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The end of an era: Kunsan's 'Wolf Pack Warrior' set to expire

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Stephen Collier
  • 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  Kunsan is keeping in line with Air Force Smart Operations-21 and Air Force leadership's vision by retiring the base's award-winning Wolf Pack Warrior newspaper April 27.

To help improve the quality and timeliness of getting news to Wolf Pack members and base readers alike, Kunsan is transitioning to Web-based news soon after.

The new system mirrors what civilian media organizations have been doing for years. According to Nielsen/NetRatings, which tracks Web audience usage, monthly visits to U.S. newspaper sites rose nearly a third in the first half of 2006. In contrast, major U.S. newspapers, including The New York Times, USA Today and the Los Angeles Times saw a three to nine percent drop in their readership throughout 2006. The Chicago Tribune also saw a double-digit slide in 2006.

These surveys show fewer people get their news from traditional printed newspapers, while more get their information from Web-based products. In response to this growing reality, the policy for going towards Internet-based news was developed by a working group using AFSO-21 principles, and was chartered by Air Force Public Affairs to determine the best way to deliver Air Force news with the continued reductions in man power. With public affairs trimming 200 positions from an 800-strong career field, the change was inevitable ... and to the servicemember's benefit.

Military members and civilians alike can access the Web for base-specific news, allowing them to keep up to date with the latest headlines from Kunsan as well as the Air Force. This allows for critical information, which was previously updated only on a weekly basis, to be posted in a matter of minutes and be available to a wider audience.

"Now getting news will be timelier," said Capt. James Lage, 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs officer. "If something happens on a Monday, you won't have to wait until a Friday to read about it. It's the future of doing business. Quite a few Air Force services have [already] gone to the Web because of the convenience and available technology. [The transition] saves money and manpower, while continuing to inform our target audience the moment news happens. It just makes sense."

The seamless conversion to Web-based news is already paying for itself. The cost savings alone for one year is about $37,000 to print the Wolf Pack Warrior. And with fewer people, the need to work smarter, and not harder, wasn't an option. Information provided to the working group showed the base newspaper was the single largest time-consuming product in public affairs.

While the move to an electronic news format was brought on by fewer personnel in PA, delivering a better product to the 8th FW 'Wolf Pack' audience was a top priority. Not only will PA's staff have the ability to report news faster, but the quality of news, timeliness of stories and greater accessibility to them all means better service to base readers.

Several bases have already made the leap to an online news service. Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., Buckley AFB, Colo., Vandenberg AFB, Calif., Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, Incirlik AB, Turkey, Misawa AB, Japan and Bagram AB, Afghanistan, have already committed to the new process.