Sharing Your CAP Stories

1. Sharing Your CAP Stories Steve Cox Public Affairs Manager Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters Maj. Steven Solomon National Volunteer PA Team Leader

2. Sharing Your CAP Stories What is news? American Heritage Dictionary Information about recent events or happenings, especially as reported by newspapers, periodicals, radio or television. Other modern-day sources: Internet, Facebook, Twitter

3. Sharing Your CAP Stories Famous “news” quotes: “All the news that’s fit to print.” – New York Times motto (printed in the upper left-hand corner of the front page) “News is the first rough draft of history.” – Philip L. Graham, Washington Post publisher “No news is good news.” – Ludovic Halevy, French author

4. Sharing Your CAP Stories Maj. Solomon’s favorite quote about news: “It’s amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day just exactly fits in the newspaper.”– Jerry Seinfield My personal favorite: “There’s nothing like a good news day!”– Steve Cox This certainly rings true for our purposes. No news is not good news for Civil Air Patrol. We want to share our good news with others – with each other, with those in our communities. We want every day to be a good CAP news day.

5. Sharing Your CAP Stories Some examples of Civil Air Patrol news that is attractive to the national media: Unprecedented missions (Deepwater Horizon oil spill, tsunami warnings, Midwest flooding). Wreaths Across America initiatives. Longtime members, especially those from the World War II era (subchasers, Mary Feik, George Boyd). Our modern-day pioneers (Eric Boe, Nicole Malachowski, Guy Loughridge, Justin Ogden).

6. Sharing Your CAP Stories News that appeals more to the local news media: Cadet achievements, honors (the younger the better; always in uniform). Change of command ceremonies. Summer activities, field trips. Wreaths Across America (any efforts to honor our nation’s military veterans). Search and rescue training, new technology. If all else fails, take them for a ride.

7. Share Your CAP Stories Remember, you can’t go wrong with any kind of human interest story. That’s really what works! And there are a lot of human interest stories in Civil Air Patrol – more than 61,000 of them. Every member has a story to tell. And there are enough mediums now available to tell those stories – conventionally through TV broadcasts and newspaper articles, or through more non-traditional ways like today’s .com sites in which you report your news, as well as Twitter and Facebook.

8. Share Your CAP Stories Let’s examine TV and newspapers. Both are still viable options with big audiences. Things to remember: TV stations chomp at the bit for great video footage and fascinating stories to accompany them. PAOs can easily market these stories. Newspapers are still nifty, too. Like their broadcast counterparts, they are looking for your help. Good photos accompanied by short stories are easy to sell.

9. Share Your CAP Stories Don’t forget military broadcasts and publications in your area. They are more likely to pick up CAP news than those without a military tie. Take advantage of this. And, remember, most TV stations and newspapers in your area, even local magazines, have a .com component now, which enhances your reach. Take advantage of today’s multimedia approach.

10. Share Your CAP Stories One final word of advice on this: Get to know the members of your local media. It’s all about relationships. Get to know these folks. Check websites for contact info or do directly to stations and papers to set up one-on-one meetings. Use these opportunities to tell them what CAP does, and do this prior to sending them any video footage, photos or stories.

11. Share Your CAP Stories So what is the vital tool we use to communicate with TV viewers or newspaper readers? News releases, of course. They are still our best way. Write your release and send it to the media one week prior to an event. They need time to assign reporters, videographers and photographers to cover the event. Call the media to ensure they received your release and ask how you can help facilitate their coverage of your story. Most often, they will appreciate the offer.

12. Share Your CAP Stories Does everyone know how to write a news release? First, determine what is newsworthy about your wing or squadron. Then get to work. On your letterhead, place the phrase ‘FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE’ in the upper left corner. Capitalize every letter. Below that phrase, skip a couple of lines and place the contact person’s information. List your name, grade, title, home, work and mobile telephone and email address.

