Finally getting around to turning on dark mode in Facebook.
Don’t worry, Twitter has had this since forever ago.
Still dislike Facebook as a social media platform citing algorithm.
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Tag Archives: media
It isn’t easy being green! #PIO reminder
Good reminder from my friend Emily on what we should wear while on TV…
It isn’t easy being green! 
Ahhhh yes, the famous green screen and green dress don’t make such a good combo.
I know 2020 St. Patrick’s Day has already passed but it’s always a good reminder while doing TV interviews in the newsroom or TV studio – do not wear green.
BTW-I did a quick interview w/ Emily when she was part of WISH-TV. Check out that interview here.
So if you are heading down to the station for an in-station interview for prevention of Coronavirus, just remember, do not wear green!
Sunday full press conference with leadership
Sunday funday right? #PIO
Looks like we got a prime spot for our presser today. Flag is up so let’s do this.
Assigned: Sunday Press Conference with senior leadership from County Health Department and County Chairman.
Me? I definitely burned the midnight oil but talking points all done. All reviewed and approved.
Let’s get this started because it looks like all my media friends are here. Welcome media partners!
Getting that angle just right….
But don’t forget, pic or it didn’t happen right?
And it’s Sunday so I didn’t a tie was necessary.
So let’s not delay.
Thanks to the friends at NBC5 Chicago for the live streaming of the presser.
Successful press conference with a few issues to review.
Shared learning points:
- Trust your more seasoned PIOs to make solid strategic decisions.
- Don’t be star-struck with national news media.
- Lack of hard copy printing caused some hiccups.
- Lack of skills will be very apparent within a few minutes of operation.
- Lots to work through as this response will be a long response and even longer recovery.
Moving into the role of External Affairs Officer starting tomorrow. Likely turning on the lights for the Joint Information Center (JIC) too.
Hope your Sunday was good.
Reporting live from the presser….
Last night I had the strangest dream…
Big cameras vs phones?
Sunday reflection – just some quick screen shots of the ongoing press conferences from the back on the rotorwing aircraft crash in CA. Take a look.
Do you see it?
Count how many phones vs big cameras.
Amazing to see the change in technology as we move from
My PIO observations
- Try your best to make room for those reporters w/ phones only. Obviously, they can’t pool, so maybe a stand for video.
- Media should be considerate of the notification of next of kin. Loved ones should NEVER find out of death from media reports.
- Malt boxes are nice for secure locations, but likely in an outside field setup (like this one), it might not be possible.
- At the close of the presser, clearly state the time of the next press conference so that media will have a good idea what info will be delivered and of your partners on what to prepare.
- In the mass/swarm of the location, consideration to elevate your primary talent. If that’s not possible, perhaps give them some room around the podium to deliver message.
Good work on an undoubtedly difficult incident.
FEMA OEMA Basic PIO Day-2 in Lake County’s EOC
Day-2 of the FEMA OEMA Basic Public Information Officer courses. Back at it for the morning sunshine in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) here in Lake County.
Loving how they still have the nod to the older Civil Defense logos here. 
Steve opted for a faster pace today so he blew through Palumbo Plastics scenario.
After walking through a few tabletop exercises, we shifted into the classroom review of all PIO on-camera interviews. Legit on camera interviews.
The realistic scenario has been shared hundreds if not thousands of times. All of which point to crisis comms, PIOs sharing (or not sharing) information and how they can improve their on camera presence to their audiences through spoken word and non-verbal cues. Pretty much the hallmark of any PIO on camera.
In the mix, Steve shared his EMAC deployment w/ to South Carolina for Hurricane Florence.
Another outstanding day in Lake County as our participants are fully engaged in another class. Looking forward tomorrow with great engagement for the JIC/JIS class.
Quick chat with FEMA Deputy Administrator Dan Kaniewski
I was fortunate this week to sit down this week with FEMA Deputy Administrator for Resilience Dan Kaniewski at FEMA HQ.
Dan’s efforts across the country has helped pushed the importance of preparedness and strength for any community. With regular talks on flood insurance and hazard mitigation, his ability to bring pre-disaster planning to the forefront has been solid as we continue to help many communities better prepare for any disaster or emergency.
Dan’s hard fought efforts is not only with government agencies, but various partners in the public and private sector too. The importance of their efforts will only help better their community when disaster strikes.
Glad to see our top brass pushing for more preparedness every single day too.
Reporting live from FEMA HQ…Happy Aloha Friday peeps!
Happy birthday TikTok!
Holey moley. TikTok has been around for a year.
Comparatively to other social media platforms, I have said “WTF” to more TikToks than Tweets, Grams, and snaps combined.
Yeowza.
Trending posts now include #Area51 #GitUpChallenge, #whoachallenge #FYP #ForYouPage
P.S. A rando kid told me that TikTok isn’t a verb. Yet.
2019 Social Media Day with Grandma Hashtag
So in honor of 2019’s Social Media Day, I share the annual message from our very own Grandma Hashtag!
Here’s the link to her message: twitter.com/rusnivek/status/748707912206389249
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Day-2 of the FEMA Basic PIO Course here in KY
Day-2 of the FEMA Basic Public Information Officer Course here.
Glad to finally meet Lexington Fire Capt Jessica Bowman who is also one of the FEMA Master PIOs.
Great day to share some of the tools we use as PIOs. Here’s Sherelle and John talking about the importance and fashionable safety vests are for officials onscene.
Additionally, we discussed media being well visible as their safety is incredibly important. We can’t have our friends in the news business get hurt or become part of the incident.
And trust me, the more people who get injured in an incident, the more paperwork we all have to fill out….so be safe!
As usual, we had a very seasoned media panel from WLEX18 Bill Wilcox and Herald Leader Peter Baniak. Many thanks to both news organizations to spend time out of their busy schedule to spend with PIOs from across the state.
With all Basic PIO classes, we talk about the ability and flexibility for PIOs to do field reporting. Often times, reporters can’t get to a scene because of traffic or lack of staffing. Either way, we as government PIOs can help them out by packaging information they need from the scene. The tools needed to produce this kind of info is fairly easy to get, however the challenge is to put them into play.
By sharing the tactics and tools in class, I am able to improve the skills of any PIO by enhancing their ability to share solid timely and TRUSTED information with any of the targeted audiences.
As PIOs, we are beholden to so many audiences.
- Public
- Media
- Leadership
- Our internal teams.
At times, our job seems easy however once you dive into it, you can see the complexities of our efforts.
Don’t worry, we reviewed all mock on camera interviews. Tackled key concepts like redirects as well as some tips on how to give more positive non-verbals while being interviewed during crisis.
Super fun day with everyone. Lots of contributions from our partners from Fire, EMS, Police, Emergency Management, Energy, Coroner’s Office, Higher Education, Search and Rescue.
Looking forward to tomorrow’s FEMA JIC/JIS course!
Reporting live from the EOC….
@rusnviek
Where is @rusnivek? 