433AW Editorial and Submission Guidelines

This Public Website, www.433aw.afrc.af.mil, is the only official, publicly accessible Website for the 433rd Airlift Wing. It is designed as the commander's primary communication tool to transmit information to the 433rd AW community.

Please review the following editorial policy and publication guidelines before submitting requests for coverage. Please Email 433AWPA@us.af.mil to submit commentary, story ideas, or calendar items.

Only information cleared for public release in accordance with Defense Department Web Policy and Air Force Instructions 33-129 and 35-107 will be posted to this public Web site. The guidelines are intended to help members of the 433rd Airlift Wing community to submit appropriate information for publication on this site.

To view this Web site's disclaimer policy, please click HERE.

For more information, call the 433AW Public Affairs office at (210) 925-5194 or Email.

Editorial Policy

1. The 433rd AW Web site provides the commander a primary means of communicating mission-essential information to members of the organization. The commander normally defers all decisions on news propriety, story placement, publication date, and use of photography to the Public Affairs officer.

2. News and feature stories on people and organizations provide recognition of excellence in performance and help set forth norms for mission accomplishment.

3. News coverage and content will conform to policies of the Air Force and to the direction of the 433rd AW commander. News reporting will be factual and objective. News coverage will avoid morbid, sensational or alarming details not necessary to factual news reporting. News writing will distinguish between fact and opinion. When an opinion is expressed, the source will be identified. This public Web site will not publish commercial news or editorials.

4. This public Web site will keep Airmen and members of the general public accurately informed about military matters affecting their futures, to improve matters affecting their current life and their futures, to improve morale and to quell rumors. Only information cleared for public release in accordance with AFI 33-129, AFI 35-107, Air Force Reserve Command Editorial Policy and other associated policies and instructions can be posted to the 433rd AW public websites, including Facebook.

5. News and editorial content will provide information to all members of the 433rd AW community to improve the quality of their lives and thereby the effectiveness of the work force. This includes officers, enlisted members, civilian employees, family members, retirees, and Reservists and Guardsmen.

6. This Web site will de-glamorize the use of alcohol and tobacco products. Articles concerning the club, unit, or other activities may mention these products as long as the emphasis is on the activities and not the products.

7. This public Web site will not display commercial advertising.

8. Event announcements published on this Web site must be made available to all readers without regard to race, religion, sex, national origin, marital status, physical handicap, political affiliation or any other non-merit factor.

9. The contents of this Web site will conform to applicable regulations and laws relating to libel and copyright, the Air Force Privacy Act Program and Standards of Conduct, as well as U.S. Government printing and postal regulations.

10. Locally originated articles will reflect the policies of the commander and be in the interest of the Air Force. Editorials should help readers understand Air Force policies and programs. They must not imply criticism of other government agencies, nor advocate or dispute specific political, diplomatic, or legislative matters. Statements or articles on legislative matters by people or agencies outside the DOD, including officials or candidates for public office, will not be used.

a. Mission impact: information that impacts the Air Force mission and the 433rd AW's ability to carry out that mission will be given first priority. Stories or information passed directly from the wing commander are in this category as well as designated command and Air Force must-run articles.

b. Indirect mission impact: Items that may affect or appeal to a great portion of the Wing and cyber community, but do not directly impact the mission. Fitness events, on-base construction work, etc., are examples of items in this category.

c. Community impact: This includes stories or information about the Wing and local community information that affect the morale and quality of life activities for members. Examples include features and photos, Annual Veterans Day Parade, and Gate-to-Gate run coverage. Public Website policy is to NOT publish obituaries, going-away events, quarterly awards, retirements, safety/awareness/health briefings, re-enlistments, distinguished visitor visits, school honor rolls, high school and college graduations, sports team rosters and other events similar in type.

Publication Guidelines

Deadline: All elements of this Web site are updated daily, as time and mission requirement permit. In order to ensure adequate coverage or advertising of an event, information should be submitted to the editor no later than one week prior to the event.

