5 - Media firestorm: A PIO Perspective - John Scardena

John Scardena

  

Reference:

Moskovtz, Mike. (199, January).  Thurston High School Shooting Tragedy: The Media Downpour. Public Relations Tactics, Vol. 6, Issue 1, 10806792.

Theme:

The theme is based on a Public Information Officer's account of the shooting spree at Thurston High School. The author gives specific examples of what the situation was, what happened, and what they learned from it. He gives six main points from what he has learned from this crisis.

Summary:

Ø  There are six strategic steps when dealing with the media and mass communication as a public information officer.

Ø  1. Assemble a Crisis Team: Set up a team of PIO's that can fully combat the onslaught of media.

Ø  2.Quickly Analyze, but don't overanalyze the situation: communication needs to come fast so put it out there but don't look into thoughts too deep or share ideas that are not fully developed, the media can run with it and it can backfire hard.

Ø  3.Set up a Media Information Center: a safe place away from the disaster zone for media to gather and to give information out to everyone at the same time.

Ø  4. Communicate as quickly as possible: Timing is everything, it can save lives or it can cost them. Especially with a crisis, social media can help clear chaos.

Ø  5.Provide steady communications on the status of the crisis: When you handle the media and communicate correctly the situation becomes manhandled and not the other way around (the situation manhandling you)

Ø  6.Make the media a partner not an enemy: If you help the media or hurt the media they will run with it, and people listen… so help the media. Give information don't run from it or hide from it, always be out front first and have an idea ready.

Ø  The glitches, goofs, gripes and grumps: mistakes are always made, we're human but getting out and admitting it helps keep a positive image and allows you to keep moving forward

Ø  Regrets: learning from the past is important but living in it is bad. Keep looking forward and be willing to improve.

Application to Lesson Topic:

            PIO's are always right in the mix of everything, this article points out some of the stresses that a PIO deals with and how they are the face of disaster control. We can learn from this experience and others that information to the public, how it's received and when it's received is very important to crisis control.

Application to Emergency Services:

            Emergency Services deal with disasters every day, mostly small, but once and awhile catastrophic ones. When those experiences happen, all eyes and ears will be on the PIO from the EMS teams. It is extremely important to our major and to the line of work we are going into.  

Reading Summary Oct 3, 2013 from Mike Wayman

Waiting for content from Mike Wayman

Lesson 5: PIO Missions in Super Storm Sandy - Randy Rask

Lesson 5 Reading Summary

Randy Rask

Reference:  JOHNSON, SEAN. Fire Engineering. May2013, Vol. 166 Issue 5, p42-44. 3p.

Theme: This article describes the missions of the public information officer of FDNY during hurricane super storm Sandy.  

Summary:

-October 27, 2012, FDNY command and general staff held a meeting in preparation of the hurricane.  The main goal was to develop a plan to remove fallen trees and debris before the high winds came. 

-October 28, the storm had started to affect the Carolinas and was moving its way up the East Coast towards New York.  The new focus was "Homebound Evacuations".  Four PIO's were deployed to help with the plan of evacuating residents in the flood zones. 

- (October 28- November 2) New mission of PIO was to provide for fire and life safety functions in accordance with the Citywide Incident Command System.  The job was to support five New York boroughs with resources for emergency responder teams if emergency personnel in the area were isolated from the storm. 

-Media attention began to grow when people found out that out-of-state response teams were going to respond.  The PIO teams assisted were helping in the field as well as at the incident command post. PIO's were also being dispatched to different parts of the city where media was showing up to help them with their stories.

-PIO's began to gather information on heroic stories of on and off-duty emergency responders to give to the FDNY Press Office to review and record. 

-PIO's were present for all interviews and were even in some studios to be sure that any story told was accurate.

- (November 1 – December 29)  The second mission had become manageable and now the new mission was to assist in community recovery.  Things such as tree removal as well as dewatering operations were taking place.  The PIO's still continued to work with media and giving them updates. 

Application to lesson topic:

Seeing as how the lesson topic described the role of PIO's, this article perfectly applies.  This article gives a play by play of the PIO's roles in before, during, and after Hurricane Sandy as it hit New York.  This shows how the public information officers helped with the situation and how they dealt with the media. 

Application to Emergency Services:

Public information officers play a very big role in emergency services during disasters.  This article shows how an effective PIO performance will help to benefit emergency service agencies.  If the public is getting accurate information through the media, and the media is given the information through the public information officer, then things will tend to run much more smoothly in most cases. 

Lesson 5 "Effective communication of disasters" - Jeffrey Martin

Lesson 5 Reading Sumary

Jeffrey Martin

Reference: Lowrey, W., William, E., Gower, K. K., Robinson, J. A., Ginter, P. M., McCormick, L. C., & Abdolrasulnia, M. (2007). Effective media communication of disasters: Pressing problems and recommendations. BMC Public Health, 797-8. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-7-97

Theme:  Public information officers and journalists have a symbiotic role working together to provide information to the public. 

Summary:  Journalists are usually unprepared to report on natural disasters and terrorist attacks.  News reports of terrorism and natural disasters, however, sometimes have been faulted for inaccurate, incomplete, and sensational coverage that may contribute to public misunderstanding of risks.  Public information officers should develop media contacts and plan what information they will release.

·         Historically, public health's response to disasters has been improvised and impromptu.

·         Use the Internet and other mobile technologies to develop and disseminate resources.

·         Participate in drills and exercises. Gain standing for journalists and PIO's to participate routinely in disaster response drills and exercises.

·         Take advantage of existing programs and publications.

·         Neither journalists nor PIO's perform well in terms of addressing the information needs of special populations during health-related emergencies.

