MGT318 – 16.00 Hours
Currently there are no scheduled classes for this course. However, in some cases a course can be scheduled to meet your organization’s specific needs. For more information about this course or to schedule a class, please contact Emergency Services Training Institute at (866) 878-8900 or [email protected] to get the latest schedule.
Course Description
This course examines the role of public information in all-hazards incident management and provides practical training in crisis communication techniques. In a major incident, it is imperative that community leaders, incident managers, and Public Information Officers (PIOs) are prepared to communicate with the public through traditional and social media. The course consists of three modules.
The first module reviews the topics of terrorism, Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs), national response structures, incident management, and government and agency roles. Participants learn about the passing of information to the public in a WMD, terrorism, or other all-hazards incident and the function of joint information operations.
The second module covers issues unique to interacting with members of the media to help you build more effective relationships and avoid common mistakes when providing information to the press and public. The module includes a mock press conference exercise in which the class is broken into groups to prepare for and conduct press conferences based on fictional WMD, terrorism, and all-hazards incident scenarios. These scenarios are taken from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) National Planning Scenarios.
The third module introduces the crisis communication life cycle and crisis communication planning. A six-phase cycle is discussed, with public information objectives and key actions for managing each phase provided. Participants learn how to create a crisis communication plan and develop a crisis communication team to execute it.
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for this course.
Course Completion Requirements
Participants Must Provide
- a photo identification on the first day of class. See the Participant Handbook for approved forms of identification and additional guidelines.
Attendance Requirements
Class attendance is an essential part of the education process and participants in TEEX courses are expected to attend all class sessions and field exercises. This course requires participants to attend a minimum of 80% of the class hours as a component of successful course completion. During the course, your instructor will review any additional attendance requirements, for example a field exercise that cannot be missed
Recommended
- IS-100 FEMA Introduction to the Incident Command System (ICS-100)
- IS-700 FEMA Introduction to the National Incident Management System (NIMS) IS-700
Topics
- Terrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Informing the Public in a WMD, Terrorist, or All-Hazards Incident
- Conducting emergency public information programs
- Working with news and social media in a disaster
- Joint Information Operations
- The News Media Environment
- Local Media vs. National Media
- Building Relationships
- Social Media
- Needs of the News Media
- Initial Statements
- Press Conferences and Media Opportunities
- Planning and coordinating press conferences
- Identifying and preparing spokespersons and experts
- News Media and the Law
- Classified National Security Information
- Crisis Communication Life Cycle
- Developing an effective crisis communication plan
Suggested Audience
Personnel serving in all emergency response disciplines within a jurisdiction and individuals whose duties may require them to interface with news media representatives during their community’s response to a major incident, including:
- Jurisdiction’s key elected and appointed officials
- Public Information Officers (PIOs)
- Key department heads
- Key public health and medical personnel
- First responders
- Emergency management officials from both the public and private sectors
- Other key officials whose position might require them to communicate with the press or public in an emergency situation
Continuing Education And Professional Credits
Note: Live Online Instructor-Led (webinar) courses are not eligible for TCOLE credit.
- Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE)
- ACE American Council on Education (ACE)
Other Information
DHS/FEMA information
This workshop is fully funded through DHS/FEMA and comes at no direct cost to the jurisdiction, and is delivered at a time and place requested by the jurisdiction.
Course size
25 – 35 participants
Government Programs
- GSA contract number: GS-07F-0357V. GSA customers, to register please contact [email protected] or call (866) 878-8900.
- For DHS/FEMA Funded Courses, please contact [email protected] or call (866) 878-8900