Rewrite: All copy submitted to the editor will be rewritten as needed to ensure it conforms to Air Force journalism guidelines for news writing. This includes conforming to the guidelines in the Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law and appropriate story length.

Prominence: The location and manner in which an item is presented on this Web site will be determined by the Public Affairs officer.

Recurring Columns: Recurring columns from base agencies are normally discouraged because of the time and commitment required to keep the Web pages up to date. Units requesting dedicated space on this Web site must designate a content manager, and prepare and submit six months of content prior to page publication. The public affairs officer will determine if a request for a recurring column has merit.

Award Winners: Stories and/or photos of award winners are limited to group-level and higher. Awards below wing level may be mentioned in a regular (news or spotlight) column and published on a space-available basis.

Change of Command: Stories and/or photos are limited to group-level. Squadron-level change of command announcements may be published in the "news briefs" column.

Photos: Photos normally accepted for publication include on-the-job action photos. Photos containing photos containing classified information, alcoholic beverages or cigarettes, dress and personal appearance violations, safety violation or which compromise force protection measures will not be published. Photos should be accompanied by a brief description of the action pictured, the date of the photo, the ranks, names and units of people featured in the photo, and the rank and name of the photographer. All photos will be held to releaseable standards set forth in AFI 35-109.

Retirements: Articles will be written only if the individual has made a significant contribution the wing.

Fund Drives: Coverage will be limited to those campaigns authorized by the Air Force, namely the Combined Federal Campaign and the Air Force Assistance Fund.

Coordination: Articles published on this site will be coordinated with affected agencies as deemed appropriate by the Public Affairs officer. Controversial or "sensitive" articles will be coordinated with the commander, and higher headquarters, when necessary, before publication. Changes to style or news writing will only be made, when directed by the Public Affairs officer.

Social Media: According to Air Force guidance, Public Affairs professionals are responsible for researching, preparing, conducting and assessing communication operations in the information battle space and they must use all available communications means to fulfill this dynamic role. Social media allows messages to potentially spread far greater than initially intended (hence the term, "viral marketing,") and tools like blogs, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook provide instantaneous communication with vast audiences.

a. Public Affairs will manage an official Facebook page linked from the front page of this public Website. Additionally, Public Affairs will be the Wing's source for social media guidance; however, all other sites hosted by base agencies will be managed by that agency and subject to approval and monitoring by Air Reserve Command

b. The 433rd Airlift Wing Facebook Fan page is the official Facebook account for Wing. All content submitted and uploaded to the site must be furnished and approved for release by the 433rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs that maintains and operates the site.

Elements of News

Timeliness
Journalists stress current information - stories occurring today or yesterday, not several weeks ago. News story submissions should generally be no more than a week old.

Impact
Stress the important information that impacts the audience - Airmen and family members, and members of the general public, when appropriate. Don't overlook the "me factor" that your audience craves. Broad appeal is important.

Prominence
News stories about prominent people tend to generate more interest than those about ordinary people. Readers are especially interested in what our leaders have to say about important issues and events. That's not to say that we should exclude articles about ordinary people, but that we appreciate the importance of prominence.

Proximity
This element can be physical - stories occurring here at Minot - or psychological, Airmen interested in the lives of other Airmen around the globe. On one hand, the Air Force community is local and on the other hand, it's global.

Singularity
Deviations from the normal - unexpected or unusual events, drama or change - are more newsworthy than the commonplace. In the Air Force community, most stories with this characteristic will deal with change: budget, manpower, infrastructure, processes, etc.

Conflict or Controversy
Conflict is also another common thread in Air Force news stories: overcoming hardships, balancing career and family, war. Conflict is also present in organizational and service rivalries, sports news and features, and self-improvement. In each of these stories, the conflict can be positive.

While the focus of the 433 AW Public Affairs office is typically on Mission, People and Infrastructure articles, writers can submit several other types of articles as long as there is a clear military relationship demonstrated in the writing.

- Sports
- Travel features
- Self-improvement articles
- 'How-to' articles
- Hobby features
- Personality features
- Historical features
- Editorials/commentaries