The weekly read

Zombie Preparedness
Office of Public Health, Centers for Disease Control

Today is Halloween. In addition to carved jack o'lanterns, trick-or-treaters and stomach aches from too much candy, the holiday is also known for scary stories about haunted houses, ghosts, monsters and zombies.

Playing off this theme, someone very creative at the Office of Public Health for the Centers for Disease Control came up with a clever and popular training tool - an exercise to prepare for a fictitious zombie apocalypse.

The site is chock full of resources to use the training materials, including posters, preparedness checklists, a zombie themed blog and even a novella to introduce people to the exercise.

I have seen some local first-responder teachers use this resource while training their students, giving disaster preparedness the appropriate twist for today's ghoulish celebration.

Tom Iovino, Public Information Specialist
Pinellas County, Florida
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomiovino

The Sandy experience

I lived in New Jersey for the first 18 years of my life, and - as with many other Garden Staters - visited New York City and the Jersey Shore many times. During my years there, we saw very few hurricanes. I can remember Belle in 1976 and Gloria in 1985, but neither one became the destructive force that we saw making landfall in places like Florida and the northern Gulf coast.

The storm-vulnerable Jersey Shore

After I left, other storms did threaten the City and the Shore - Bob in 1991, Isabel in 2001 and Irene in 2011 stand out as storms that had the potential to do tremendous damage, but none lived up to the predictions.

But, two years ago today, Hurricane Sandy changed all of that. The storm raged ashore in the vulnerable northeast with a tremendous wind field, storm surge and heavy rains. Both my mom - living on New Jersey's southernmost point Cape May - and my dad - living by a wooded lake in north Jersey - took tremendous impacts from the storm.  The Jersey Shore and New York City took some tremendous impacts from the storm, and help was needed.

Storm damage along Rockaway Beach

So, when New York City made an Emergency Management Assistance Compact - EMAC - request for assistance from a team from Central Florida, I offered my services. Now, I didn't deploy as a public information officer, which would have required me being a registered deployment team member of the Florida Fire Chief's Association. I deployed as part of an Emergency Management strike team of people with different disciplines, and I was going to do whatever was required of me.

Here I am, inventorying containers in the city's supply warehouse

As part of an EMAC deployment team, one of my duties was to file daily reports to keep everyone updated on the team's daily operations and observations. While I could have e-mailed those reports back to the county, I decided on a totally different tactic. As a hobby woodworker, I maintain a blog about the projects I build, the tools I use and my lessons learned. I've been doing that since 2007, and am comfortable working in that environment.

Given that experience, I turned to Tumblr, a free blogging software tool that would allow me to embed photos, videos and links to other resources to show the full effect of the storm. That's exactly what I did working from the logistics center in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn for a ten day deployment. You can read the blog here.

A funny thing happened while writing that blog. Our office promoted it to the members of the Tampa Bay media market. The team sent from the city of Boston to assist at the logistics center used the blog as part of their reporting toolbox, as did the team from the state of Texas that followed. Even the New Yorkers themselves were turning to the blog to get a better picture of what was happening in the logistics center.

The returning Central Florida team at Tampa International Airport briefing the media

Now that it has been two years since Hurricane Sandy's landfall and the EMAC deployment, and I still occasionally look back on that blog to remind myself of what the experience was like, and why it's important to continue to push the preparedness message. One day, it could be us who needs to put out the call for emergency assistance.

Tom Iovino, Public Information Specialist
Pinellas County, Florida
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomiovino

3 Ways PIOs Can Commit to Staying Relevant

Besides from helping organizations plan and manage their way out of crises and communicate effectively with their audiences, a big part of what I do is education. Whether it’s through speaking engagements, delivering workshops and trainings or through crisis simulations, educating professionals to better understand today’s crisis realities, the expectations of their audiences and how to leverage the right technologies and tools to save lives and better communicate in an emergency, is part of what I consider my most important work.

Melissa Agnes leading a discussion about crisis communications

Why? Because it’s all about education, understanding and strengthening skills. The expectations of your audiences in a crisis continue to evolve, as does social media and technology. For those who have not yet embraced today’s realities, challenges and opportunities, their education - and hopefully inspiring an “ah-ha” moment - is absolutely critical. For those who have, their continued education is absolutely critical if they want to continue to excel and meet today’s ever-evolving challenges, as well as continue to take advantage of the numerous opportunities.

As such, I believe in and agree with Tom’s mission with PIO Chronicles: To provide relevant information and helpful insights to the PIO and emergency management community. But Tom and others like him can only go so far. It’s your dedication to continual education that will enable you to continue to be the best PIO you can be.

The PIOs commitment to staying relevant

PIOs have such an important role in crisis and emergency management and as their tasks continue to evolve, so must their understanding, planning and skills. So how can you commit to this continued education - for both yourself and the different members of your teams and partners?

