All of the above, 23. Leaves the decision as to who will be in the pool to the media. Email. Describe the role and function of the PIO. C. Monitors costs related to the incident, and provides . A campaign on hurricane awareness wont get much play in December. The information you provide: In addition to the qualities necessary to be a good PIO, there are skills and knowledge you need to ensure your success. Include email addresses and Internet sites for the media contact. Click on a program for additional information. Although firefighters were able to knock down the blaze before it reached the parents bedroom, the smoke-blackened walls dramatically underscored how lucky they were to escape with their lives. Each time this test is loaded, you will receive a unique set of questions and answers. Develop and pre-test materials C. Develop an action planD. Provide public information, emergency public information, and community education to your internal and external target audiences. These people are your target audience. Year in and year out, nearly 1,400 Arizonans get heat related illnesses so serious that they end up in an emergency department. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Communicating public information messages internally to the workforce is important because it allows the PIO to: A. Make it less likely that your release will be cut C. Impress people in the target audience D. Be a barrier to communication, 22. A news release should be used when an activity or incident is newsworthy based on: News releases should be printed on your organizations letterhead and include a header with contact information (name and number), date, and a news release number. Speculation C. Summarizing D. Bridging, 12. PIOs need to have a thorough understanding of the communities they serve. Illustrate the multiple roles of the Public Information Officer and the media in planning for and responding to an emergency. Weegy: The role of the pubic information officer is to gather facts and disseminate it to the media. Describe the role of the PIO in an emergency. Do you follow through? It is important to prepare each person to ensure your message is consistent. I know our superb team of firefighters will do all they can, but the conditions on the railroad are particularly difficult, Smith said. Simplify complex ideas by using short sentences. A tornado strikes in the Midwest. A good overview of ICS is provided in the independent study . C. only required when dictated by the Incident Commander. Prepare a Go Kit filled with your tools, contact information, and other vital documents. Verdi White: The two functions and people that I need to have with me when Im out here doing anything is I need to have a finance person and I need to have the Joint Information Center. Evolving media (Web sites, email, blogs, social networking sites, etc.). One of the advantages of the Incident Command System (ICS) is: A. Youll be quite surprised at how the elected official mouse makes all the difference with the children. Verdi White: And I believe that that has helped in our relationship with the media. Primary audience: FEMA IS-29.A is designed for the new or less experienced state, local, tribal and territorial PIOs or those who have this role as a secondary function. In such a scenario zombies would take over entire countries, roaming city streets eating anything living that got in their way. Some evaluation data can be collected without contact with the audiencefor example, number of Web page hits or increase in the quantity of smoke alarms purchased. Evaluate the effectiveness of your campaign. Communicating factual information with the public is the most important job function of a PIO. You can find the complete list of courses in the Spanish language course list. What are priorities within your organization? A goal that makes you stretch is good. Construct and deliver an appropriate crisis and emergency risk message. As part of conducting research, you have identified populations in the community who are vulnerable and need the information from your campaign. If you need to build an email list, consider including a place for people to sign up on your Web site. The following was originally posted on CDC Public Health Matters Blog on May 16, 2011, by Ali S. Khan. A Public Information Officer (PIO) for a public safety or emergency management agency might expect to spend what portion of his or her time on activities directly related to incident response or recovery? Identify the purpose of what you are writing and start with the main message. A social networking site is a great tool for: Now you know about the many tools available to get your message out. The Governor repeated his request that everyone use caution and heed warning messages on TV and radio, or in their newspapers. Add to the measurable statistics C. Enlist support and involvement of organization personnel while communicating a consistent message D. Demonstrate commitment to the organization, 16. C. In this lesson youll learn more about creating public awareness campaigns. Expert Help. Many organizations follow stylebooks that establish how they will communicate with the public in terms of titles, capitalization, punctuation, and so on. Blogs are a good tool to use to communicate with your audience. The 95/5 concept relates to non-emergency and emergency PIO activities 95% of most PIOs' work is in non-emergency times, with only 5% directly related to incident response or recovery. The good news is that preventing heat related illness is easy to do if you just use common sense. The Public Information Officer Awareness Course (IS0029) is designed to familiarize participants with the concepts underlying the PIO role. Message mapping B. Dissemination C. Tracking