Working With Public Information Officers

In today s changing media landscape, institutions such as universities, state and federal agencies, laboratories, nonprofit organizations, and research societies increasingly employ science public information officers to get the word out about the scientific research they are conducting or sponsoring. These PIOs now outnumber traditional science journalists and are increasingly responsible for communicating science to wider audiences. In this book, reporter-turned-PIO W. Matthew Shipman offers guidance to both new and experienced PIOs about how to make good decisions and serve as effective liaisons between their institutions and the public. Throughout, he focuses on applying general principles of effective communication to the specific challenges of explaining complex science to nonexpert audiences, coaching scientists to interact with the media, and navigating the particular types of communications crises that arise out of scientific research."

Offering practical, proven ideas and techniques that are applicable in today's rapidly changing media environment, this is a reference guide for Public Information Officers. It covers the development of effective media relations and positive community strategies, the responsibilities of a PIO, and the legal aspects of the job.

Public Information Officers (PIOs) can be invaluable allies in your communication efforts. They can offer expert advice, as well as access to communications machinery for reaching the media and other important audiences. This guide--a supplement to Explaining Research (Oxford University Press, 2010--will help you develop the most beneficial relationships with those PIOs, whether they are in your institution, at a journal, in a scientific society, or in your funding agency. Working with Public Information Officers shows how your PIO can serve as - an editorial and media relations expert who can write and distribute news releases, pitch media on story ideas, develop media strategy, and manage communication crises - an institutional ambassador who conveys to administrators the significance of your research and your positions on important issues - an educator who teaches you how to develop clear research explanations and work with media - a hard questioner who confronts you with those tough questions that you must answer if you are to preserve your reputation and advance your work. For further information, visit www.WorkingwithPIOs.com Reviews Scientists who want to communicate their work are plentiful; those who want to do it well or do it better are more rare. The former need Working with Public Information Officers; the latter will find it a joy. This is the take-along booklet with powerful take-it-to-heart messages, full of wit and wisdom. --Joann Rodgers, Senior Advisor for Science, Executive & Crisis Communications, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine This handy guide is filled with examples from universities, national laboratories, corporate facilities and other research settings. Some of the country's best public information officers explain how your research can get the attention it deserves, in ways that won't waste your time or make you uncomfortable. --David Jarmul, Associate Vice President, News & Communications, Duke University Imagine squeezing four decades-worth of know-how and experience about communicating science from the minds of Dennis Meredith and dozens of his colleagues. That would be the only thing better than this little book. Culling from the mountains of expertise he gathered in writing Explaining Research, Dennis has provided both a roadmap for newbies in the field and a refresher course for us old-timers. Every science communications operation should have several copies close at hand. --Earle Holland, Assistant Vice President for Research Communications, Ohio State University It's hard to think of a better resource for our craft--or a more experienced and savvy practitioner than author Dennis Meredith. This guide to our business is essential reading for anyone treading the academic science writing and media relations landscape. If you are in the business of wrangling scientists, working with science journalists, and putting discovery into societal context, this work belongs on your desk and in the hands of every scientist willing to take the time to absorb its many valuable lessons. --Terry Devitt, Director of Research Communications, University of Wisconsin-Madison

This guidance was developed in coordination with Federal, State, tribal, and local Public Information Officers (PIOs). The goal of this publication is to provide operational practices for performing PIO duties within the Incident Command System (ICS). It offers basic procedures to operate an effective Joint Information System (JIS). During an incident or planned event, coordinated and timely communication is critical to effectively help the community. Effective and accurate communication can save lives and property, and helps ensure credibility and public trust. This Basic Guidance for Public Information Officers provides fundamental guidance for any person or group delegated PIO responsibilities when informing the public is necessary. The guidance also addresses actions for preparedness, incident response, Joint Information Centers (JICs), incident recovery, and Federal public information support. The guidance material is adaptable to individual jurisdictions and specific incident conditions.

As most public safety professionals are aware, the events that require emergency response personnell also frequently attract members of the news media. With this in mind, Media Relations for Public Safety Professionals provides a primer for emergency responders who find themselves confronted by the media.

Public information officers (PIOs) see themselves as the liaison between the agency they represent and the public. They come from various backgrounds including broadcast and print journalism, for profits and the advertising world while others seek out local government jobs straight out of college since they loved public relations and wanted to serve their local community. This thesis seeks to understand how PIOs experience and manage competing roles in their local government agency, as well as how they came into these PIO roles. This turned out to be a unique year for the PIOs as they learned how to navigate through an unprecedented pandemic to riots to an election on top of their everyday roles. Through qualitative research that included 13 in-depth interviews from current local government PIOs and applying role conflict theory, this thesis presents the PIOs understanding on how they view their roles in their job, what it means to them and how they manage all that they do.

Explaining Research is the first comprehensive communications guidebook for scientists, engineers, and physicians. Drawing on knowledge gleaned from a forty-year career in research communications, Dennis Meredith maps out how scientists can utilize sophisticated tools and techniques to disseminate their discoveries to important audiences. He explains how to use websites, blogs, videos, webinars, old-fashioned lectures, news releases, and lay-level articles to reach key audiences, emphasizing along the way that a strong understanding of the audience in question will allow a more effective communication tailored to a unique background and set of needs. In addition to drawing on the experience of the author, the book also includes excerpts from interviews with 45 of the country's leading science communications experts, including academics, authors, journalists, and public information officers. As the "information age" places new demands on scientists, Explaining Research will be a valuable resource not only for current professional scientists, but also for students who are the voice of the science community's next generation. This authoritative guide shows how to: · Develop a "strategy of synergy" that makes research communication efficient and effective · Give compelling talks · Build a professional Web site · Create quality posters, photos, animations, videos, e-newsletters, blogs, podcasts, and Webinars · Write popular articles and books · Persuade donors, administrators and other key funding decision-makers · Produce news releases that attract media coverage · Give clear media interviews · Serve as a public educator in schools and science centers Visit www.explainingresearch.com to learn more about the book and additional resources.

Most scientists and researchers aren’t prepared to talk to the press or to policymakers—or to deal with backlash. Many researchers have the horror stories to prove it. What’s clear, according to Nancy Baron, is that scientists, journalists and public policymakers come from different cultures. They follow different sets of rules, pursue different goals, and speak their own language. To effectively reach journalists and public officials, scientists need to learn new skills and rules of engagement. No matter what your specialty, the keys to success are clear thinking, knowing what you want to say, understanding your audience, and using everyday language to get your main points across. In this practical and entertaining guide to communicating science, Baron explains how to engage your audience and explain why a particular finding matters. She explores how to ace your interview, promote a paper, enter the political fray, and use new media to connect with your audience. The book includes advice from journalists, decision makers, new media experts, bloggers and some of the thousands of scientists who have participated in her communication workshops. Many of the researchers she has worked with have gone on to become well-known spokespeople for science-related issues. Baron and her protégées describe the risks and rewards of “speaking up,” how to deal with criticism, and the link between communications and leadership. The final chapter, ‘Leading the Way’ offers guidance to scientists who want to become agents of change and make your science matter. Whether you are an absolute beginner or a seasoned veteran looking to hone your skills, Escape From the Ivory Tower can help make your science understood, appreciated and perhaps acted upon.