Public information officer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Public Information Officers (PIOs) are the communications coordinators or spokespersons of certain governmental organizations (i.e. police departments, army, city, county, state governments). They differ from public relations departments of private organizations in that many of them typically do not engage in marketing, but solely in providing information to the public and the media as required by law and according to the standards of their profession.
Public information officers can operate from an office or from the field. During crises and emergencies, PIOs are often identified by wearing helmets or vests with the letters "PIO" on them.
Among the oldest and largest public information professional organizations is The California Association of Public Information Officials or CAPIO. It was the brainchild of Murray Brown, then editor of Western Cities Magazine to create a network of public information officers. CAPIO is the leading statewide membership organization with 300 members throughout California. Based in Sacramento, CAPIO strives to offer innovative ongoing training and educational opportunities to public information professionals while promoting ethics and integrity in public service. In 2006 the association turned thirty-five, at it's annual meeting it presented the Founders Circle of Fame Award of Innovation to Murray Brown, Frank Blaszcak, Clair Harmony and Tom Robinson; members who had previously received lifetime achievement awards. At the ceremony, then CAPIO President Jeff Hobbs said, “We’re thrilled to mark this special milestone by recognizing the men and women who built the organization from the ground up. They were visionaries then, they are icons now.”
