Captain’s Column
We are fast approaching the date Feb. 20, 2020, the date of the last issue to be published for this base newspaper, Wingspan.
In advance of that final issue, I wanted to take the time to share why the Wingspan will be phased out, and what new direction we’re taking in our strategic communication plan.
As many already know, more and more Americans are getting their news through television and digital media rather than print newspapers, and this is especially true for younger audiences. The pace of information flow in our society has increased dramatically, and is certainly different than during my own childhood when one waited until the evening news to catch up on the day’s events. Today’s information taps into a dynamic, 24-hour cycle that delivers information nearly instantly. Digital sources can deliver information to meet that demand in a way that print media cannot.
With limited resources, our team has to invest a limited public affairs staff toward the most effective tools to communicate with our community. We simply do not have the resources to adequately sustain both a strong digital communication plan and a print media program. And when forced to choose between the two, I see overwhelming advantages in investing in digital media.
Digital media tools such as our command’s Facebook page allow us to communicate instantaneously, which not only helps in routine messaging, but is also highly beneficial during emergencies.
Newspapers, on the other hand, feature about a one-week time delay from drafting a story to seeing it in print.
Digital media tools are interactive, allowing our community to respond and comment to our messages, provide immediate feedback, and ask questions, essentially encouraging community participation in the discussion. Newspapers do not have such an interactive mechanism.
Digital media tools allow us more creativity and flexibility to tell our stories through pictures and video. Each story can be posted on line with dozens of high definition photos as well as videos. We recently received new video equipment and we’re excited to provide more video content in the future.
My ultimate communications goal has always been and will continue to be transparency. We will continue to strive to keep our base population and local community informed and engaged in a timely and accurate manner. With a limited staff, the time has come to move on from one effort in favor of another – all to ensure that we have the most effective and satisfying communication plan possible!
I am sad to see this period end. Our partnership with Port Lavaca Wave, the publisher, has been amazing and I am grateful for their exceptional support. I will miss grabbing a paper copy of the Wingspan, being able to cut out a favorite article, and having that tangible connection to the base.
But I also never travel without my smart phone, so I am keeping my eyes on the horizon as we continue to develop new and better ways to bring you information in the most powerful and effective way possible.