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● Introduction & Index ● What is PR ● Job Expectations ● Types of Media ● Building Relationships ● Media, Hams & FCC Rules ● The Basic News Release ● Interviews and Live ● Making your own show ● Easy P.R. ● Public Service Events ● Piggy-back to Events ● Pictures NOW! ● P.R. Research Aids ● Making Friends ● ARES® PIO ● Final Exam Information Next Page

11. Public Service Events 12. Piggy-back to National Events 13. Pictures NOW! How to Send to 14. P.R. Research Aids 15. Making Friends In disagreements “The loyal opposition” 16. ARES® PIO The PIO in emergency situations 17. Final Exam Information Introduction At the end of 2008, the ARRL did a survey which confirmed what we had suspected for a long time. The skill levels, knowledge of the media and expertise of Amateur Radio PIO’s varied widely, with half having little to no experience at all. This applied to formal ARRL PIOs (appointed by Section Managers) as well as club appointed PIOs. While some of the best PIOs appeared to simply be self-appointed when no one else in the area was doing the job, other self-appointed spokespeople were dismal. Many PIO’s only sent out one or two releases a year, and thought that was fine! Others confused public information with doing internal club newsletters. The situation was much like ARES® at the turn of the century. The correction for ARES was the creation of the ARECC courses (EmComm Levels 1-2-3). It created a common understanding of the tasks at hand and a basic, standardized skillset. Indeed, it changed ARES and ultimately led to their finest hours following Katrina. This PR-101 course seeks to follow that pattern. While a wide range of topics are presented, we kept complexity to a basic minimum wherever possible. (Remember, it’s only a 101 level course.) Completion of the course and the final exam is a reason for pride in being a PIO. For, without Public Relations, everything else we do would slowly fade away and be forgotten.