How Media Relations Can Support Integrated Marketing Communications Goals

Technological advances, the ever-changing communications landscape and the disruption in the higher education space necessitate that marketing and communications departments strategically work together towards common goals. This means that everyone is aligned on what the objectives are and how to achieve them through the collaborative effort of those responsible for earned media (media relations), shared […]

Podcast Episode #59: The Importance of Media Monitoring

The success of a PR program depends on monitoring. We need to have the tools in place to know not only what is being said about our brand, industries, competitors and audiences. We also need to have the appropriate systems to share intelligence with our different stakeholders, whether it be senior leadership, faculty, alumni, students […]

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 #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 […]

New Survey: The State of PR and Communications at Public Policy / Public Affairs Schools

Public policy and public affairs schools still have work to do in ensuring that their PR activities are aligned with institutional big-picture goals. This is among the findings from Experiential Communications’ inaugural public relations and communications survey of schools focused on public policy and public affairs. The 10-question survey was conducted in May and June […]

How to do media relations without pitching a story

PR professionals – are you doing media relations” or “media blasting”? There is an important distinction between the two. Many journalists complain about some of the terrible tactics public relations professionals employ. From what I see and hear, this complaint has some warrant to it. Many PR folks resort to blasting their message as far […]

University online pressrooms – best practice examples

University communicators – how is your online pressroom? Is it meeting journalists’ expectations? If your media site is like the average, then according to a new survey your site needs some revamping. A study led by Proactive Report and Press Feed found that only 15 percent of PR practitioners are delivering the information that media need. Some […]