Photo by AbsolutVision on Unsplash
By Alyssa Anderson
What does PIO mean? It stands for Public Information Offices. Their job is the lead person in communicating information to constituents – they can be internal constituents, external constituents, or both. They work in a fast-paced environment, with long hours and 5 days a week such as Monday-Friday. They are the official voice of Skagit Valley College, and they let people know what is offered here on the campus. Without them, I think it would be very hard to find out new information on my own.
Many responsibilities take the role when being the Chief of Public Information offices. Arden Ainley is the Chief and shared a few things in the interview I had with her. “The main focus of my job as SVC’s Chief Public Information Officer is to provide information to the general public (and our internal audiences, too) about SVC. Communication channels include writing for the news media, social media, the web, advertising, and community relations. As the official voice of the College, my goal is to be accurate and consistent in all communications and promotions. Subjects that I write about include College courses and programs, faculty accomplishments, successful students and grads, upcoming enrollment opportunities, College activities, etc.,” said Arden Ainley.
A lot of the pieces that are written will have a photo to go with them. Being able to take good quality photos is a big part of the job. There are social media accounts such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. that are being used as well to share information for the public. They would not be able to do this without the fans, followers, or listeners, which means they are going to remove any negative comments that go against the guidelines. Interactions are suggested, as long as it follows the guidelines listed on the Skagit Valley College website below “About.” It has been told that using social media has been one of the best ways to help spread information to the people enrolled at Skagit Valley College.
Many different structures of writing could be used when writing a news release. You write them like a normal news story, with the inverted pyramid. People are super busy and may not have time to read a long document, so they provided the most newsworthy information first such as who, what, when, where, why, and how much. After that you then include other important details, finish up with the background information, and find a way for the reader to gain more knowledge about the subject.
Public Information Officers write about so many different things. Skagit has a big list of topics that have been written about, such as Achievements, SVC Foundation, Culinary Arts, SVC Board of Trustees, Scholarships, Student Focus, General Information, Workforce Education, SVC South Whidbey Center, Drama & Arts, Industrial Technology & Transportation, SVC Multicultural Student Services, SVC Program Board, Phi Theta Kappa, Automotive Technology, Events, and things that haven’t been written about as much will be under a certain tab called “Uncategorized.”
My friend Isaac Donovan is a running start student in highschool. “I am super thankful for PIO’s I have learned so much and found out information that I had been searching for, for hours,” said Isaac Donovan.
Education is needed for Public Information Officers. A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college is required for most public information officer jobs. Many degrees and experiences can work well within the Public Information Offices worlds, such as journalism, communications, writing, and reporting.
If a newspaper were to publish something that a Public Information Offices wrote, whenever it be part of it or the whole thing. Giving people credit for their work is not a big deal and Public Information Offices don’t expect it because newspapers aren’t required to give credit since it’s a community service. Just having the information published is the goal. “I do have several community organizations that will publish my entire piece as written, with my name and contact information. I believe that is based on my experience and ability to provide a quality product to them,” said Arden Ainley.
I do not believe this job is easy. It takes many skills, patience, and dedication. I do know that they spend countless hours writing news stories, just for the students and the community.
As I mentioned earlier, the internal constituents are the people who “indicate the strengths and weakness of the business entity.” The external constituents “represent the opportunities and threats outside the organization. To perform environmental analysis, a constant stream of relevant information is required to find out the best course of action.” Some people presume both to Skagit.
The Public Information Office is one of the highlights of Skagit Valley I think. Ethan Lewis, a former graduate from Mount Vernon Highschool, looked into attending Skagit for two years after College. Ethan is currently enrolled at Washington State University. He got a lot of information that helped his decision in choosing where to go. “I took the time to decide on where I wanted to attend. The Public Information Offices helped me in finding details about the campus, achievements, and all the students that have graduated from here,” said Ethan Lewis.