13. Share Your CAP Stories If for any reason you are not going to be available, list some other spokesperson or the person with the most information. Reporters often work on a deadline and may not be available until after hours. Compose a short headline that clearly describes the news release content and grabs the reader’s attention. The ideal headline is less than 80 characters long. Center it in bold type on the page. Place concise secondary subheads in italics below the main headline.

14. Share Your CAP Stories Use a dateline. This is the city your news release is issued from and the date you are distributing your release. This is typically the HQ from which your unit is based or the AFB where the activity was held. Refer to your AP Stylebook, which lists the U.S. cities that are so large and well known that they don’t need the state to be listed, too. (For example, it is LOUISVILLE, Ky., but only SAN DIEGO. States are not abbreviated like Zip Codes.)

15. Share Your CAP Stories Lead – The first paragraph is used to grab the reader’s attention. 5 W’s and H (Who, What, When, Where, Why and How) – The most important of the questions should be answered in the lead. Others are answered later. Who: Who is announcing the news? What: What is being announced? A promotion, change of command, SAREX, encampment. When: The time – include a.m. or p.m. – and date. Make certain the day and date correspond. And don’t use military time.

16. Share Your CAP Stories Where: The location of the program or activity that was or will be held. Why: This is your key message. It is ‘why’ you are making news. Short paragraphs – Paragraphs run one to two sentences in length. Rarely do you see paragraphs of more than three sentences, especially with stories that are put online.

17. Sharing Your CAP Stories Quotations – Use them. They bring ‘life’ to your story because they are the actual words of someone in your story. Always have at least one. Try for two or more. Inverted pyramid style – You want to include the most important information first, then follow in descending order by less-important information.

18. Sharing Your CAP Stories Limit your opening (lead) sentence to no more than 25-28 words. Keep your lead paragraph below 50 words. It should be very short but can capture the essence of what you’re writing about. Readers usually scan a page. If you can catch their attention, then your press release is effective. It’s like Greg Soule, PAO, TSA, says: “The lead makes or breaks the press release.”

19. Sharing Your CAP Stories Simple sentence guidelines for the lead: Who said or did something. What was said or happened. When it was said or happened. Where it was said or happened. Why it was said or happened.

20. Sharing Your CAP Stories Let’s apply those guidelines to our lead for the initial news release about this conference. Who –More than 600 Civil Air Patrol members What – are taking flight Where – to Louisville, Ky., When – this month Why – as the all-volunteer U.S. Air Force Auxiliary begins its observance of 70 years of service to America.

21. Sharing Your CAP Stories Second paragraph: CAP officially celebrates its 70th anniversary on Dec. 1 of this year, but will get started early at the 2011 Annual Conference and National Board meeting Aug. 17-20 at the Louisville Marriott Downtown. Third paragraph: The theme of the conference is “Civil Air Patrol: Celebrating 70 Years of Service.”

22. Sharing Your CAP Stories In the fourth paragraph, insert a quote from a leader, such as the national commander, about the event or program. Be sure to identify the source of all quotes. Make sure that the quote content explains and enhances the story and that there is a clear relationship between the person quoted and the story. Try to limit the number of quotes to no more than two people.

23. Sharing Your CAP Stories Fourth paragraph: “This conference will celebrate our members’ dedicated service to America and their extraordinary achievements above and beyond the call of duty,” said CAP National Commander Maj. Gen. Amy S. Courter. “We will honor members with much-deserved awards for their service and will participate with them in training seminars customized to fulfill their unique professional development needs in CAP.”

24. Sharing Your CAP Stories Fifth paragraph: Its citizen volunteers make CAP one of America’s premier humanitarian service organizations. With a versatile fleet of 550 aircraft, members save lives, find those who are lost, help fellow citizens in times of disaster, work to keep their communities safe, honor the nation’s veterans and prepare its future leaders. The organization also inspires youth to excel through aerospace education and cyber defense competitions.