Here are some considerations: 
Commit yourself to staying up on the latest trends, apps and technology.  Opportunity is everywhere, you just have to spot it. The trick to spotting it is to keep abreast of:

• Who your audiences are; and
• Where / how they prefer to receive their information.

A great example is BBC’s new WhatsApp strategy for delivering timely, helpful and informative updates to West Africans on Ebola.

The WhatsApp logo

WhatsApp is the most commonly used “chat app” in Africa. Therefore, why shouldn't it be used as a form of communication during this major and escalating crisis?

By understanding who your target audiences are and the apps, tools and technology they use regularly, you will enable yourself and your team to strategize efficient and effective communication possibilities in an emergency.

Note: This is a continual challenge, and something that should be part of your daily thoughts and considerations prior to experiencing an emergency.

Continue to challenge yourself 
Continuing to challenge yourself is a dedication to continued self-growth and education. It’s also the mark of great PIO. Here are some ways to facilitate this task:

• Subscribe to the right blogs
• Listen to the right podcasts
• Read the right books
• Keep up-to-speed on the latest emergency events and case studies taking place around the world
• Continue to build your network and connect with great minds

Study up on the latest trends and tools

Just when you think you know everything there is to know, you’ll realize that you don’t. Having an outlook that embraces change, evolution and self-education, as well as continually trying to surround yourself with people who know more and have different experiences than you, will not only keep you on your toes, but keep you passionate. Passion is not only inspiring, but is the route to continued success

Go beyond your own education to better do your job 
Your own continued education is the first step. But you also have to make sure that the rest of your team understands both today’s crisis realities and your challenges and tasks, if you’re going to continue to grow and work together efficiently.

As a PIO, communication is a skill and an asset. However, it’s not just about external communication or emergency communication. The more regularly you communicate with your team and keep them in the loop of the realities and challenges you face as a PIO, the better and more efficiently you will be able to work together. Not to mention learn from one another and grow as a stronger team.

Melissa Agnes
President and Co-Founder
Agnes + Day 

The weekly read

The Digital Photography Book
by Scott Kelby
ISBN-13:  987-0321934949

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to sit through one of the most useful non-PIO related classes I had attended in years - if not ever - during my career.  Run by famous photography instructor Scott Kelby, the class opened my eyes to the nuts and bolts of how to take great photos.

Even if you don't want to become a professional photographer or photojournalist, you probably want to take great shots for your website, social media pages and other potential uses. David took the time to explain the material in a way that even a camera illiterate person like me could understand.

Kelby's Digital Photography book - Volume 1

This book, the first volume in a five-volume set, covers the absolute essentials on how to compose and shoot outstanding photographs using professional digital equipment. Even if you are just using a simple point-and-shoot camera or your smart phone, there are tips in there that can help make you a better photographer.

Tom Iovino, Public Information Specialist
Pinellas County, Florida
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomiovino

Coordinated messaging

I'm not sure where it started for me, but I am totally geeked out about the world's space programs. Maybe it was that Star Trek was one of my favorite shows growing up. Maybe it's because I was born a few weeks before Apollo 8's historic mission. It could be because where I live in Florida, I can easily see launches taking place across the state at the Kennedy Space Center.

Launches get my heart racing

Whatever the reason may be, I am enthralled by the power of the rockets, the voyages of discovery and the raw courage of the astronauts and cosmonauts who strap themselves to devices that harness barely controlled explosions to propel them to great heights. 

I have also learned a lot about being a public information officer from NASA's storied history. One of the classes that I instruct is G291 - Joint Information Systems. It's a one-day class that teaches public information officers how to work together closely in large, complex events. From the Super Bowl to a hurricane's impact to something like the Republican National Convention held in Tampa in 2012, this coordinated delivery of information keeps everyone 'in their lane,' prevents conflicting information and helps ensure the speedy release of important details to residents. 

A Joint Information Center in action

The greatest challenge in that class? Helping students wrap their arms around the concept. Why not just let everyone talk to the media as they need to and let the chips fall where they may? 

NASA had to address this very problem during manned space flight. With the one (Mercury), two (Gemini), three (Apollo) or more (Space Shuttle) astronauts in orbit, tending to any one of a thousand tasks, how would they know who to listen to, especially if conflicting orders were given? To help eliminate this problem, the Manned Space Flight Center in Houston, Texas, adopted strict protocols for communicating with the crews.

Tranquility Base with Buzz Aldrin in the foreground

The best way to show this process in action is to visit the First Men on the Moon. This is what the Internet was made for. Basically,the site creators took the communications loops from Houston, between Houston, the Columbia and the Eagle and a slew of other flight data and synced them up to show you exactly what was happening when Apollo 11 made its historic touchdown on the Sea of Tranquility.