and documentation D. Media analysis. Overview: The FEMA IS-29.A course was published on 8/5/2019 to familiarize participants with the concepts underlying the PIO role. C. is a failed theory and should not be used by modern public information officers. Many edits, however, can be made in real-time and appear almost instantly online. Use the media area for all media releases and conferences. Some tips for speaking publicly and improving your responses (or assisting and preparing a speaker) are: When distributing written products or speaking to the media, you will often need to work with a person to get your information out. Select it carefully and choose your background wisely. The Emergency Management Institute (EMI) Public Information Officer (PIO) training program is designed to provide PIOs with the essential knowledge, skills, and abilities to support proper decision-making by delivering the right message, to the right people, at the right time. Consider information about the whole community when identifying topics, including: There is no point in conducting a hurricane preparedness campaign if your area is not subject to hurricanes. This course has presented you with tools that PIOs can use to communicate, the steps to develop a campaign to prepare your community, and ways to effectively provide critical information during an emergency. This course can provide a basic understanding of the PIO function for those new to the position. 0. At the completion of this lesson you should be able to: In the previous lesson, you learned about the audiences with whom you will need to communicatethe media, the public, and employees and leaders within your organization. This course is designed for new or less experienced state, local, tribal and territorial PIOs or those who have this role as a secondary function. Develop relationships with other organizations PIOs B. In the Incident Command System (ICS) structure, the Public Information Officer (PIO): A. What will you change in future campaigns? Demonstrate that you are in the knowB. It can be taken alone or before Basic Public Information Officer Training (G290). Students also learn message development and . Many wikis are open to alteration by the general public without requiring them to register user accounts. It also helps identify the target audience for a particular public awareness campaign. Social Media: Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse. hb```f``z B@16 @>cC?v,gY&9w=K{mg,XRV3Z'le Many times at the scene of an incident a media area can be set up to facilitate the enhanced flow of information between the PIO and the media. ), Manuals and background information necessary to provide needed information to the public and media, Topic-specific fact sheets, backgrounders, talking points, and news release templates (hard copy and electronic), Business cards with 24/7 contact information, Funding mechanism (i.e., credit card, etc.) hbbd```b``+@$S4X$ vA$[0,v DI%09D`vH2& H/ `{I 30 0 `B Technology has a great impact on your ability to manage the message. Successful blogs are compelling and current, and encourage interaction with readers. For example: Active voice is clear, direct, and concise. nEAH {27(L( o 5UR\sR%or=uG5($#MJ (2*8T-\< The best approach is to meet with school officials early to determine when your program best fits their schedule. Managing Public Information for All-Hazards Incidents (MPI) is a four-day course that provides students with the practical knowledge of the role of the Public Information Officer, the National Incident Management System, emergency communications methods, risk communication, and interpersonal skills. User: 4. The most popular social networking sites have groups, which offer chat boards for members. 140-character stand-alone micro-blog statements. Sit on your coat tail to keep your jacket from riding up. Increase community preparedness is not specific. for the incident. Information developed and disseminated in anticipation of, during, or after an emergency to provide specific life- and health-saving information C. Issuing a news release on a seatbelt law (public information); announcing a road closure due to a multiple-car accident (emergency public information) D. Information collected, assembled, or maintained by an organization in connection with the transaction of official business and available for dissemination to the public, 15. Narrator: Red Stick Ready targets every segment of the community. Lieutenant Doug McCleve: The feedback that Im getting, at least from my local news media, is that theyve been very pleased with the access theyve had. As the PIO, you must know your organizations role in an emergency and have emergency management knowledge, including: This lesson introduced you to your role as a Public Information Officer (PIO). If you use an acronym, make sure your audience understands it. For highly visible or controversial matters, it might be best to have a leader in the organization speak. If you intend to become a Public Information Officer use these FEMA IS 29.A answers to turn a 7 hour course into one that takes 5 minutes. Traditional media (print, radio, television). Examples of JIS configurations are: The previous examples of JIS configurations demonstrate that sometimes a location is needed to facilitate the operation of the JIS. Is there any restriction on the information to be released? or a non-emergency event. Three PIOs on the scene of a crisis huddling prior to making a statement to the media. Walter Monsour: So, the message was managed extremely well. Now that youve got a goal statement, the next step is to create messages in support of the goal that are suited to your target audience. PIOs must possess good oral communication skills because they will need to present