Podcast Episode #56: Lessons from Ken Starr’s Media Interview Debacle

The media interview is not the right time to be reviewing answers and going over tactics! Ken Starr, the recently ousted president of Baylor University following an investigation into the mishandling of  sexual assault at the school, and his media adviser Merrie Spaeth, founder of Spaeth Communications, learned this first-hand. In a KWTX News 10 interview from […]

Podcast Episode #55: Steps to Conducting a Strategic Communications Review

Are you confident in your institution’s key messaging? Can you summarize it in a simple, clear and jargon free way to your different audiences? What about within your department? Do you know why the department for which you work exists? Do others know? Episode 55 of FIR on Higher Education will outline steps that you […]

Podcast #54: Book Marketing Tactics from Professor David Burkus

It is not enough to rely on your publisher or school communications department to market your book. You have to put in the leg work. So says David Burkus, a professor at Oral Roberts University and the author of two different books: The Myths of Creativity which came out in 2013 and Under New Management […]

Podcast Episode #52: Communicating Differentiation

Is your school prestigious? Or does it attract students based on reputation? Your answer should impact how you market and communicate to different stakeholders. We delve into this topic on episode 52 of FIR on Higher Education. Guest Bertrand Guillotin, a professor at Temple University’s Fox School of Business, has researched the internationalization strategies of business […]

Podcast Episode #51: Nurturing Relationships with Journalists

Newsrooms are shrinking. The ratio of PR professionals to journalists in the United States is almost 5 to 1. Journalists complain about the exorbitant number of pitches they receive. For media relations professionals, it can be difficult to get on the radar of a targeted journalist. On episode 51 of FIR on Higher Education, media […]

Podcast Episode #50: PR Strategies and Tactics for Events

Are you maximizing the public relations opportunities around different events that you are organizing? Higher education related events usually feature interesting content, particularly if it is an academic conference or some sort of multi-day symposium. Making the most of such events from a PR perspective can be challenging. We delve into this topic on episode […]

Podcast Episode #49: Leveraging Social Media as a University Senior Leader

Different studies highlight how CEOs can reap positive benefits by using social media (see Weber Shandwick study). At the university level, there are some presidents, provosts and school deans who are also using social media in a strategic way. Take for example University of North Carolina Provost Jim Dean, who has been tweeting actively since 2009. On episode 49 of FIR on […]