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Local officer to head provincial media relations

'I'm going to get a real taste of the different side of media on a bigger scale'
Sgt Carolle Dionne opp 2017
Sgt Carolle Dionne. Supplied photo.

OPP Sgt. Carolle Dionne, the Northeast Regional Media Relations Coordinator, has dealt with local media for the last four years, now she's preparing to take on reporters from across the province.

Dionne has been promoted to HQ in Orillia as the OPP Provincial Media Co-ordinator.

"I'm going to get a real taste of the different side of media on a bigger scale," she told BayToday. "It's going to be a different world provincially."

She says she's built relationships with local reporters that have evolved into friendships but doesn't expect that will happen with the provincial job. 

"I don't expect that will be the same on a provincial level where you don't have those same relationships or rapport," Dionne said, noting the level of competition will be a lot different between media outlets. "Definitely I'll be looking at building that rapport and connections, but it will be a different level."

She's also seen a big change over the last few years on how the OPP has had to adapt to the evolving media landscape.

"We're trying to change with the times to deliver the information the community is looking for. They want instant information, so social media has been huge for us in the last couple of years, and we're still trying to fine tune that to see how it is best delivered. We still rely on traditional media like yourself, to deliver that news but we also have to get with the times and deliver it ourselves."

That involves platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Presently photos of the scene only occasionally accompany the tweets.

"We need a buy-in also from our officers because we are still dealing with different generations, when we are talking about officers on the road, that want to provide us with information because not everybody 'gets' social media. So if you have an officer at the scene saying 'I'd like to have a picture of that for social media', not everybody sees it as a priority or understands the full scope of why we need that. But it definitely helps me in my position if the constables at the detachment, to alleviate the calls coming in saying 'what's going on', take a simple picture for social media."

 


Jeff Turl

About the Author: Jeff Turl

Jeff is a veteran of the news biz. He's spent a lengthy career in TV, radio, print and online, covering both news and sports. He enjoys free time riding motorcycles and spoiling grandchildren.
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