Pen & sword
Subtitle: a journalist's guide to covering the military
By: by Ed Offley.
Publisher: Marion Street Press
Published: 2001
Place of publication: Oak Park, IL
Language: eng
Number of pages: 311
Subjects: Journalism, Military
Other titles: Pen and sword
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 271-293) and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: Chapter 1; title: The U.S. Military Today:; title: It's not your father's service; title: Knowing the key issues facing America's; title: military will help you cover the beat.; title: Military Structure Basics: Who are these people?; title: This section examines each branch of the service, and explains each branch's primary mission and organization; title: How toUnderstand military rank; title: Here's how to tell a corporal from a colonel, and a Navy admiral from a Marine general.; title: Chapter 2; title: The Military Press Today:; title: Know an M-i6 from an F-i6? You'll succeed; title: There is much opportunity in the military beat today, because so few journalists do it well; title: How toWeed out phony POWs, fake heroes, and; title: other wannabes; title: Don't let military impostors - there are plenty of them - dupe you and your audience; title: Chapter 3; title: Organizing the Military Beat:; title: Three strategies to get started; title: Use this chapter as your guide to launching your military coverage.; title: How toCover an aircraft crash; title: Aircraft tragedies are inevitable stories for military reporters.; title: Chapter 4; title: The Public Affairs Officer:; title: Your front door to information; title: The public affairs officer is a key person for you to know, and this chapter will help you understand him.; title: How toCover intelligence intelligently; title: The intelligence community is brimming with important Stories, but it takes a lot of work to pry the lid off.; title: Chapter 5; title: Going to Meet the Man:; title: Good relations with the commander pay off; title: A base commander is a successful career officer who deserves your respect, and will repay you in kind.; title: How toFind extraordinary stories in routine events; title: Don't pitch that release! The military is full of interesting stories that blossom from routine news releases.; title: Chapter 6; title: Going Into the Field:; title: Your knowledge grows on the road; title: Watching submariners prepare for a missile launch, climbing hills with Rangers and riding backseat in a fighter jet are among the experiences that await the military reporter.; title: Chapter 7; title: Surviving the Pentagon:; title: The 'Puzzle Palace' is an essential stop; title: It's the root of all things military, so use this chapter to plan a visit to the Pentagon early in your career.; title: How toUse the Early Bird; title: The Early Bird is the federal government's compiled news source, and having your name in it is a good way to become known.; title: Chapter 8; title: The Defense Industry:; title: No uniforms, lots of stories; title: All those billions of dollars the Pentagon spends don't vanish into a black hole; some of it ends up in the coffers of your local defense contractor. Make the contractor part of your beat145; title: How toDecipher the defense budget; title: Here are tips on reading those gigantic documents.; title: Chapter 9; title: Beware of Ambushes:; title: The floating coffin and other horror stories; title: Like with any beat, things aren't always what they appear in the; title: military beat.; title: How tocover a serviceman's death; title: It can be heartbreaking, but writing about a serviceman's death is an important community service.; title: Chapter 10; title: Broadcast Challenges:; title: Tech issues make the job tougher; title: TV and radio play increasingly vital roles in coverage of the military, but broadcasters face special challenges.; title: How toCover the nuclear story; title: The Soviet Union may be dead, but the nuclear story lives on.; title: In fact, it may be more important now than ever.; title: Chapter 11; title: Using the Freedom of Information Act:; title: It's your nuclear weapon; title: FOIA letters are sometimes necessary to pry out information.; title: Here's how to use them.; title: Chapter 12; title: The Internet, Information Technology and Military Coverage:; title: Be sure to mine this mother lode Modem technology has made covering the military easier. This; title: chapter concludes with a list of useful web sites.Chapter 13; title: Going to War I: Realtime; title: Covering major incidents and operations; title: Even during peacetime the military frequently engages in actual low-intensity operations that the media must cover.; title: Chronology of U.S. Military Operations: 1981-2ool; title: Chapter 14; title: Going to War II: The basics; title: A reporter's preparations; title: This chapter gives practical advice on the basics of going to war, from what to pack in your bags to how to deal with the media pool system; title: Chapter 15; title: Going to War III: Covering the War on; title: Terrorism; title: New approaches for a new form of conflict; title: The War on Terrorism presents new challenges, and new opportunities, for enterprising military reporters.; title: How toKnow when to keep secrets; title: Yes, there are times when you should elect NOT to go with a story.; title: Conclusion; title: The era of volatility; title: Epilogue; title: Appendix 1: Reading List: Reports; title: Appendix 2: Reading List: Military-Media Relations; title: Appendix 3: Reading List: Current Military Issues.