Dec. 19, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Doug Swanson
Cal Poly Journalism Department
805-756-6705; dswanson@calpoly.edu
Conducting Military Public Affairs on the USS Ronald Reagan --
Cal Poly Journalism Professor to Talk About His Experiences Jan. 15
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Cal Poly Journalism Professor Doug Swanson will give a talk about how military public affairs is conducted on board the country’s newest and largest aircraft carrier – the USS Ronald Reagan – on Thursday, Jan. 15.
Swanson will give his presentation from 11:10 a.m. to noon in the Graphic Arts Building, Room 104, on campus. In his talk, he will discuss how journalism and public relations in the military differ from what people in the civilian world see.
Swanson wrote a column about his experience aboard the USS Ronald Reagan, where his son is serving in the Navy. Click here to read it in the San Luis Obispo Tribune.
Swanson spent a week aboard the USS Ronald Reagan as it returned from a six-month deployment to Asia and the Persian Gulf. While there, he studied the Reagan’s Graphics Media Unit, which is comprised of 35 people responsible for a twice-weekly onboard news magazine, two Web sites, four channels of in-house produced television programming, and all of the portrait and news/feature photography for the Reagan and the ships in its Carrier Strike Group, which includes five ships.
The Graphics Media Unit is also responsible for all shipboard special guest visits, media relations and event planning no matter where the Reagan and its accompanying ships are in the world. “The task of representing the Reagan, its 6,500 sailors, the U.S. Navy and the United States of America is a responsibility that exceeds anything most journalists and media people in the private sector would ever encounter,” Swanson said. “It’s an operation that must be culturally and politically aware, technologically savvy and ‘up to speed,’ 24/7, anywhere in the world that the Reagan and its fleet are deployed.”
The public is invited to hear about the floating city that is the USS Ronald Reagan, see examples of the Reagan’s Graphics Media Unit work, and take a behind-the-scenes look at military journalism and public relations that few civilians are able to witness. There will be a question-and-answer session after the presentation.
This presentation is free and open to the public. It is given in conjunction with the Cal Poly Public Relations Student Society of America. For more information, call Swanson at 805-756-6705 or dswanson@calpoly.edu.
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