UNCLASSIFIED
ROUTINE
R 241758Z JUN 16
FM CHINFO WASHINGTON DC
TO NAVADMIN
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NAVADMIN 148/16

MSGID/GENADMIN/CHINFO WASHINGTON DC/JUN/

SUBJ/ESTABLISHMENT OF THE AMERICAN CONNECTIONS MEDIA OUTREACH PROGRAM//

REF/A/DOC/SECNAV/05JAN06/SECNAVINST 5724.3A//
REF/B/DOC/SECNAV/21FEB12/SECNAVINST 5720.44C (CH 1)//
REF/C/DOC/CNO/21DEC12/OPNAVINST 5726.8A//
NARR/REF A IS SECNAV INSTRUCTION COVERING FLEET HOMETOWN NEWS PROGRAM POLICY 
AND PROCEDURES. REF B IS DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY PUBLIC AFFAIRS POLICY AND 
REGULATIONS. REF C IS OUTREACH: AMERICAS NAVY ESTABLISHING POLICY AND 
REQUIREMENTS FOR NAVY COMMUNITY OUTREACH.//
POC/ALVIN PLEXICO/CIV/NAVCO/LOC: MILLINGTON, TN/TEL: (901) 874-5806
/EMAIL: ALVIN.PLEXICO(AT)NAVY.MIL//

RMKS/1.  This NAVADMIN announces the new American Connections Media Outreach 
Program, which modernizes and replaces the Navy’s legacy Fleet Hometown News 
(FHTN) program, and promulgates procedures for commands and Sailors to 
participate.

2.  The American Connections Media Outreach Program, managed by the Navy 
Office of Community Outreach (NAVCO), has been established to share the Navy 
story in media across the country serving markets which generally do not 
receive Navy news and information.  The program carefully considers how media 
and public audiences prefer to receive information today and incorporates new 
technology and social media.  It leverages Sailors local connections to 
communities across America -- hometown, location of high school or college 
attended, family member’s hometown, etc. -- as well as the relationships that 
exist between Navy units and their namesake cities and states, to ensure 
Americans throughout the country better understand their Navy, its mission 
and its contribution to national security.  An additional but no less 
significant benefit of the program is the positive impact on the morale of 
participating Sailors and namesake units.

3.  Descriptions of specific services available under the new program are 
listed here:
    a.  Media production visits.  NAVCO deploys small production teams to 
commands to produce feature stories and accompanying photos on assigned 
Sailors, which are provided to media outlets where those Sailors have local 
connections.  NAVCO provides each participating command with detailed media 
feedback reports with links to all coverage and conducts training with 
command public affairs teams on how to produce and share their own stories.  
All content is also posted to NAVCOs media outreach blog, allowing Sailors to 
share their stories via their social media networks.
    b.  Media advisory service.  Preserving a popular capability from the 
FHTN program, NAVCO notifies local media when Sailors are promoted, receive 
an award, earn a warfare qualification, complete a deployment or achieve 
other recognition.  Sailors may submit material for this service via a 
fillable form, available at www.outreach.navy.mil.  Sailors can also use this 
form to request NAVCO assistance in coordinating a phone or email interview 
with local media.  NAVCO provides media feedback reports with links to all 
coverage.
    c.  Fleet-produced content sharing service.  Every day, commands 
throughout the Navy produce hundreds of stories and photos featuring the 
professionalism of our Sailors and the accomplishments of Navy commands.  
NAVCO's content sharing service provides these stories and photos to media 
where Sailors have local connections and to media with ties to namesake 
units.  Key to this effort is the identification of local ties in all stories 
and photo captions.  As a matter of course, NAVCO reviews photos and stories 
shared with navy.mil, DVIDS and many other sources; however, commands are 
also encouraged to include navyoutreach@navy.mil when distributing photos and 
stories.  NAVCO provides commands media feedback reports with links to all 
coverage.
    d.  Radio shout-out service.  A toll-free telephone service (1-855-OUR-
NAVY or 1-855-687-6289) is available for Sailors to record a 15-second 
greeting, which is shared with local radio stations where Sailors have local 
connections.  Greetings can be submitted in conjunction with a holiday or 
observance, such as Thanksgiving, Veterans Day, etc.  Greetings can also be 
sent from Sailors, or namesake units, to offer support to their home teams 
participating in major sporting events.  The shout-outs are based on a script 
that NAVCO sends out prior to each event. Units wishing to be notified of 
future radio shout out opportunities can e-mail navyoutreach@navy.mil.

4.  Ref (a) will be canceled.  Specific requirements for participating in the 
American Connections Media Outreach Program will be incorporated into the 
next revisions of refs (b) and (c).

5.  Points of contact:  For more information, visit www.outreach.navy.mil or 
contact navyoutreach@navy.mil or 901-874-5806.

6.  Released by RDML D. E. Cutler, Chief of Information.//

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