Public Web site becomes major staple for readers

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Michael O'Connor
  • 31st Fighter Wing, Public Affairs
AVAINO AIR BASE, Italy-- --  The Dec. 21st issue of the Vigileer closes a chapter in the 31st Fighter Wing history books as the longest running military base newspaper to hit the streets of Aviano Air Base. It also marks the last official printing of the Vigileer. 

While the Aviano community bids a fond farewell to the newspaper, many readers have already begun trekking their way to the information super highway. All the news, commentaries, features and sports articles about the people and mission of the 31st FW are already located there along with stand alone or related art work, biographies, fact sheets, photography, video and much, much more. 

Some of the weekly Vigileer newspaper junkies will struggle at first as they cope with a paper that's 'online only.' However, for the latest information documenting the mission and people here, they'll soon realize they can get their 'fix' on a daily versus weekly basis. After a few clicks to the Aviano public Web site at www.aviano.af.mil the readers will be hooked--wondering why the Air Force didn't go online sooner? 

"At Aviano, public affairs journalists, photographers and broadcasters will continue to document the mission and happenings of the base," said Capt. Jennifer Ferrau, 31st FW chief of public affairs. "The two noticeable changes will be instantaneous coverage and frequent online postings of local news, photos and video. Also, a new printed product called the Compass will replace the weekly 'Vigileer,' 'Services Rocks,' and the monthly 'Airpocket' insert to the Vigileer." 

"The beauty of base-level online news is the timeliness and worldwide accessibility of information," said Senior Airman Justin Weaver, 31st FW Web site manager and Vigileer editor. "Combine the ability to merge the multimedia capabilities of photographs, streaming video, audio news and features, plus graphics and links to other Air Force features, and we have a true multimedia experience all in one source; the wing commander's No. 1 internal information tool."

WHY ONLINE ONLY?
"A Web-based information-delivery system provides a number of benefits," said Captain Ferrau. "Among them: posting news releases in real time, providing access to homestation news from deployed locations, and using the same delivery system at home and while deployed." 

Due to the budget cuts in conjunction with an Air Force Smart Operations 21 initiative, base newspaper staffs across the Air Force have transitioned from the traditional printed base newspaper to an "online only" source located on the World Wide Web. 

"With the new Web management system, we can post content to the public site within five minutes," said Airman Weaver. "This decreases the time between when an article is complete and when it's released from an average of seven days to within minutes."

RESEARCH RESULTS
According to Secretary of the Air Force PA reports, a working group calculated the average newspaper team spent 30-40 percent of their time in design, layout, and managing the proofing process. Eliminating the printed product would allow more time for producing better quality stories and photos for upload to the Web, which would serve a broader audience as well. 

The online format will also allow for multiple layers of interactive content, such as audio and video, instead of the one-dimensional format the printed product allowed. As of Oct. 1, 2007, all PA and base multimedia offices AF-wide have merged, increasing commanders' capabilities as they prepare more complete packages to support strategic communication goals.

ONLINE ACCESS
To view the latest articles, imagery and more, go to www.aviano.af.mil. The public site can be viewed from a dot-MIL computer, home computer, or one of the many public computers located throughout the base.