25. Sharing Your CAP Stories From there, release continues to build with details of the conference (‘How’ they’re celebrating): Speakers – Ky. congressman and Jill Robb Wilson. Main order of business – election of new national commander. Other highlights – training seminars, awards ceremony and banquet. Information on this year’s host – the Kentucky Wing.

26. Sharing Your CAP Stories And finally, the national CAP boilerplate – a final paragraph that covers basic organizational information like who we are, what we do, our history, how to find out more about us. Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with more than 61,000 members nationwide. CAP, in its Air Force auxiliary role, performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the AFRCC with saving 113 lives in fiscal year 2010.

27. Sharing Your CAP Stories Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the more than 26,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for 70 years. It is a major partner of Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. Visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com or www.capvolunteernow.com for more information on CAP. You can always find the latest version of the national CAP boilerplate at www.capmembers.com/boilerplate.

28. Sharing Your CAP Stories A good news release, the kind that gets results, always: Follows the inverted pyramid style with the most important facts first. Keeps sentences short. Use short, well-known words. Avoid jargon. Use active words to add immediacy to your writing. Make sure to use an active verb in your headline, your first sentence. Use specific, concrete – not abstract – words and terms. Do not editorialize, which means injecting your own preferences or even preferences of the subject you are writing about without attributing. Stick to the facts.

29. Sharing Your CAP Stories Other helpful hints: NEVER WRITE IN ALL UPPER CASE LETTERS! This is very bad form. Even if your news release makes it past the editors (highly unlikely), it will definitely be ignored by journalists. Use mixed case. Use short, declarative sentences and paragraphs; indent or double-spaced between graphs. If your release goes beyond one page, type “-more-” at the bottom of the first page. Keep the release to a maximum of two pages, but strive for one when possible. At the end of the release, type “###” or “-30-” to indicate the end of the copy.

30. Sharing Your CAP Stories Style, grammar and punctuation are important, too! The most-used guide for the general public, and one we recommend for CAP PAOs, is “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White. “The Associated Press Stylebook” is recommended as a must-have reference. This is the guide used by NHQ/PA, Civil Air Patrol Volunteer and VolunteerNow, as well as most major TV stations and newspapers in the United States.

31. Sharing Your CAP Stories Do NOT use “The Tongue and Quill.” Do NOT use CAPR 10-1 “Preparing and Processing Correspondence.” Do NOT use the “Air University Style Guide.” These references are great for communicating with each other, but NOT with the news media. Use the AP Stylebook. It is your friend. Using it in your news releases gives you instant credibility with the media.

32. Sharing Your CAP Stories Most common style mistakes made: • Pay careful attention to abbreviations. CAP abbreviations used for internal memos are NOT the same for news releases. Example: 2d Lt for CAP memos 2nd Lt. for CAP news releases *Steve’s #1 Rule: Look it up!

33. Sharing Your CAP Stories • Pay close attention to capitalization; the AP Stylebook directs that titles before a name are capitalized, but titles after a name are not. Also, titles standing alone are not capitalized. Examples: Wing Commander Col. John Doe said… Col. John Doe, wing commander, said… The wing commander, John Doe, said… *Steve’s Rules, #2: When in doubt, don’t capitalize.

34. Sharing Your CAP Stories Let’s take the AP Stylebook Test!

35. Sharing Your CAP Stories Final helpful hints on news releases: Read through your release as though it’s the first time – like you are reading it for the first time in the paper. Look for typos and awkward sentences. If there are a lot of names (we hope so), ask someone to help you check the spellings by reading the letters aloud while you hold the original document that lists them. If you are using a lot of names, be sure to include their hometowns, perhaps their ages if pertinent to the story.

36. Sharing Your CAP Stories If the release is about one person, as in a story about a promotion, also list his/her CAP specialties, qualifications, encampments and activities. This information is readily available through eServices. Double-check your facts. Google the names of the universities your subjects say they attended, the businesses they say they work for, the aircraft they say they fly…to ensure you are spelling everything correctly and to verify the context is right. Getting it right adds to your credibility.

