PIO IS BETTER THAN POO

Here’s an interesting piece from the Columbia Journalism Review that talks about the tension between governmental Public Information Officers and journalists.  The piece recounts instances where PIOs interfered with investigative journalism.

On the one hand, the conflict makes sense.  Journalists have different interests than the governmental agencies they investigate.  But do they?  Maybe the way to solve the problem and is for PIOs to rethink their role.  They are the conduit for transparency.  And in that role, they should make journalists’ jobs easier not harder.

Remember the abbreviation — PIO.  The “I” is for “information.”  Don’t be a “POO” — Public Obstruction Officer.  No one likes POO.