References

Hello all PIO friends and media friends!!! Does anyone have any interesting websites with an abundance of PIO info and ideas? I'm a new PIO here and would like to "jump in". (I'll have my bunkers on, of course!!!!!!)

Hello!

A fantastic resource site is Gebbie Press.

Click here and check it out - http://www.gebbieinc.com/index1.htm

I have a very informative firefighting forum and this discussion has lots of good links:

PIO -- Making the most of the media
http://forums.delphiforums.com/PMFD/messages?msg=599

Ed Glaze
Assistant Chief, PMVFD
http://people.delphiforums.com/edglaze/PMVFD1.html

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Here are some useful PIO links:

MAKING THE MOST OF THE MEDIA
http://www.onscenemarketing.com/MAKEMOST.htm

TIGER'S TOP 10 TIPS FOR MAKING THE MOST OF THE MEDIA
http://www.onscenemarketing.com/TOP10TIPS.htm

Making a Difference with a Public Information Officer
http://www.withthecommand.com/08-Aug...Ojob-0830.html

Media Relations / Public Information Officer
Standard Operating Procedures
http://www.ci.ankeny.ia.us/01departm...nformation.htm

Public Information Officer
1st ed., IFSTA, 1999
http://www.ifsta.org/html/catalog/36340.htm

PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER STUDY GUIDE
http://www.ose.state.la.us/JD/Bossie...c%20PUINFO.pdf

ASSISTANT FIRE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER STUDY GUIDE
http://www.ose.state.la.us/JD/Baton%...20AFPUINFO.pdf

Examples of enabling by-laws and a community emergency plan
(PIO excerpt)
http://www.pep.bc.ca/management/loca.../section4.html

Media Relations response Level 3 and Level 4 incidents
http://www.utexas.edu/vp/ecs/communi...Plan-Media.doc

Responsibilities of the Public Information Officer
http://www.ffca.org/FAPIO/PIODeploymentHandbook.pdf

The Angione Report
Accentuate the Positive, Part 1 and 2
http://www.jems.com/firerescue/exclus03/e0210g.html
http://www.jems.com/firerescue/exclus03/e0211c.html

Understanding Wildland fires
http://www.dof.virginia.gov/fire/fire-media-guide.pdf

Lots of good information at LLIS.gov Lessons Learned website:
(registration required) http://llis.dhs.gov
Crisis Communications
Media Communication Manual
Crisis Communications Planning: Overview
Public Affairs Field Guide For Joint Information Center Operations

Top7 Business Articles — Public Relations Category
http://top7business.com/?cat=pr
(site being redone but I have working links to these at my forum)
Top 7 Strategies to Avoid Being a PR Numbskull
Top 7 Tips for Working with the Media
Top 7 Ways To Create An Effective Cause Marketing Program
Top 7 Ways to Get Reporters to Open Your E-Mails
Top 7 Tips To Plant Publicity Seeds
Top 7 Steps To "Publicity Electricity"
Top 7 Ways To Survive A Public Relations Crisis

Basic Principles of Emergency Management
http://www.training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/...lkit/unit5.htm
(part of an online training course)

Media: Friend or Foe? by Chief Ronald Richards
http://www.withthecommand.com/2003-M...rds-media.html

Talking About Disasters: Guide for Standard Messages
http://www.fema.gov/rrr/talkdiz/

Talking About Disasters — Fire
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/rrr/talkdiz/fire.pdf

Pay Attention Now! by Ronny J. Coleman
http://dbase.sprinklernet.org:591/on...5082&-findall=

We have a basic PIO class at the MS State Fire Academy. Check out www.doi.state.ms.us/fireacad/fa_home.htm It's usually held in the summer. I don't know the date this year - may have already been held. We'd be glad to have you. I've been to the advanced PIO class at the NETC/EMI - I recommend it highly.

BellSouth still publishes a media guide for Mississippi. You might check with a phone company there and see if anyone is doing that. See if there is a state press/media organization - they might be able to help with contact info.

Hope this helps.

If my volunteer department has an actual PIO other than our Chief,I haven't heard his name.
We've had problems with reporters trying to get "off the record"comments after we get back to the station and are trying to rehab the engine and truck before going home to await the next call and get that grass cut before the wife gets home.
Recently,during a rather stressful extrication ops,a local reporter kept getting in the way and one of our Captains,who was already engrossed in what he was doing and didn't need"Scooter"shoving a micrphone in his face physically moved the reporter behind an engine,told him to stay there and that he"didn't want to see ANY of this on the news"or someone was going to wish it hadn't shown.
I guess what I am trying to say is that for a public information officer to do his/her job well,there needs to be co-operation from the media as well as our giving them timely accounts of our actions.
I've offered the idea of getting a reporter or two on the various volunteer departments.Making them one of our own would mean that they couldn't go against us and could go a long way to make us look good when needed.

You can get a lot of free educational materials on the Home Safety Council's Expert Network - non-commercial and no charge - including videos, brochures, posters, etc., plus free checklists, fact sheets, statistics, and some things in english and Spanish: www.homesafetycouncil.org/expertnetwork

Also, try www.homefiresprinkler.org - they have free downloads of animated educational tools, including a video on how fast a home fire grows and spreads - it's ok to put the downloads right in your own Power Point presentations or use them on your computer. The focus is residential sprinklers, of course. The site is for the non profit Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition.

Check out www.nioa.org it's the National Information Officers Assoc. Made up of PIO's from Police /Fire/EMS/Medi-vac/Hospital/ Fed Gov. and even private industry.
Also the National Fire Academy has Basic & Advanced PIO course; Tom Olshansky teaches a few of them.
They pay for flight / lodging all you have to pay for is meals.

here is link for both classes

http://www.usfa.fema.gov/application...sd/display.jsp