Mass communication specialist

Mass communication specialist (abbreviated as MC) is a United States Navy occupational rating, dealing primarily with public affairs duties.

History
Mass communication specialists are concerned with public affairs and visual communication. Their role is to present the U.S. Navy to naval and civilian audiences, through a variety of media. MCs write and produce both print and broadcast journalism, including news and feature stories for military and civilian newspapers, magazines, television and radio stations. They record still and video photography of military operations, exercises, and other U.S. Navy events.

Merger
Mass Communication Specialists came about from a merging in 2006 of four previous U.S. Navy ratings: photographer's mate (PH), journalist (JO), illustrator/draftsman (DM) and lithographer (LI).

Since the rates have merged, mass communication specialists may be required to perform all the duties of the four former rates. Many work in a U.S. Navy public affairs capacity where they coordinate public events and respond to news queries from the media.