37. Sharing Your CAP Stories After re-checking that your facts are correct and performing spellcheck, send it out for approval. At this point, your release is actually only a draft. Always ask yourself, did everyone quoted or referenced in your story have a chance to review it for accuracy? Who should review your news release? – Your commander – Activity or mission director – Next level higher PAO – PAOs from cooperating agencies – Trusted colleague or family member – EVERY person quoted

38. Sharing Your CAP Stories Steve’s Rules, #3: DON’T let anyone who reviews your news release force you to capitalize or abbreviate or make any change contrary to the AP Stylebook! Gently remind superiors that the style used for producing a news release for the public is NOT the same as writing a CAP memo for internal purposes. (If you need help, call your wing PAO.) DO send everyone who has reviewed your news release a final copy for their files along with a list of media you’ve sent it to.

39. Sharing Your CAP Stories Remember, the whole idea is to earn credibility with the news media, so they will broadcast/publish your story. Consider the words of Bob Stone, chief of public affairs with the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command, who says, “Every organization has a code of ethics. Some even write them down, and a few actually live up to those ethics… When we stick to those ethics, even in troubling times, we flourish and we are believed.”

40. Sharing Your CAP Stories Distribute your news release by email – NOT fax or mail – to only the most likely TV station/paper that will use them. (Most likely the one you have a relationship with.) Send the release to ONLY one member of the media at a time. Paste the release as plain text in your email in case the recipient can’t read your attached document. Send photos (one or two, maybe three – not of the same thing). If there are more good photos (or video footage), make note of it in your email. If they are interested, they will let you know. Always send each photo as an attachment. Be sure to include a full-sentence caption and give photo credit for each photo.

41. Sharing Your CAP Stories Finally, remember NHQ/PA. We WANT your news releases, too. So much so that we have put together a template on eServices to make it easy. Let’s take a look!

42. Sharing Your CAP Stories Please, USE this template. Let it be your prompt to do all those things we have talked about today. Share your CAP stories with us, so we can, in turn, share them with other members, as well as the general public. Remember, we talked earlier about news releases and how they are still the best way to communicate with the news media. They are still the best way to communicate with NHQ/PA, too. They are the tool we use to select CAP news for Volunteer magazine, as well as VolunteerNow.

43. Sharing Your CAP Stories The Volunteer is CAP’s premier publication, tailored to educate not only our members, but our external constituencies. It reaches 100,000 readers each quarter. Copies are often distributed to members of Congress, aviation interests and related organizations across the country and at local events in which CAP participates – air shows, volunteer expos, aviation museums, etc. The magazine is also available online, as an e-zine, and this new format is already drawing impressive numbers.

44. Sharing Your CAP Stories VolunteerNow, CAP’s national news website, is catching on, too. It provides another option. It reaches an additional 55,000-plus readers each month, who regularly click on at least four stories each time they visit the site. That is an impressive number. It means more than 200,000 CAP stories are being looked at monthly, or nearly 2.5 million annually.

45. Sharing Your CAP Stories How do we decide what CAP news goes where? That’s easy, really. I would look at it this way, at least as a general rule: Your news that you consider national would go in the Volunteer while your regional or local news would go on VolunteerNow. Examples: Volunteer – Unprecedented missions (Deepwater Horizon oil spill, tsunami warnings, Midwest flooding,

46. Sharing Your CAP Stories Wreaths Across America, longtime members, like those from the World War II era (subchasers, Mary Feik, George Boyd); and modern-day pioneers (Eric Boe, Nicole Malachowski, Guy Loughridge, Justin Ogden) VolunteerNow – Cadet achievements, Spaatz-level honors (the younger the better; always in uniform), wing or region change of command ceremonies, summer activities, field trips, Wreaths Across America fundraising/ceremonies (any efforts to honor military veterans), search and rescue training, new technology.

47. Sharing Your CAP Stories Questions? Comments?