Wing re-launches Space Observer as publisher stands down Space Guardian Published March 23, 2007 By Senior Master Sgt. Ty Foster 21st Space Wing Public Affairs PETERSON AFB, Colo. -- It's back! The Space Observer will roll off the presses and into the base news racks again on April 5. Seven months ago, in a move to operate more efficiently and migrate base newspaper readers to the new www.peterson.af.mil web site, the 21st Space Wing shut the doors on the Space Observer. During the hiatus, the Colorado Springs Military Newspaper Group published the Space Guardian to continue serving the base population. While this publication, for all intents and purposes, looked like a base paper, smelled like a base paper and was distributed like a base paper, it was not the base paper. "We're delighted to have the Space Observer back and especially thrilled with the level of support we've received from our downtown partners in this endeavor," said Col. Liz Anderson, individual mobilization augmentee to the 21st Space Wing commander. Under the leadership of their publisher, Lon Matejczyk, CSMNG broke new ground in developing the Space Guardian as a publication serving nearly 16,000 at Peterson and thousands more at points beyond. "As publisher of the Colorado Springs Business Journal and all the military papers in the area, I feel it is our responsibility to bring the business community and military communities together to foster an understanding of our challenges and opportunities," Mr Matejczyk said. CSMNG staffers wrote articles, took photos, edited and designed the Space Guardian from the ground up, said Capt. Tracy Giles, 21st Space Wing chief of public affairs. "If they could do that for an unofficial publication serving a military audience, we wondered why couldn't they or any other publisher run an official base newspaper the same way," he said. So the wing rewrote the statement of work and put the contract out for bid. CSMNG was the only company that filled the bill. "I am proud that the leadership at Peterson has trusted the Colorado Springs Military Newspaper Group to continue the tradition of the Space Observer, and we will strive to put out the best possible newspaper for the greater Peterson Air Force Base community," Mr. Matejczyk said. Now, CSMNG's staff writer will operate out of the wing's public affairs office while the editor and designer will operate out of the CSMNG office in downtown Colorado Springs. The majority of the Space Observer's content will be taken from the www.peterson.af.mil web site, as well as other approved DoD sites. "Now, readers have the option of reading the news and information on line as soon as it's posted, or reading it in the Space Observer when it's published," Captain Giles said. The Air Force Smart Operations 21 initiative to do away with base newspapers was designed to eliminate a manpower drain on shrinking PA staffs who, like other career fields, were experiencing an increased deployment tempo. But many publishers, recognizing a loss of advertising revenues, decided to continue publishing the "base paper" under a new name and without PA staff involvement, the captain said. This innovative approach did not go unnoticed. "Public affairs offices from across the Air Force have been looking at how we've continued to serve our readers while reducing the manpower stress of newspaper production," he said. "Our staff spent roughly 120 man hours per week running the paper." Under the new contract, it'll be less than 20. These innovations have not gone unnoticed. "Air Force base paper publishers from around the country watched this process and asked how we handled these changes," Mr. Matejczyk said. "We have been pleased to report that everything has been smooth due to the cooperation of all involved." "Anytime we can improve our ability to communicate with our Airmen and cut back on the manpower required to do so is a win for everyone involved," Colonel Anderson said. Summing up the CSMNG and 21st Space Wing partnership, contracted or not, Captain Giles offered a simple, yet appropriate comment. "Welcome back to the family."