A successful media relations program is the product of widespread involvement by faculty, staff, and students across campus, rather than the behind the scenes machinations of a few individuals in the Office of Communications. There are many ways in which you can contribute to that effort.
The college's media relations efforts are also designed to serve the needs of the campus community. In promoting noteworthy accomplishments and publicizing the endeavors of the college, Communications staff are here to help you garner media attention for your activities, events, and achievements.
How You Can Help Us and We Can Help You
1. Passing on story ideas
Communications staff would welcome any ideas you have as to what might make for an interesting story about Lawrence or individual Lawrentians. We may not nessarily have heard about an interesting project a student or group of students are involved in or a particular area of research a faculty member is now pursuing. A simple FYI e-mail is all that is required and is always appreciated. A "heads up" on any out-of-the-ordinary event or upcoming activity is also very helpful. Please don't hesitate to forward anything you think might be of interest.
2. Announcing campus activities and events
Communications handles announcement of campus activities and events in one of two ways.
Press releases are prepared and disseminated for convocations, lecture series such as the Main Hall Forum, and the campus appearances of other significant speakers and artists. Major events such as Commencement, Earth Day observances, Kwanzaa celebrations, Trivia Weekend, etc., also receive more detailed presentation to the media.
Other campus activities and events are brought to the attention of the media through a weekly What's On At Lawrence release prepared by the Office of Communications. Not every activity or event is included in the listing, though many are. Inclusion is determined by the potential importance of public participation and the extent to which the event is likely to be of interest to the general public. What's On At Lawrence is generated from the online university calendar.
3. Sharing faculty, staff, and student achievements
The Office of Communications is routinely notified of honors, awards, athletic achievements, and grants and scholarships received by faculty and students. While that works well in most instances, your taking the initiative in informing Communications of any special achievements that fall outside of the regular honors and awards programs helps us to stay on top of such matters and to disseminate such information to the media in a timely manner. When in doubt, we would like to hear about it!
4. Interviews
Communications receives calls from the media requesting interviews of administrators, faculty, or students, usually on short notice. The Media Relations Manager will contact you to ascertain your willingness and availability for such an interview as the opportunity arises or a request is received.
Your cooperation in such interviews is appreciated and the Office of Communications will help you prepare for them (also see Advice on Working With the Media). The Media Relations Manager will help set up the time and place for the interview and will usually accompany the reporter to the interview, especially if you so request.
When contacted concerning an interview, a prompt response is important. Reporters usually work under very tight deadlines, and we try to respect that in our attempts to garner more media exposure for the college.
5. Alerting Communications when media contacts occur
On occasion, a reporter will contact you directly asking to set up an interview or wanting to conduct one over the phone. In general, Lawrence University maintains an "open door" approach with the media and does not try to tightly regulate media access to campus. It probably would be impossible to accomplish in any case, even if we were so inclined.
However, it is in the best interest of the college for individuals asked by a media representative to speak on behalf of Lawrence on a given issue to check in with the News Service Manager to alert Communications of any contacts that occur. If you are in a position where you might be called upon for comment, please take a moment to review some of the counsel and corresponding expectations discussed in Advice on Working With the Media.
If you have any doubts as to whether an unexpected approach by the media should be handled by you or are in any way uncomfortable with how things are unfolding, do not hesitate to ask the reporter to talk with the Media Relations Manager before proceeding.
A Word on Timelines
The broadcast media, in particular, work under extremely short deadlines. In many instances, news producers will review the day's story board in the morning and then assign a story -- very often more than one -- to a reporter, with the expectation that the story(ies) will be aired during the evening or nightly news slot (usually at 5 p.m. or 10 p.m.). For general human interest stories, producers prefer and expect advance notice, so that scarce camera crews and mobile television production trucks can be scheduled in an efficient way. Stories may be "bumped" at the last minute by unfolding events elsewhere that will tie up the news crews. Please get your information on upcoming events worthy of television coverage into the Office of Communications at least two weeks prior to the scheduled activity so that we may get it on the producers' story boards. Conversely, be prepared for the occasional short notice request for a live or filmed interview at their initiative that will be aired on that evening's news.
Unless it is an unfolding story, print journalists usually have a little longer leadtime to develop and pursue stories. That, however, does not mean that last minute requests for comment don't occur on a regular basis. They do. Reporters and editors work under a number of constraints. Even though most dailies in the Appleton area and across the state are evening papers, they are actually printed early that morning or the night before. That means editors are putting the next day's paper to bed by midafternoon the day before the evening paper appears on your doorstep.
Editors also work with and shuffle stories and announcements within a rather tight "news hole," the amount of space actually available for text as opposed to advertising. In doing so, they may defer certain stories or announcements from one edition to the next or even drop them altogether. Again, advance notice is what allows Communications to work with editors in ensuring that your story or announcement actually makes it into print and at a time when it does the most good. If at all possible, information on activities, achievements, and upcoming events should be received in Communications at least three weeks in advance of when media coverage is desired. The earlier the better!
Finally, editors and television news producers are interested in hearing about events or activities before they happen. Not only to schedule appropriate coverage in advance, but also because "news is now." While after-the-fact stories do appear, most editors and producers view things that have already happened as "old news." Every effort should be made to alert the media to events or activities in advance of their actual occurance, which will increase the prospects for media coverage.
Why the Office of Communications May Not Always Pass on a Story
While creative story suggestions are always welcome and often lead to media articles, not everything we do at Lawrence is necessarily newsworthy or of potential interest to reporters or their editors.
It is the job of the Media Relations Manager to exercise his best professional judgment on what story ideas should go forward. The college's relationship with the media is a mutually beneficial one and the result of constant cultivation of media representatives. Part of the implicit agreement guiding that relationship is an understanding that Communications provides the media with "news they can use" and doesn't impose on the relationship by pushing story ideas that have no news appeal.
It is counterproductive to call editors on every potential story that comes along or clutter up media fax machines and email boxes with unwanted press releases on subjects that do not relate to what reporters and editors are interested in. The number one complaint of editors and reporters nationwide is the massive influx of what they perceive as "junk" press releases, faxes, and e-mails from corporations, community groups, and colleges and universities.
For Lawrence's beneficial relationship with the media to continue, care has to be taken in discerning when a news item is topical and when it is stale or unlikely to be usable. If a newspaper ran a story about a new science building three months ago, for example, they are unlikely to be receptive to another story about plans to buy new equipment for the building. Once a story has been run, the topic is usually considered as having "been done" and will not be revisited for a suitable period of time.
As such, we can't guarantee that every story idea will bear fruit and be passed on the media.