening in--is best, whether it's a town hall-style

meeting, a training activity or deployment ceremony.


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While both Army doctrine and industry practices recommend building strong

relationships between PAOs and local media, one reporter felt it wasnt that important.

Two of our reporters, including me, are former Army Public

Affairs personnel who have spent many years in the civilian

media as well. We don't need to develop a good relationshi p--

we demand that the regulations be followed since we know the

way thing are supposed to be done and do not tolerate

garbage.

Building strong relationships with the community. All of the respondents felt the

installation retained an excellent relationship with the surrounding communities. Some

reasoned this was due to healthy variety of engagement programs such as media /

community leaders breakfasts, hosting youth events, leadership attendance at local

events, and inviting media and community leaders to training events on post. One

respondent , however, hinted that land issuesmuch like those seen at Fort Belvior and

Fort Carson could possibly damage this relationship.

Biggest is

Community Relations and the US Army

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