US Army Journalist - Course - Survival Books

Lesson 2, Learning Event 4Most PAOs review all copy before it goes to the commander or thetypesetter. Remember that the PAO has access to information andsituations about which his staff may be unaware. He may "kill" astory based on that information. Although this can be frustrating,it may happen from time to time. Good PAOs don't abuse thisauthority. They are committed to "providing a free flow of generalnews and information" to the Army community.While commanders and PAOs may be considered owners and executiveeditors of Army newspapers, the editor fills the sameresponsibilities as his civilian counterparts. Editors determinethe content of their newspapers, they critique the writing style oftheir writers, they evaluate stories for completeness, accuracy andnews value, and they determine if one writer has taken the bestapproach to his assignment.The day-in, day-out work of preparing a newspaper is usuallyhandled by a "managing editor" who may be a mid-level NCO, a DAcivilian or the command information officer from the public affairsshop. This individual is assisted by one or more reporters andsub-editors, depending on the size of the newspaper.It is the editor's job to tighten up writing, to eliminateredundancy, to increase clarity, and to ensure accuracy. No writerof any rank or experience should expect to escape the editor'spencil. Everyone can benefit from copyediting. Writers mustcopyedit their own material and editors must also copyedit the samearticles. Even editors should have someone else copyedit their ownwriting.MILITARY TRAINING AND ADDITIONAL DUTIESCharge or quarters, headcount, guard duty, reaction platoons,promotion boards, company morale councils, and NBC team duties areonly some of the additional duties expected of soldiers. Someeditors may be exempted from these duties by commanders; otherswill not. It would be difficult to justify exempting other Armyjournalists on a continuing basis.There may be ceremonies when the entire company is to standinspection and pass in review. The PAO has great justification forasking the commander to exempt his Army journalists from theceremony because they will be otherwise15