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WORKING WITH THE MEDIA

Eric Hoover

The Chronicle of Higher Education

Washington, D.C.

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A REPORTER IS CALLING …

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WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO

WRONG?*

(* Besides embarrassing your president,

angering your board, and getting fired)

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KNOW THE RULES …

On the Record?

On Background?

Off the Record? *

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YES, YOU CAN ASK QUESTIONS, TOO !

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ONE ENROLLMENT VETERAN SAYS

“Assume your administration will be mad

about any comments you make that aren’t

all sunshine and lollipops.”

-Palmer Muntz, U. of Alaska Fairbanks

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COLLEGES OFTEN WANT TO TALK

ABOUT:

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BUT JOURNALISTS ARE LIKE …

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JOURNALISTS WANT TO HEAR ABOUT:

• Conflict. Struggle. Tension. Challenges.

• What your institution is up against

• How you’re succeeding – or failing (action)

• Why that matters to people beyond

campus

• Not just “good news” or “bad news”

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“DOGS AND CATS LIVING TOGETHER …”?

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BREATHE. RELAX. REMEMBER:

• Cooperation is cool!

• Reporters depend on data, just like you do!

• But they also really love stories (true stories)

• Stories without context? Good for no one

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ADVICE FROM THE FIELD:

“EM’s should make sure there is a campus plan in place and a chain of command for talking to the media. … It is important to communicate well [with reporters] because EM is complex and there are many misconceptions.”

- Karen Full, Director of Admissions, Ave Marie U.

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HIGHER ED REPORTERS

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ADVICE FROM THE FIELD:

“Think long-term: Be available, honest, build

trust, follow up … basically like any other

relationship.”

- Rick Clark, director of undergraduate

admission, Georgia Tech

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UH OH!

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FRIENDLY ADVICE FOR A CRISIS

• Return the reporter’s call.

• Opportunities to clarify any misinformation or

provide facts that the reporter may not know?

• Consider sharing data or strategy that shows

why you are in the spot you are in.

• Think through if there is anything the institution

should own and then get permission to own it.

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ADVICE …

• It is rarely as bad as everyone initially fears. Do some research, get perspective, talk to your peers and approach a crisis situation with information.

• Never be disingenuous or spin. Never.

• Most importantly— never say “no comment.”

- Teresa Valerio Parrot, TVP Communications

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YOUR COLLEGE INFLATED ADMISSIONS

DATA FOR A DECADE?

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CRISIS RESPONSE, THE CHRONICLE, 11/8/2012:

George Washington officials said they later discovered that the

admissions office had been estimating the class rank for high-

performing students whom they “assumed” were in the top 10

percent of their classes, based on their grade-point averages and

standardized-test scores. “That inflated the number,” said Mr.

Maltzman. “And this grew over time. As fewer and fewer students

had any class rank, that was making the estimation portion of it a

bigger factor. And over a long period of time, students got better, and

we ended up with more in our top category.”

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REPORTER + SOURCE RELATIONSHIP

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WORKING WITH REPORTERS

• Remember: Most stories aren’t about a crisis!

• Go ahead, ask questions (“How familiar are you with XYZ? What’s the focus of your story?”).

• Provide examples: specific, concrete, human.

• Link EM/admissions to big picture/broader goals.

• Explain “what,” but don’t forget “why.”

• Send reporters something relevant to read.

• Follow up! Give Feedback! Be Human!

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ADVICE FROM THE FIELD:“I would say the most important thing is having an

opinion. Good luck finding anyone in EM with that

qualification! (Or at least who’s willing to share it

publicly.)”

-Jon Boeckenstedt, vice president for enrollment

management and marketing, DePaul U.

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SOME PEOPLE ARE OUTSPOKEN …

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BUT NOT ALL PEOPLE ARE THE SAME.

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WHAT’S NEXT?

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QUESTIONS COMING YOUR WAY

• How are you maintaining/enhancing affordability?

• Say, does my kid really need a degree to get a

good job? A career?

• Can you define “value” in a way humans

understand?

• What are you doing to enhance socioeconomic

diversity? How do you measure that progress?

• Wait, what are you really doing about diversity?

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QUESTIONS (CONT.) …

• Are there better gauges of student potential/merit?

• So … tell me more about the tradeoffs you manage.

• Say, does my kid really need a degree to get a good

job? A career?

• How are you supporting ALL students once they

enroll? How are you meeting their needs?

• College just isn’t for everyone, is it?

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SO MAYBE NOT THIS …

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THIS?

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CONTACT:

eric.hoover@chronicle.com

@erichoover

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