University Business - January 2007 - (Page 57)

Warning : session_start : The session id contains invalid characters, valid characters are only a-z, A-Z and 0-9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 9 Warning : session_start : Cannot send session cache limiter - headers already sent output started at /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php:9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 9 Warning : Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by output started at /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php:9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 10 Technology to Your Advantage DAVID RUTH, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF national media relations at the University of Minnesota, had a novel idea. Mindful of the president’s goal to make the university one of the top three research institutions in the United States, Ruth knew his department could help build Minnesota’s reputation in this area. After perusing the media relations’ sites at the other Big Ten universities, he found that no one had created a website specifically designed for national and international radio, TV, print, and internet media outlets. “I realized the only way to get national exposure was to get our messages delivered outside of Minnesota—to the bigger markets like New York, L.A., and San Francisco,” says Ruth. So he created a site that allows reporters to easily book online interviews with faculty and staff experts, access timely press releases, and get free news downloads. The site also features an RSS feed, a tool popular among reporters who like to have the latest news come right to them, to be read on their own time. For the news service departm e n t , which typically gets about 10 media calls daily, the site has the potential to reduce National media their workload tremendously. reporters have speHowever, Ruth says the site ciﬁc site needs. is not intended as a replacement for over-the-phone or in-person media relationships. “It’s an especially convenient tool for international media. We’ve already had online bookings from the BBC, Australian radio, and a Greek newspaper,” he says. Ruth also had a plan to attract media during the holidays this year. He posted a big holiday list on a range of timely topics that would appeal to the media—such as holiday shopping, winterizing cars, and shedding the post-holiday pounds—with each item matched to faculty and staff experts at the university. If you’d rather not wait for the media to come to you, check out ProfNet.com, a site that connects reporters to potential sources. Savvy media relations pros can subscribe to ProfNet’s threetimes-per-day electronic feed, which tells them which reporters are working on which stories. You can then match your experts with a reporter and set up an interview. January 2007 | 57 The Seton Hall N.J. community honors the memory of the three students who died in a winter 2000 Boland Hall dorm ﬁre with an annual memorial mass. LIFE AFTER THE ATTENTION Just because coverage has subsided after a crisis, an institution is not in the clear. Remain on guard, as the media will often bring up old news in months or years to come. You’re on everyone’s radar now—that includes media, alumni, and prospective students. They’re watching, judging, and waiting to see what you’ll do next. Apologize. “Saying ‘I am sorry’ is incredibly powerful,” says Caboni. When your president is at the center of the controversy, there’s not much you can do but apologize. Within a week of making controversial comments about women and their aptitude for science, Lawrence Summers at Harvard wrote a well-received apology that was posted on the university’s website. It didn’t lessen the impact of his remarks, but it made people feel better that he was sorry. University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann took a similar tactic to diffuse the bad press about her posing with a student dressed in a suicide bomber costumer this past Halloween. In her online statement, she said, “The costume is clearly offensive and I was offended by it. As soon as I realized what his costume was, I refused to take any more pictures with him, as he requested. The student had the right to wear the costume just as I, and others, have a right to criticize his wearing of it.” Apology accepted. Have trust in the public. “The public is very forgiving. They don’t expect you to be perfect. They just want to see that there’s a plan for fixing and handling the problem,” says Jones. “They don’t hold you responsible for the events—but they do hold you responsible for taking ownership of the problem.” Commemorate the tragedy. After the dormitory fire at Seton Hall University N.J. in 2000, the university developed a tradition to honor its anniversary by conducting a memorial mass and ringing three bells on a bell tower that was built to symbolize the three students who died. In addition, the university put in a memorial stone engraved with the words “Remember” on it. “We want to remember the tragedy as a sign of respect to those who died,” explains university spokesperson Tom White. “If there’s anything positive that’s resulted from this tragedy, it’s that fire safety at Seton Hall, and hopefully at other colleges, has improved,” he says. “It awakened us to all the ways in which we could be better be prepared for a fire.” In times of turmoil, be mindful of your institutional reputation—but remember that caring for the campus community should come first. When a good opportunity arises, the key to good media relations is to be prepared. That way, you will have already laid the groundwork to capitalize on an opportunity. Just be sure not to buy into the “all press is good press” mantra. Jones says, “Publicity about something scandalous is never positive.” Alana Klein is a former editor at University Business. universitybusiness.com Media.indd 57 12/15/06 11:24:04 AM Warning : Unknown : The session id contains invalid characters, valid characters are only a-z, A-Z and 0-9 in Unknown on line 0 Warning : Unknown : Failed to write session data files . Please verify that the current setting of session.save_path is correct /var/lib/php/session in Unknown on line 0 http://universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - January 2007

Contents
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Editor's Note
Sense of Place
Stats Watch
People Watch
Viewpoint
Human Resources
Money Matters
Marketing
Financial Aid
Community Colleges
Missed Connections
Escuse Me: Can you Spare a Million?
The Associate
Media Relations Boot Camp
Admissions Administrators Speak Out
Business Technology
What's New
Calendar of Events
Direct Connect
End Note

University Business - January 2007