Tools O' The Trade

One school I did not attend, and intend on doing so, is Information Operations. I was originally slated to do this for the Brigade, and now am not. No hard feelings, and I don't think hooking into the school will be all that tough. For one, it's not "sexy" or about maneuver, so the Infantry, such as it is, is absolutely not interested (save our commander, from whom I've learned a ton about IO). It is, oddly enough categorized as "targeting", which makes it a Field Artillery function. Round peg in a round hole.

Now, why would I mention all this? Easy. It seems friends and family are beginning to receive attention from the Mass Media (thanks to their own talents, not mine), and so I'm offering what little Information Operations wisdom I have to (hopefully) help.

Let's get one thing straight. The difference between Info Ops and Public Affairs is that PA must tell the truth. *grins*

First: Never do a media interview that you don't want to do. If you're not on your game, tell them "no". Or give them a different date. If they really want the interview, they'll come back. Heck, if it's such a slow news day, they'll headline the weather for goodness sake. This leads to Ultimate Rule Numero Uno: YOU are in charge of the interview. Always, always, always.

Second: ALWAYS DO TARGETING. What can this media outlet do for me and my organization? What message do they typically send? What can I tell them that will both help them sell papers/airtime (let's be honest, the media's about selling, not truth) AND get my intended message out? This leads to lemma 2A...
2A: What're the talking points? No matter what, ALWAYS have three to five bullets written down that you want to get out no matter what. These are the talking points. Now, typically we prepare talking points for each Center of Influence we deal with, but that's deeper IO stuff.

Third (and Lastly): Find that comfy middle ground between you and the media. Let's face it, the Army isn't the only organization with skeletons in its closet. It stands to reason, therefore, that we must let some of them out in order to satisfy what passes for a "free press" in this country. The same goes for any organization. Some middle ground exists between what they want to know and what you're authorized to tell them. The answer of "I don't know" works better than "I'm not at liberty to say", the latter of which leads them to think there's more out there (kind of like Scully and Mulder).

Never forget, nothing is EVER off the record.

Enjoy!