CDC - Public Affairs in Health Issue Best Proctices, Virtual Joint Information Center

Public Affairs in Health (PAH)
Best Practice

The Virtual Joint Information Center: A Technological Tool for Emergency Communication
Bret M. Atkins, M.A.

Abstract
As audiences and information needs become more specific, so must the tools used to meet the needs of those audiences. One example is how government agencies and other response organizations create and utilize specific products and methods to share information with the news media. Another tool, used primarily during crises for information retrieval, processing, and release is the joint information center, or JIC. This paper presents information on how the current utilizations of JICs, frequently conducted within the confines of a physical or corporeal location, may be improved upon with the supplement of or replacement with an electronic method of operational communication called a virtual joint information center, or V-JIC.

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Introduction
As audiences and information needs become more specific, so must the tools used to meet the needs of those audiences. One example is how government agencies and other response organizations create and utilize specific products and methods to share information with the news media, such as the news release, the interview, and the news conference. These methods have long been used during no crisis times as well as during public health emergencies. Reporters have come to expect this manner of information flow and incorporate it into their news production procedures.

Another tool, about three decades old and used primarily during crises, has been added for information retrieval, processing, and release – the joint information center, or JIC. This paper presents information on how the current utilizations of JICs, frequently conducted within the confines of a physical or corporeal location, may be improved upon with the supplement of or replacement with an electronic method of operational communication called a virtual joint information center, or V-JIC.

Joint Information Center
The Incident Command System (ICS) describes a public information officer (PIO) as a crucial task position within the command staff, and describes a JIC as a useful tool for the PIO (U. S. Department of Homeland Security, 2004). ICS formed in the 1970s following devastating wildfires in California, and the JIC concept began “around the time of the eruption of Mount St. Helens” (AudienceCentral, 2007, para. 1). The volcano exploded in March 1980.

Academic research about the use of a JIC is quite sparse. Table 1 shows the number of articles written during the past twelve years found in academic databases using the terms “risk communication,” “crisis communication,” and “joint information center.” These terms are commonly used by governmental agencies practitioners who create the aforementioned news products regarding events in which their organizations are involved. The search used the EBSCO service for an inquiry within the databases shown. The parameters requested all peer-reviewed material from January 1997 to early 2009; the search was not limited to full-text results. While the search undoubtedly did not capture all articles, it does reflect the abundance of risk communication scholarship and the paucity of research on joint information centers.

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CDC - Public Affairs in Health Issue Best Proctices, Virtual Joint Information Center