Early in my career as a paramedic, it was a regular occurrence to be sitting around the station table, looking at the newspaper or watching the news on TV while department officers and personnel were complaining that the news media “got it wrong.”
Who am I kidding — many still complain about the media today. Like many other challenges in public safety, should we form a task force, a committee or a special division to change media portrayal of emergency services?
I have a much simpler solution for you: hire a public information officer — ideally, one who understands their role at the agency they work for, the jobs within that agency and the information they are legally allowed to release to the public.
In public safety, who makes the best PIO? A firefighter, paramedic or police officer with a background in journalism?
After I continued my education to obtain an undergraduate degree in journalism, many people thought that I got into journalism and realized I didn’t like it and became a paramedic. It is quite the opposite and for good reason.
I was tired of people accusing the news media of getting information wrong in my community but refusing to provide correct information. I already knew of public safety, the information I could release at any given time and to direct reporters to the appropriate agency. I wanted to have the training of a journalist to understand how they are thinking and how news media organizations operate — their deadlines and reporters covering certain beats.
A good public safety PIO is dedicated to their job. They want to interact with the news media, and they want to interact with their coworkers and the profession they love. They also need:
- Exceptional communication skills: The PIO needs to be about to provide information in a clear, concise and compelling manner, through written and verbal communication, storytelling and public speaking.
- Social media literacy: The PIO must maintain a strong command of social media platforms to reach the public and manage online conversations.
- Interpersonal skills: The PIO must build rapport and work effectively with diverse groups, including reporters, the public and agency staff.
- Organizational skills: A PIO requires the capacity for excellent time management, prioritization and juggling multiple tasks in a fast-paced role is necessary.
- Crisis management: PIOs require the ability to remain composed under pressure, think critically and provide clear, truthful information during crisis.
- Ensure transparency: A PIO must be honest and transparent with the media and public, even when admitting a lack of information and committing to future updates.
- Prevent misinformation: PIOs need to proactively address negative issues by providing accurate information and demonstrating the agency’s effort to improve.
- Be a valuable resource: The PIO should act as a reliable and efficient resource for the media, making their job easier by providing relevant and timely information.
A public safety information officer should be a valuable resourc
e for the media, the agency and the public. A reporter shouldn’t cringe when they know they are calling a public safety agency for information; likewise the PIO shouldn’t cringe when they look at their phone and see it is a reporter.
Agencies without a public information officer dedicated to public safety need to consider it. Keeping the public safety professional, whether its police, fire or EMS visible is protecting their most valuable resource.
| MORE: 8 ways to foster a public safety-community relationship with PR
