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Welcome Basic Public

Information Officer G290

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Unit 1: Welcome and Overview

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Course Administration Course/site logistics: Emergency procedures Schedule Breaks and lunch Restrooms Cell phones/BlackBerrys®

(silent) Other ground rules? No Acronyms!

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Tiered Training Approach

Awareness

Mastery

PIO Awareness Course (G289)

Basic PIO (G290)

JIS/JIC Planning for PIOs (G291)

Advanced PIO (E388)

PIO Masters Course

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Unit Objectives At the end of this unit, you will be able to: Relate course objectives to units in the

course schedule. Describe the role of the Public Information

Officer (PIO) as it relates to emergency public information.

Identify course materials and describe how they will be used during the course.

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Discussion: Role of the PIO Collects, verifies, and

disseminates information to the public through effective communication with the news media.

Operating within the Incident Command System framework, reports to the Incident Commander.

Does that say it all?

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Activity: The Effective PIO Instructions: Work in your table group to: Discuss your assigned quotation. Describe why it is an important characteristic for a

PIO to have. Give an example of how the PIO demonstrates this

characteristic. Report out in 15 minutes by: Introducing the table group (names, positions,

jurisdictions); and Giving your group’s answers.

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Characteristic: Knowledgeable The PIO must be knowledgeable about: Community. Emergency management

concepts. News media. Incident.

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Characteristic: Credible The PIO must have established credibility with: News media. Organizational

leadership. Other organizations’

PIOs.

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Characteristic: Good Communicator To be effective, the PIO must be able to communicate well:

In Writing On Camera Where Else?

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Characteristic: Strategic The PIO must be able to: Anticipate issues. Identify trends. Analyze public

information implications. Develop plans and

contingency plans.

How do you do all this?

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Characteristic: Proactive The PIO must: Assess personal readiness. Know the organization. Understand the “big picture.” Establish relationships (e.g., with other PIOs

and the media). Conduct regular media outreach. Plan, train, and exercise.

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Course Purpose

To prepare participants to function effectively in the role of full- or part-time Public Information Officers (PIOs) in the public safety/emergency management environment.

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Course Objectives After this course, participants will be able to: Describe how to communicate emergency

public information effectively in writing to the public through the news media.

Describe actions the PIO can take to prepare for and conduct an effective interview with the news media.

Demonstrate the ability to answer questions effectively during an on-camera interview.

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Course Objectives (Continued) Describe how to effectively perform the

responsibilities of the PIO at the scene of an incident.

Describe the Joint Information System (JIS) and Joint Information Center (JIC) concepts as they apply to the public information function in an expanding incident.

Participate in a panel discussion with members of the news media.

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Course Agenda DAY 1 DAY 2 Unit 1: Welcome and

Overview Unit 2: Communication

Tools That Work Unit 3: News Interviews Unit 4: Practical Exercise –

On-Camera Interviews and News Release Writing

Unit 5: Media Relations at the Scene

Unit 6: Public Information in Expanding Incidents – Introduction to JIS/JIC

Unit 7: News Media Panel Unit 8: Course Summary

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Course Resources Student Manual: Visuals Major content points Room to take notes Appendix

Instructors Each other!

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What Can You Do Now? In this unit, we discussed: The content and structure of this course. The role of the PIO and characteristics that

may contribute to success.

What can you do now to continue developing the skills required

for success as a PIO?