Role of Public Information Officer

Role of Public Information Officer Students Name Institution Affiliation Course Date Role of Public Information Officer A public information officer is considered as the government workers who are responsible for developing and enabling the flow of information that occurs between the government firms, the public, and the media. The position of a PIO is significant because it is one of the ways through which information can be gathered between the general public and the government firms. An important duty that a PIO plays is ensuring that the correct information is released and at the appropriate time (Lindell, Prater & Perry, 2015). The information is intended to keep the lives of the public safe because keeping people informed is of great importance. Emergency and disaster situations will have different sources of information previously, during, and after the occasion. None of these sources will be credible nor will they contain all the information that individuals should secure themselves, their families and their property. Therefore, it is basic that a Public Information Officer be appointed to this agency for readiness actions pertinent to the nearby network through information made accessible to the public (Fema, 2014). This individual will likewise be allotted to the Incident Commander when an emergency happens, to assemble and approve information and discuss it with the public, the media, and different organizations as required. The characteristics that a PIO has are important as they help them in the execution of their duties. The most important quality that a PIO must have is communication skills; their jobs mainly depends on them having effective communication skills. Also they should be friendly, PIO must relate to the public and need them to trust them in whatever they are saying. In case they are not approachable, people might find out that the data they are giving to be misleading causing a mass breakdown considering the response efforts (Roberts, 2018). Being organized is also an important aspect of a PIO, sometimes they coordinate with different agencies thus they are needed to keep track of whatever is going on and the individuals that are involved. They also have a good sound understanding of the laws in place for various types of emergencies so that in case they have a release they provide the updated information on response and the recovery plan. Some of the roles of the public information officer include; Delivering information PIO plans and holds an important press conference and provide essential information in the time of crisis. Before an incident, the PIO will give information to readiness actions as instructive information conveyed in different approaches to the nearby network. During an episode, the PIO must assemble and approve all rele...