Depot’s ITN gets the word out

By Suzanne Lewis
NADEP Cherry Point Public Affairs Department

Whether it’s mandatory training, depot-related news or current announcements, the depot’s Internal Television Network (ITN) system conveniently provides NADEP Cherry Point employees with this necessary information. The ITN broadcasts out of the audiovisual office, which is part of the Public Affairs Department located in Building 137.

Audiovisual Production Specialist Kim Walker has been providing video services to the depot for the past seven years and is the producer and anchor of the in-house news broadcast, NADEP Notebook. Walker and production assistant Suzanne Lewis provide information to NADEP personnel through this monthly news program by covering depot events and interviewing key individuals for TV newscasts. Employees are encouraged to participate in the selection of stories and to provide essential feedback.

“We want employees to view NADEP Notebook as their newscast,” Walker said. “We try to take the important issues affecting NADEP and show our viewers how these issues affect the way they do their jobs every day.”

One of the most constructive uses for the ITN is employee training. Each week safety or management videos are aired throughout the day giving employees the opportunity to meet their yearly training requirements. A schedule of the videos and their training codes is e-mailed to all NADEP Cherry Point users once a week, and it is also on ITN’s rotating slates. If employees miss the opportunity to view a mandatory video on the ITN, they can sign out the videos from the Training Library located in Building 4034.

On certain occasions, the depot’s Commanding Officer has an important message he wants to relay to NADEP employees, and the ITN is the quickest and most efficient way for him to get the word out. Since these messages are usually impromptu situations, and the audiovisual personnel have to be ready at a moment’s notice and work quickly to get the vital information on the air.

Since the ITN is not available to all work sites, the audiovisual office has VHS copies available of all videotapes produced at the depot. Employees can also use the rotating slides that air over the ITN system to announce special depot-related information, such as blood drives, training classes, or job announcements. The network recently began posting eatery menus and the ITN video schedule. The emergency information line number is also a permanent slide on the system.

Photo caption 1: On location in the NADEP Cherry Point H-53 Hangar, Building 137, Suzanne Lewis videotapes Kim Walker for an ITN broadcast segment. (Photo by Gary Rice)

Photo caption 2: In the NADEP Cherry Point audiovisual office in Building 137, Suzanne Lewis (left) and Kim Walker edit a NADEP Notebook newscast. (Photo by Gary Rice)