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There are a LOT of things to talk about this month. We’ll get to them all in “a jiffy.”
Yes, it is only February 1st but NOW is the time to get moving on inviting VIP’s to your Field Day event. (If their answer is no – see the end of this section.)
VIPs and Field Day
Last year an attempt was made to allow political VIPs to talk to each other over HF during the hour before the formal start of Field Day. It went OK (nothing negative) but was crippled due to propagation being horrible. Still, we had several state and federal VIPs involved, and that was good.
In planning for this year, several staff members have been looking into workable options and have come up with a plan we believe will work well. The big problem is still going to be Ol’ Sol and propagation. We want to be sure any VIP willing to get on the air has someone to talk to. The best chances of that are during FD itself.
VIPs can participate by making contacts during FD using Amateur Radio. (This also gets points for your group.) Here at W1AW, we’ll be watching 7.290 +/- if the propagation permits. But… In addition, we will have an Echolink conference set up via W1AW and monitored for VIP uses.
So, if propagation is poor, you can use a UHF/VHF radio and the W1AW Echolink conference for your VIP. Just BE SURE you know how to set up your system there to tie in. You do not want to be fussing about in front of a VIP. Make sure it works and is all ready to go! Also, try to use a radio into a local repeater link so that the VIP sees the radio, not just a computer. In this way VIPs can talk via HF if possible, but also use a digital mode if propagation remains poor.
And… if the VIP is unable to come to a field day site, a ham with little more than an HT can go to the VIP’s location, work it via a repeater with Echolink, and they still can participate in the day. (Either way, you can win)
It is no secret that our EmComm work is the best key to the media’s doorway. There is new, basic guidance for PIO's that was issued by DHS this month. This is important, you-need-to-know stuff. You can access the document directly at: http://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=3095
...Of Good Media Relationships
I. Thou shalt be Honest
II Be Concise
III Be Available to the Media
IV Be Timely
V Be Fair
VI Be Flexible
VII Be Objective
VIII Be Positive
IX Be Informed about your Subject
X Be Professional
(Ideas from www.anl.gov/riskcomm)
In any event or activity, how you handle and act in the FIRST HOURS will define your reputation for the duration. By providing accurate information quickly and openly, your credibility and importance is established.
The public will tolerate a crisis. The public will not tolerate inaccurate and conflicting information, or worse, silence and avoidance of an issue. Waiting a day – or (shudder) several days for an “after action report,” - is not doing your job as a PIO.
You don’t need to know everything that is happening, but you DO need to know your part of it and get that information out, in a form so a 12-year-old can understand it, very early in an event.
A What just happened?
B What does it mean to ME?
C What are YOU doing about it?
Looking for a good interview that you can share with your local radio station? Maybe you can put audio onto your website. Here’s one that was made for those opportunities.
http://www.talkzone.com/archive.asp?aid=11138
While things are changing quickly, the folks who are tossing up their hands and lamenting the death of all things “ham” need a reality check.
For numbers on how many licensees are out there, see: http://www.ah0a.org/FCC/Licenses.html
Even figuring for inactive people, that’s a LOT! As for the ARRL, we are happy to report 2007 ended with an up-swing not seen in some years. The year ended with 153,535 members--up 3% from year-end 2006.
This past month there was some web-chatter about a British movie “Making Waves.” It’s a romantic comedy about an over-the-air romance via ham radio. The word is that if you can overlook some bad language and operating practices, it has a nice portrayal of Amateur Radio and hams are the main characters. It has not been released in the USA but supposedly is available via Netflix. Here’s the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L81DqSpkz7M
Want a Media Analysis database which will list all media within a given area around any Zip Code? The national media listings and contact information books and subscriptions are VERY expensive. But what about media just in your own local area? Pat Mullet spotted this one and shared it – Thanks Pat! Give the Center for Public Integrity a look.
Put in your zip code and then click on the tabs for Summary, TV, Radio, Cable, Broadband and Newspapers to see who is out there.
So the above site gives you your local media. Now, who is your audience?? As a PIO your audience is not your local hams – it’s the community! And who are they?
Walt Palmer, W4ALT, found the answer (Thanks Walt!):
This is an extremely interesting website that gives you a LOT of information about the people, demographics and make-up of your area.
This is your audience – learn about them!!!
Check it out, http://zipskinny.com/
Vienna Wireless Society's January balloon launch & recovery was covered in The Washington Post that had a story on that successful flight. Featured were Matthew Norloff, KG4URU, and Amanda Norloff, the children of Pete Norloff, KG4OJT.
Note that they're planning another one February 9 that will include an experiment prepared by students at an elementary school in Sterling, VA.
And with it is the ARRL phone Dx Contest.
Do you have people in your group or area planning on working the contest? I bet you do.
If so – then you have a story to tell!
Actually, you have a couple stories. Start soon working up the line about the local folks in training that are setting off to win a world-wide event. You can play up the difficulties, sleepless angle, preparations and technical sides of it. “Podunk City team to compete in world-wide competition” “Hams training to compete against the world’s best.” You get the idea….
Follow it up late in February with another one about Feb 24th (after Super…er…ah…”the big game”) with the latest on the team and a tour of the station.
Then you have set things up for a visit on March 1st.
Three local stories out of something your group may already have been planning on doing anyway.
Each year, the President of the ARRL appoints recognized media, PR and Amateur Radio leaders to the ARRL’s Public Relations Committee.
"The PRC is a national-level committee which reports to the ARRL Board of Directors via the Board Liaison. Members are appointed by the ARRL President for one-year terms, with options for reappointment. The PRC has two primary missions. The first is to provide guidance to the ARRL PR staff in presenting the story of Amateur Radio to the public at large, the press, and to the amateur community at the national level. This includes recommending strategies for attracting new hams, and for recruiting and retaining ARRL members. The second is to support and encourage the development of the local Public Information Coordinators and Public Information Officers in the field by providing PR education, guidance and public relations tools to assist them in their efforts. The PRC also from time to time undertakes special projects as assigned by the ARRL Board of Directors and/or the ARRL President."
Revised July 2003
We are happy to announce that the following people are on the 2008 PRC:
Things that pass through a PR desk…
Working PR opens up a strange, eclectic world in which the dimensions of the known, the speculative and the ludicrous spin over my desk daily and can merge better than multiple string-theories hitting a boson. You learn all sorts of things. Here are some that I learned this past month and also some that you might want to know:
"Stewardesses" is the longest word typed with only the left hand and "lollipop" is the longest word typed with your right hand. (Bet you are trying this out mentally, aren't you?)
Did you know you can get the PR email from the reflector in two ways? You can get it as it happens (most folks like it that way as it is easier to follow threads) or you can get them all bundled together once a day. If you are on the reflector and want them bundled, let me know.
No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.
We’re always looking for ways to make your job as a PIO easier. Remember that we have limited resources, but if you have an idea that can help PIOs then please let us know about it!
"Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt."
The 2008 Swiss Army Knife for PIOs is at the duplicators. It should be available about Feb 15th or so. Keep an eye out for the announcement on the PR reflector.
There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: "abstemious" and "facetious." (Yes, admit it, you are going to say, a e i o u)
It bears repeating: We’re always looking for ways to make your job as a PIO easier. Remember that we have limited resources, but if you have an idea that can help PIOs then please let us know about it! - Yes, I really mean that!
TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard and a "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.