Other reading:  Wilt, M. (2006). BALANCING THE RELEASE OF PUBLIC INFORMATION DURING AN ANIMAL DISEASE OUTBREAK. Case Western Reserve Journal Of International Law, 38(3/4), 625-628.

This articles discusses the release of information from an animal disease outbreak in Ohio. PIOs were initially proactive with their release of information, but were conflicted on what information to release as the incident progressed.  Although this article is about animals, the same principles apply to human disasters.

Application: Public information officers have very complicated and important jobs.  They are not always needed, and should use down time between incidents to prepare.  You can prepare by making new contacts, having pre-scripted responses for incidents, or making sure you have the authority to release information the public needs.

Lesson 5: The Crisis Communications Response - Joseph Galbraith

Joseph Galbraith

 
Lesson 5 Reading Summary
 

Reference:

Stein, A. (2006). We Thought It Could Never Happen Here: The Crisis Communications Response to the Thurston High School Shootings. Journal Of Promotion Management, 12(3/4), 99-128. doi:10.1300/J057v12n03•07

 Theme:

This report is a case study discussing the challenges and lessons learned after the Thurston High School shootings in 1998.  The public relations staff was tasked with implementing a crisis communications plan during a very tragic event.

 Summary:

• High School student opens fire in a high school in Springfield, Oregon.  2 students were killed and 25 more were wounded.  Suspect was apprehended.

• Crisis events can allow opportunities for outside agencies to scrutinize the apparent loss of control displayed by responding organizations or school in this case.

• An established crisis communications plan is crucial in order to be prepared for media and public interaction.

• Crisis management teams are effective in managing information flow.

• Case study interviewed 11 individuals involved in aftermath of crisis

• 911 lines were flooded with information requests; additional lines were requested and distributed to the public

• Agencies decided to work as a team with various PIO's.

• Scheduled regular press conferences.

• The two hospitals involved were prepared with a full disaster plan.

• The hospital eventually decided to team up with the city hall information center rather than maintain their own.

•The requests for information only intensified as time went on. 

•Local media was easier to deal with than the national media.

 •Many PIO's suffered delayed emotional responses.

•Biggest lesson learned was to insure that someone was assigned to monitor the media product.

 
Application to the lesson topic:

 This is a very in depth and thorough case study of this crisis.  The PIO's involved are a great example of how coordination, not only with the media, but with other agency PIO's is very important.  The town of Springfield never expected this type of mass media attention but did a great job in responding.

 

Application to emergency services:

Coordination with other agencies and departments such as schools and hospitals may be often overlooked.  This type of incident could happen in any town on any day.  Preparation and a crisis communication must be in place.  It was very interesting to see how long the PIO's are needed after the actual events.

Lesson 5 - Disaster Communication on the Internet - Michael Newland

 Reference: Tanner, A., Friedman, D., Koskan, A., & Barr, D. (2009). Disaster Communication on the Internet: A Focus on Mobilizing Information. Journal of Health Communication; Vol. 14 Issue 8, Pg 741-755.

Theme: During a disaster the public needs up to date accurate information. One of the best ways to get information out to the masses is the internet. The internet is a powerful tool for Public Information Officers.

Summary: Michael Newland

·         Natural and man-made disasters are constantly a threat to everyone.

·         These disasters require emergency preparedness and emergency response information.

·         In the event of a disaster, the public seeks crisis management information. The Public Information Officer plays a large role in getting this information out.

·         In an effort to keep up with the demand for information emergency agencies and the media have turned to the internet.

·         Although television is still a relevant source of information the internet is better because you can immediately get the info that you need without having to wait for a reporter to say it. In the event of an emergency, one advantage of the Internet is the ability to post updated information just as quickly if not more quickly than television and radio news.

·         It is up to the Public Information Officer to quickly gather pertinent information and get it out to the public. What better way to do this than the use of the internet?

Application to the Lesson Topic:

      Public information officers are very important during a disaster situation. Their job is to communicate with the public and provide the media with information to give out to the public. The internet is a powerful tool for Public Information Officers.

Application to Emergency Services:

      A disaster can be a very chaotic situation. People will be terrified for their loved ones and demand information. Anything that a PIO can do to get information out to the public will help emergency responders to do their job.

      

The Evolving PIO - Reading Summary 5 - Ashley Burningham

 

Reference:

Wilmoth, J. (2013). Put the PIO Back in the Public, Fire Chief, 57(6), 6.

Theme:

With the decline in fire calls, the role of the PIO has been expanded to include community outreach and external affairs.

Summary:

·         - Less than 5% of community members will call 911 in their lifetime.

        - Role of PIO has been evolving quietly.

·         - Generally, PIO is a liaison between an incident commander and the media.

·         - They provided information updates on cases.

·         - Number of fire calls has declined.

·         - Agencies are beginning to expand PIO roles to community outreach or external affairs.

·         - "Earlier this year, the International Association of Fire Chiefs' Fire Service Image Task Force issued the report "Taking Responsibility for a Positive Public Perception" in response to increasing scrutiny and public perception."

·        - Problem is perception, not trust.

·         - Fire chief is ultimately responsible for public perception.

·         - Role delegated to PIOs.

·        - PIOs are used to increase public perception of an organization.

·        - PIOs are used to establish relationships with local media and community.

·        - PIOs connect with other PIOs for ideas.

·        - Used to raise awareness of services provided.

·        - PIOs promoting an image.

·        - Fire calls will continue to decline.

·        - Community will support agencies that support them.

Application to Lesson:

This week's lesson talked about the role of the PIO. This article discusses the evolving role of the PIO in today's society, and discusses how their job has been stretched to involve new components.

Application to Career:

Public Information Officers are a crucial component to law enforcement. They are in charge with relaying information to the public. Whether this information is about a crime, officer safety, resources, etc., the PIO is responsible for coordinating these efforts.