Voices For The PIO
Effective and responsible communication with the media by emergency services is a necessity for maintaining cooperation and obtaining (as much as possible) fair reporting. However, the general public’s need to know must be balanced by a department’s protection of individual privacy rights, honoring privileged information, and the preservation of evidence for proper authorities. For these reasons it seems, PIOs or Public Information Officers were born.
Recently I discovered Jeff Bressler's The Fire PIO, a blog web site “created to form a community of Public Information Officers who can share thoughts and ideas as well as learn new techniques. The blog focuses in on issues of public relations, social media, marketing, policy, SOP’s, fire ground responsibilities, relevant new product reviews and media outreach.” Jeff is a 20 year veteran of the Smithtown Fire Department located on the North Shore of Long Island’s Suffolk County and I recommend regularly visiting his site for updates and news for these professionals.
While considering PIO duties, perhaps it might also be helpful to mention some important but sometimes overlooked rules that even lawyers tend to forget. In the Legal Crisis Strategies blog, attorneys Lanny Davis and Eileen O’Connor identify “four voices” that should alternatively be used for interviews with the media. Although the blog’s posts are directed to lawyers, the following might be a good primer for PIOs as well:
1. “On the record” is used most often (usually without thinking) and means speaking with attribution, always using the name and identification of the PIO.
2. “On background” essentially stands for "you can use my quotation, but identify me only as a 'spokesperson for' and don’t mention my name.”
3. “Deep background” means that facts provided can be used as long as they are not attributed to the PIO but perhaps a "knowledgeable source" or "source familiar with the situation."
4. “Off the record” should mean just what it says and the information, therefore, is being shared only for the reporter's own understanding and for no other purpose.
If there is any concern about the disclosure, it is essential that a PIO (just like attorneys) define the ground rules with the media for a conversation and confirm in advance how the information is being offered using these “voices” as guidelines.