critical information and prepare other people to speak: More information on speaking and preparing speakers is presented in Lesson 3. There are all kinds of emergencies out there that we can prepare for. FEMA-NIMS@fema.dhs.gov NIMS Basic Guidance for Public Information Officers 2 II. . For more information on the Public Information Officer training program, contact FEMA-Master_PIO_Program@fema.dhs.gov. AZ Department of Health Services Directors Blog. Angie Welling: Pretty much every State agency was involved, and thats when we found out pretty early on that the Governor had involved every aspect of State government. Test the message on a safe audience B. An important part of the PIOs relationship with the media is knowing what they want. The participant will benefit from participating in entry-level incident command system training prior to taking this course. The highest-ranking State official C. His/her regular boss D. The Operations Section Chief, 13. May allow access to more than one person from each media type when necessary (e.g., television reporter and a camera operator, or newspaper reporter and photographer). Media management skills including knowing what the media wants, managing amateur journalists, and using media pools and media areas. You need to write to your audience. Once you have identified your goal, write it down! Verdi White: The way that we set this particular operation up is we took the Incident Command System and made it an overlay onto the National Guard that had the infrastructure to be able to do all the functions that we needed to accomplish to do this, and of course one of the central components of, of an incident command system is the public information piece. If a media pool is not an option, consider providing professional-quality images to the media in the form of video and stills. Many times the site of a crisis or disaster may be considered a crime scene and needs to be processed by forensic units. These tools allow you to use key word searches and provide you with updates in your email or through an RSS feed or through the tools Web site. The goal of this awareness course is to provide an orientation to the public information function and the role of the Public Information Officer (PIO) in the public safety/emergency management environment. They can be used for personal networking, professional networking, and sharing public information. Doug Miser. This lesson presents information on how to use your tools and relationships to communicate information to the community when something happens. One PIO talking by phone to an on-scene PIO to confirm the number of responders at the scene prior to an initial news release. This course introduces PIOs with no, or limited, experience to the basic skills and tools needed to communicate effectively with the public. What is in it for them? It will keep you focused and is the foundation for evaluating your campaigns success. Join to apply for the Public Information Officer - 48752 role at University of California, Merced. A Federal structure designed for large-scale, multijurisdictional incidents B. Example: Press Release Using Inverted Pyramid Format. Emergency management guidance for public- and private-sector organizations C. A database of Federal-level emergency incidents D. Another name for the National Response Framework, 21. Monitor to determine if the media coverage is: Whether or not your organization is using social media, you should still monitor it. Tell the media representatives: Follow-through goes a long way to establishing good relations with the news media. Resource Typing Definition for Response . You cantand dont expect them to stay there all of the time. If you hope to work with schools, plan well in advance to coordinate with their schedules and curriculum. Many Web sites include a blog as part of the site. In their haste, each suffered minor injuries, including stitches for their son who cut his ankle on the glass of the first floor window. They can be timelesslike encouraging children to be active. Social media have changed how quickly information about a disaster is available. 3 Step Guide for Assistance. The public information officer (PIO) reports to the incident commander, who in turn reports to the agency or jurisdictions responsible. Additionally, it can provide those in executive-level roles with the necessary knowledge of PIO roles and responsibilities during an emergency. The Public Information Officer Awareness Course (IS0029) is designed to familiarize participants with the concepts underlying the PIO role. You should set a realistic deadline and interim benchmarks, as needed. Wear your uniform or neat, conservative attire if not in uniform. And thats not all. Grab the attention of your readers so that they will continue reading. To read this blog, go to:http://emergency.cdc.gov/. Public awareness campaigns can run for weeks, months, or even sporadically throughout several years. In their zeal to get the story reporters may not always recognize the potential for danger to themselves. Describe the role of the Public Information Officer (PIO) in an emergency. Social media sites help disaster survivors look for lost family members and pets, and provide information on where to get assistance, where to find shelter, and how to give aid. B. Thats right, I said z-o-m-b-i-e a-p-o-c-a-l-y-p-s-e. You may laugh now, but when it happens youll be happy you read this, and hey, maybe youll even learn a thing or two about how to prepare for arealemergency. The Incident Command System is a fundamental element of emergency management. Develop a picture of who you want to reach with your message by asking: Now that you know what you want to communicate and to whom you will communicate, next you need to develop and implement your campaign. Mayor Holden: We need to get in advance of different things that could happen, and begin to put a television show together to talk about the things that people should be aware of and what they can do. 