Nothing beats coming into work and immediately hearing “I just read the paper, it looks like you guys are in trouble again.” When I inquired into who and what was in trouble I was told that a story was in Newsday, our Long Island newspaper about the latest loser who riffled through fire department funds, betraying both his fellow brothers and sisters and the public at large.
The problem with the in your face guy who confronted me with the story before I set a foot in the door, is that he assumes all firefighters are the same and all departments are created equal. It didn’t matter to him that the ex firefighter and department in question are about 40 miles from here. For whatever reason, ours is a trade that suffers from collective guilt.
A few months back my department reinforced a standing policy that overnight Company duty crews need to be in place to provide a first due engine or truck. Each Company, on a rotating basis, provides one month of overnight service a few times a year.
Many PIO’s also serve as their department’s photographer. In my department I take hundreds of photos a year along with another firefighter who also handles camera duties.
I made an error. I sent releases to three community papers this past week about my recent department installation. I normally receive my subscription copies of these publications today.
I was never a fan of empty suit, corporate buzz words or jargon. I have attended numerous meetings where this special language of the for profit world is used.
I was never of big fan of playing golf. I’ve played in the past but I find it kind of boring and frustrating to take part in. The main reason though that my trips to the links are currently at naught is the pressure I feel teeing off on the first hole.
We held our 102nd Installation of Officers this past Saturday night. I wrote a post on public perception of installations a few days ago. Contrary to popular belief we did not have to tap the nuclear arsenal to quell any disturbances in the community from rampaging firefighters.
I had the opportunity a few years back to visit Microsoft’s Home of the Future at their headquarters in Seattle. The “house” features what technology could possibly look like in the year 2019. It as very cool and I was privileged to be invited.
The spring is a traditional time for many Fire Department installation ceremonies and dinners. It’s a cautious time for many PIO’s though. While these occasions should be a time to celebrate our department leadership and accomplishments, many in the community question the costs and motives of such events.
Talking about all the virtues of your department in one sitting can create a muddled message. Sometimes it is better to just focus in on one issue at a time.
When most of us write incident report press releases for consumption by the public they are fact based with very little latitude for creative license. One way I “spice” up a release for the media is by offering quotes. I do this in a number of ways – by adding quotes into the body of the release, offering a number of quotes separate from the release at the bottom of the page or prepare a separate page to go along with the release that just contains lead-ins with the relevant quotes.
There’s a baseball expression about a swift trip to the major leagues before heading back to the minors being called “a quick cup of coffee.” If you like your coffee instant and on the run, head for a PIO job in the New Mexico Lieutenant Governors office.
I’m trying to get my arms around this whole subject of “citizen journalism.” Where at one time our biggest dilemma was trying to figure out if a local stringer was the real deal, we are now confronted with any private person with a camera phone being able to call themselves a journalist. This is not some cottage industry. CNN, Fox and a host of newspapers like the Washington Times all encourage citizen journalism.
