The June Journalist of the Month, Senior Master Sgt. John Rohrer, captured attention with his coverage of the military fighting wildfires in Colorado.
Rohrer serves with the 140th Wing Public Affairs, Colorado Air National... read more
The June Journalist of the Month, Senior Master Sgt. John Rohrer, captured attention with his coverage of the military fighting wildfires in Colorado. <br /><br />
Rohrer serves with the 140th Wing Public Affairs, Colorado Air National Guard.<br /><br />
"SMSgt Rohrer is truly an outstanding public affairs professional. During the High Park Wildfire, SMSgt Rohrer let nothing stand in his way of getting critical photo and video coverage of the fires, while simultaneously managing his multimedia team and facilitating local media queries," said Capt. Kinder Blacke, Chief of Public Affairs CANG. <br /><br />
Not only do his videos have the highest number of as-aired detections for June, they have the second highest number of monthly views in the top 10 for downloads. <br /><br />
For example, Rohrer's video, "High Park Firefighters Battle Blazes," aired on television outlets from Denver and Los Angeles to New Orleans and San Diego. It was viewed more than 3,500 times and was shared more than 370 times on Facebook. <br /><br />
Rohrer's videos most likely generated such an elevated interest because they were the first videos covering the wildfires made available on DVIDS. Nevertheless, one of his later videos still caught the attention of media. the video, "Bambi Bucket Drops from a Black Hawk Helicopter," aired in Atlanta; Washington, D.C.; Cincinnati, Ohio and other locations. <br /><br />
Rohrer's impressive coverage of the wildfires is not limited to his videography. His photos helped to illustrate the military's effort to combat the wildfires for numerous media outlets including MSNBC, The Greenwich Time, Associated Press and others. <br /><br />
Two of his images that media used the most were the images of the firefighters from the Cortolane Idaho fire department marching to dinner at sunset and an aircraft dropping fire retardant spray. The images were part of a larger image gallery: "High Park fires." <br /><br />
"While he is a multimedia specialist by trade, he has tackled traditional public affairs roles as well and his many strengths have made him a true asset to our PA team," added Blacke. His positive attitude and determination have allowed him to thrive in challenging situations and produce top-notch work in the process." <br /><br />
The timeliness and subject matter of Rohrer's videos and images made his coverage of the wildfires stand out and ultimately lead to his selection as the DVIDS Journalist of the Month. <br /><br /> show less