'Ss S>*2MbX^f The media will want to get as close as possible to get pictures/audio/interviews. *F ;/7Bw1p i~$^y' _r] The Public Information Officer gathers, verifies, coordinates, and disseminates accurate, accessible, and timely information on the incidents cause, size, and current situation; resources committed; and other matters of general interest for both internal and external audiences. Write out the full term on first usage, as appropriate. Score .9906. Picture of EMI Campus with Emergenct Mangement Institute sign in foreground and Buildings N and O in the background" title="The campus of FEMA's National Emergency Training Center, located in Emmitsburg, Md., offers a beautiful environment for first responders, emergency managers and educators to learn state-of-the-art disaster management and response. The table below summarizes what you need to provide for a print story, and identifies the advantages and limitations of print. Uses correct grammar and contains no spelling or punctuation errors. Determining hazard impact is a crucial component in emergency planning. 494 0 obj <> endobj Next you need to identifyhowyou will communicate. Last name. Public Information and Warning . Office: (301) 447-1200 Fax: (301) 447-1201, (800) 621-FEMA / TTY (800) 462-7585 I would urge you to be careful whenever you travel, Smith said. The following table shows what you need to provide for a television story, the advantages of television, and its limitations. In your communication strategy, identify how you will use social media by itself and together with traditional media to prepare your community for emergencies, and to provide them with life-saving information when an incident occurs. Social marketing is the use of commercial marketing principles to: A. These examples are micro-blogs from the Alabama Emergency Management Agency (Example 1), the Mayors Office of Homeland Security in Baton Rouge (LA) (Example 2), and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (Example 3). Determines what the public needs to know. What are people in your community concerned about? The news release should use the inverted pyramid as illustrated below. It includes features and characteristics that are not available in a traditional news release, such as: In addition to having good written communication skills, a successful PIO also needs to be able to speak effectively. Speak to several members of the media at one time, especially during an incident. The word zombie comes from Haitian and New Orleans voodoo origins. Because its money well spent in the end and if your PIOs can learn from other areas of the Nation that are doing things well, send them there, let them learn from the people who have done it before, so that when they come back they can build a system that works for you. They can be seasonallike hurricane preparedness week. You can learn how to protect yourself from heat with some resources on our website including our Heat Brochure, Heat Related Illness Tips for Schools and our newly revised Heat Emergency Response Plan. The five (5%) segment of the 95/5 concept B. downtime when working an emergency. C. blue sky time but makes no difference in credibility. For different audiences, you may need to write different products. In an incident, theIncident Commandermanages the entire incident and: TheCommand Staffprovides information, safety, and liaison services: TheGeneral Staffperforms functional activities: As part of the ICS structure, the PIO is part of the Command Staff and advises the Incident Commander on all public information matters relating to the management of the incident. Students also learn message development and delivery, legal considerations, press conferences, the operation of a Joint Information Center, stress management, and strategic communication and planning. Manages resources including supplies, personnel, and equipment. One that is completely out of reach is de-motivating. Narrator: In addition to a preparedness television show and Mayor Mouse, Red Stick Ready also communicates preparedness information through a Web site, the use of social media, and events like Red Stick Ready Day. Lieutenant Doug McCleve: One of the reasons why we felt it was so important to put together a Joint Information in the first, Center in the first place is because we knew that there would be all aspects of State government involved in this process from providing basic food and clothing and shelter for these people who have had nothing for up to a week. They tell the public about services and programs that can affect their lives, like information about staying healthy, fire safety, and changes in community college tuition. Blogs to cover events as they are happening. This demonstrates how social media are now an integral part of our lives and a valuable part of the PIOs toolkit. . Preparing quality written products including news releases. Time will also impact the shelf-life of your campaign. Another way to get information to the media or public is by directly sharing with multiple members of the media through a news conference or briefing. Once your campaign is implemented, the last step is to determine its success. Private wiki servers require user authentication to edit pages, and sometimes even to read them. Zoom lenses, parabolic microphones, and just plain observant reporters may be able to discover sensitive or protected information from your incident command post (e.g., zoom shots of maps, recorded conversations, etc.).
the role of the public information officer fema