Gene Kranz as Flight Director - or Lead PIO

Listen carefully to the audio and you will start to get an idea of how a Joint Information Center works. The legendary Gene Kranz, as flight director, serves in the role of lead PIO. He gets the information from the other flight controllers - flight surgeon, retrofire officer, flight dynamics officer, guidance officer ... the works ... and helps coordinate the activity in the room. Think of those other positions as the PIOs for the local law enforcement offices, the local fire departments, the local health department ... and you will start to get the picture. Each has an important piece of information, and it's up to Gene Kranz to sift through the details and determine what is critical to communicate to ensure the success of the mission.

Charlie Duke as CAPCOM - or the media spokesperson 

Once the data is collected, Gene Kranz turns to the only person authorized to speak with the astronauts - Charlie Duke as the CAPCOM. Not only is Charlie giving cleared data to the crew, he's also an astronaut who later flew on Apollo 16. As a fellow astronaut, he is very familiar with the operations in the Lunar Module and Command Module, giving him a level of comfort that the engineers who see only a small part of the operations don't have. 

Another important duty of Charlie Duke's was to listen to what the crew was saying, and to relay it back to the control center. Again, as someone focused solely on the needs of the astronauts, he was in a unique position to ensure they would get their questions answered quickly. Think of him as the dedicated media liaison and spokesperson. 

Now, if you imagine astronauts Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins as members of the media, seeking clear communications, you start to see how the parallel can be made. 

While it may seem a little unorthodox as a teaching tool, I can't even begin to tell you how many students have their a-ha moment as they watch the event unfold.

Plus, wow, it's just too cool!

Tom Iovino, Public Information Specialist
Pinellas County, Florida
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomiovino

Where did you begin?

I can remember the conversation as if it happened yesterday. A new PIO had started with a local law enforcement agency, and she had been instructed to take the G290 Basic PIO class with me. We spoke for a few moments - she in a very clipped tone with me - and eventually asked me flat out, "Just WHAT will I learn taking this class from you? I worked in the media for the past ten years, and I know everything there is to know about this field."

Ever have one of THOSE phone calls?

I can also vividly remember a different conversation that started at lunch during a training exercise. A large group of us PIOs had gotten together, and were having a lively conversation, when one of the people at our table mentioned that she didn't think former reporters could do a good job as a PIO, because they didn't have any inside knowledge of how the organization works.

And that, my fair PIO friends, is an interesting dynamic set forth today in the world of PIOs. As the number of journalism jobs decreases in newspapers and broadcast outlets seek to contain costs, many journalists are finding themselves out of work or looking to leave the 24-hour news cycle to get into public information work. This is often referred to by journalists as 'going to the dark side.'

You see, it's not so bad here on the dark side!

All of the experience that a former journalist can bring to an organization is certainly seen as an asset. After all, former journalists know the news cycle, are strong writers, are able to discern what makes news and - if they stay in the market they worked in, they already have a reputation - good or bad - that serves as a calling card.

Knowing about your agency and media needs is critical

This doesn't automatically mean that former journalists are better PIOs. In fact, journalists who worked as general assignment reporters, while fully immersed in news craft, have in many cases a cursory level of experience of what a firefighter, police officer or some other employee may do.

PIOs promoted from within an organization have intimate knowledge of policies and procedures, and can offer that depth of experience to reporters on scene. However, the job of a PIO isn't the same as a firefighter or law enforcement officer, who is more concerned about actually battling a blaze or apprehending a suspect. To an incident commander who may not understand the importance of the role of a PIO, he or she may dismiss you as a member of the media yourself and ask you to go stand behind the tape with the reporters on scene. Believe me, it happens.

Media relations is key to just about any event

So, with this post out there, I'd like to find out a little bit about each of you. Did you come to the world of PIO 'through the ranks' of your organization, or do you come from the world of media? I'd be interested to see where everyone's from.



Tom Iovino, Public Information Specialist
Pinellas County, Florida
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomiovino

The weekly read

Handing negative comments or complaints in social media

Penn State University's College of Agricultural Sciences

I'm sure that the folks at Penn State University's College of Agricultural Sciences can probably tell you the best way to rotate crops, get the highest yields from your apple trees or grow a thick, lush lawn. But, who knew they had great advice on how to handle negative comments in the world of social media?

Sometimes, people don't like your online presence...

This article offers nine important tips on how to handle negative comments in social media, and offers some smart solutions that can help defuse a bad situation. If you are developing or enhancing a social media communications plan, this is a great model to show your bosses how negative comments can be addressed - and made positive - with the right techniques. 

Tom Iovino, Public Information Specialist
Pinellas County, Florida
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomiovino