Chamber, city join forces in battle to save Navy jet base
By JON W. GLASS, The Virginian-Pilot
© August 13, 2005
Last updated: 12:58 AM

VIRGINIA BEACH — As part of a joint effort to save Oceana Naval Air Station, City Hall and the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce are waging an ad campaign that will top $100,000.

Since July 19, when the federal Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission added Oceana to a proposed base-closing list, the city and the chamber have cranked up a public relations campaign featuring ads in the newspaper and on local radio and television stations.

The ads urge residents to let the BRAC Commission know that “we value the military and want Oceana to remain a vital part of our community,” according to several in The Virginian-Pilot.

The city expects to spend $70,000 to $80,000, while the chamber has raised $37,000 , with a goal of reaching $50,000, from business members , officials said.

Diane Roche, a Virginia Beach spokeswoman, said the city funds are coming from a reserve account to pay for “unexpected expenses” that arise during the year.

BRAC’s decision stunned city, state and federal officials.

“Oceana has more than a billion-dollar impact in Hampton Roads, and we felt this was a wise investment to help keep the base open,” Roche said. “We felt we had a responsibility to inform the citizens and let them know how they could let BRAC know how they felt.”

Ira Agricola, senior vice president of the chamber, said Oceana, with about 12,000 military and civilian personnel, accounts for 11 percent of Virginia Beach’s economy and is a “vital part of the region’s economy. It’s equal to three Ford plants.”

Writing to BRAC, either by letter or on its Web site, is the only chance the public has to weigh in on Oceana, Agricola said.

The nine-member independent commission will decide later this month whether to recommend closing or downsizing the base.

So far, officials said, the promotional effort appears to be having an effect.

At an Aug. 4 hearing, Anthony J. Principi, the commission’s chairman, said that nearly 2,000 comments on Oceana had come from Virginia residents during that past week.

“We want them to know that their inputs are appreciated and taken into consideration in our review process,” Principi said, according to a transcript of the hearing.

The business community, including builders, the real estate industry and the Navy League, has contributed money to the chamber’s effort, Agricola said.

In addition, he said, The Virginian-Pilot has run a few ads for the chamber at no charge, including a full-page ad on Aug. 1, the day that four BRAC commissioners visited Oceana.

The ad asked residents for their “help and support” in persuading BRAC to keep Oceana open.

Two local television stations – WTKR and WVEC – have run two 30-second TV commercials with similar messages as free public-service announcements, Agricola said. Cox Cable also has run the ads for free.

WAVY has not aired the spots, said Doug Davis, WAVY’s president and general manager. He said they fell outside the typical public-service announcements that promote charitable or humanitarian issues.

“It’s really a political issue when you look at it,” Davis said. “On the flip side, if Citizens Concerned About Jet Noise came to me, in fairness wouldn’t they have to be given free air time?”

The citizens group, CCAJN, favors relocating Oceana’s fighter jets and bringing in a military use less disruptive to the community.

Kelly McBride, a journalism ethics leader at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., said the decision by The Pilot and the two TV stations to provide free ads is “part of the messiness of journalism” and that “it’s better if they don’t.”

“Frequently you’ll find the business arm of news corporations doing a variety of activities in the community that do create a perception of a conflict of an interest in the newsroom,” McBride said.

“It happens all the time. Frequently, you have publishers contributing to political campaigns.”

Dee Carpenter, president and publisher of The Virginian-Pilot, said he disagrees that the ads promote a political issue.

He also said that running the free ads was a business decision and that he has not attempted to influence The Pilot’s news coverage of the BRAC issue.

“I see this as pure economic development, or lack thereof,” said Carpenter, who this year is chairman of the chamber’s board of directors.

“If Oceana were to close and we didn’t do everything we could do, it would really affect our business. I’d be crazy not to be interested in whether Oceana stays here or not.”

Carpenter said a “relatively small amount” of free ad space was provided, and it was offered on a “space available” basis.

Mario A. Hewitt , president and general manager of WVEC , also said the station’s decision to run the free TV spots had not affected its news coverage.

“I see myself as part of this community and for us to lose that base – forget the business side – I think there would be so much disruption to the community,” Hewitt said.

“The only reason I’m running them is for service of this community.”

Frank Chebalo, general manager of WTKR , could not be reached for comment.

Reach Jon W. Glass at (757) 222-5119 or jon.glass@pilotonline.com.