It is not every day that you can see men in army fatigues squirming looking for the nearest exit, but this is exactly the scene on the third floor of the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Last Friday October 23, was the sixth time that Captains from Ft. Sill came to Norman to work on their media engagement skills. This is the sixth time the university has hosted the event. The media engagement training pairs soon to be Captain with JMC undergrad and Graduate students. A series of hypothetical situations are created and given to each side. Then the army personnel are sat down in a room in front of the camera and interviewed by the students.

"We love the event. It involves new people and a new environment. Throws them a curveball." said Major Thomas one of the military instructors and founder of the event.

To earn the rank of Captain members of the army must pass a series of tests, on of them being media engagement. The program was the idea of Major Thomas who originally asked Cameron University in Lawton if they would be interested in hosting the event, they passed on hosting the media engagement. Some one at Cameron mentioned that the University of Oklahoma might be interested.

Paula Hewitt, Assistant to the, Director at The Institute for Research and Training is now one of the head figures in charge of the event. According to Hewitt the first event was on October, 1 2008 in Ft. Sill. After the first event the organizers thought it would be more economical to come to OU.

"It is a really fun event. It is a great way to promote mutual learning." said Hewitt. The event gives students the ability to take on the roll of the their favorite investigative reporter and gives the military personnel the experience of being in front of a camera and the center of attention.

The program is so successful that the Army is interested in taking the formula and taking it nation wide. "Every time it gets better." said Major Thomas.

"The event sure has changed a lot. There are always some mess-ups but as long as no one is aware we consider it a great event." Said Hewitt.

I was required to attend the event for my Multimedia journalism class and I was a little nervous of the idea. Being an advertising major I have no intention of interviewing people from a media perspective. In the set of guidelines we were given it said "Your goal isn't to trick the source or get him or her to say something sensational. You want the facts." Receiving these instructions I was a little hesitant with my first interview sticking primarily to the questions that were given to us.

After the first interview I was given the sign to “stick” it to the next interviewee.

After trying to exploit the next interviewee with little success I started to question my abilities in being a hard edge reporter. I completed the rest of the interview with much of the same results. The best way to describe my talents as a feared reported are best summarized by Major Thomas’s nickname for my interview room calling it “the candy room.

After a nice lunch consisting of delicious Hideaway Pizza, which was provided, I returned to the debriefing to watch the real fireworks. Entering the room full of military personnel feeling light hearted after a trip around campus to get some lunch, little did they know what was to ensue.

The second that Julie Jones, a member of the journalism faculty, entered the room the mood changed and became a little more serious. At the center of the room was a TV equipped with the necessary equipment to review the interviews. She promptly put the first tape in and dragged a chair right in front of the TV for the first of her “victims: to sit and watch his performance.

It didn’t take long for Jones to stop the tape and start making critique of his performance. Making notes of his posture, tone, and inflection. While the first critique had a lighthearted tone and some of the critiques and had the onlookers laughing not all the lessons learned where as light hearted. One of the scenarios involved the death of a one of the soldiers on the mission. The interviewee in question addressed the death in an rather impersonal way. Jones shared a very personal story in which she addressed how she dealt with loss. Using her insight she taught the soldiers how to answers questions in a manner that is both informative and personal.

At the end of the day all parties can walk away with some valuable experience. The soldiers gained some experience being in front of the camera and will be better prepared if they need to address the media. The students involved were able to test their interviewing skills and learn how to better prepare and address future interview.

Personally I feel more prepared for an interview on either side of the camera. If you would like to participate in a future media engagement event email Paula Hewitt at paula@ou.edu.