Special Operations Command Korea | Information Advantage Scholar | Translates Defense Acronyms -> Human Speak
A few weeks old, but definitely a project worth talking about. Three lessons I’ve mulled over that might be helpful for others. 1. Planning is everything. This 3 minute clip took over six months of work. Details like flight times and mission profile were late in the game, as is expected. However, knowing the missions were on the books, getting a sense for what the scope of training was, that didn’t sneak up on us. For anyone in the #publicaffairs organization #publicrelations world, get into you operational planning early. 2. How you portray the story matters. This could have been a very sensational, politically charged story. But, that wouldn’t have matched with reality. We took the time to deliberately draw out what the story was and make sure we didn’t get drawn into the lore alluring side of sensational storytelling. In the end, our ability to maintain a moderate disposition allowed the newscrew to do their job and creatively tell the story in a way that fit how we saw the situation. 3. Don’t stop at the first “no.” There were many versions of “no” along the path to telling this story. No, you can’t fly a reporter on an AC-130J. No, you can’t use a military videographer for civilian media. No, you can’t have people on the live fire range. No, we can’t get you in-flight video footage. All of those ended up being, “yes, but here’s what you need to do” situations. No is often used as a catch all for, that’s more work or an individual’s experience and knowledge has been exceeded. Push past the no and find a solution. There are many more lessons out of this first international media flight on an AC-130J, but those are my top 3. If you have questions, shoot me a message. Always happy to talk. A big thanks to Rebecca Heyse and her team for making this happen, as well as the CNN International Commercial crew. Without them, none of this would have happened!
Recently we had the opportunity to host @CNN for an in-depth look at the AC-130J and how realistic SOF training equates to a credible integrated deterrent force. Check out the full broadcast and article here: https://lnkd.in/gD6EdGNc USSOCOM USFK
Saheba DeHenre
8mo
Great work and lessons learned. I think the lessons can be used in many of our fields
Maria José Pinel
8mo
Planning is everything. Thanks for sharing your insight!
International Relations Specialist
8moYes it's almost always how we tell the story. I had Erin Burnett come out to Korea and interview then SECDEF Carter with the ROKS Cheonan Wreckage as a backdrop. It could have been contentious but it all went well. Some leaders are risk adverse but they need to trust their PAOs... well except some historic big PAO fail cases. I did love this coverage a lot in many perspectives and i definitely shared with my boss and my team. They all appreciated it a lot. Great job!