Reinventing News on your University Website

Reinventing News on
Your University Website
Georgiana Cohen
PRSA Counselors to Higher Education Senior Summit
Apr. 26, 2012
@radiofreegeorgy #prsache

#prsache @radiofreegeorgy

Introduction

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Introduction

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Introduction

1. The Tufts Now project

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Introduction


2. The higher ed news landscape

3


Introduction



3. The role of storytelling

3


Introduction



3. The role of storytelling

4. Planning and publishing

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Tufts Now

The problem

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Tufts Now

The goal

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/nayrb7/539876343/

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Tufts Now

The team

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Tufts Now

The solution

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Tufts Now

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Online news in higher ed: an overview

What is the purpose of news on a university website?

1. Support brand, message
and institutional goals

2. Connect with audiences
through storytelling, delivery
and presentation

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State of Print and Electronic
Publications in Higher Ed

94% of survey respondents (vs. 82% in 2009 and 77% in
2007) say that their institutions are relying more on
electronic publications.

Yet only 38% say their budget for electronic publications
has increased over the past two years (vs. 42% in 2009
and 44% in 2007!)
(Dec. 2010)
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• Poor design
• Not dynamic
• Unclear audience
• Ineffective storytelling
• Not social
• Stuck in 20th century

https://www.mediabistro.com/10000words/nostalgia-11-retro-news-website-homepages_b3518

11

What about...

• Video, audio, photos
• Social media
• New channels & content types
• User-generated content and
community management
• SEO, tagging, linking
• Relevance and context

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/acf_windy/4558343285/
http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/ross_elliott/4575418100/

The state of higher ed newsrooms

Potemkin homepages

http://fourchapters.com/2010/03/word-time-potemkin-village/

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http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/anhonorablegerman/5604470991/


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http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/usnavy/5782179390/
http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/anhonorablegerman/5604470991/

News and storytelling

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http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/umjanedoan/497411169/



“ We see in stories.

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“ We see in stories.

We see ourselves in stories.

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“ The best stories —
the most inherently share-worthy stories
— are the ones for which it would be
almost weird to email them to someone
— or tweet them to someone, or whatever
— without an introductory “WOW” or
“WHOA” or “WTF.”
http://www.niemanlab.org/2011/03/lessons-of-the-like-log-the-big-story-and-the-nuances-of-shareability/

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“ …Releases with the
elements of a good
news story—a little
drama, a person ﬁghting for what is right,
a villain—have scores four to ﬁve times
higher than those about the success of a
program.
http://chronicle.com/article/Colleges-Rehab-Their-Web-Sites/127170/

22



“ We like well told stories, but
we really love the ones we
can identify with. If a press
release can plant the image
of ourselves using that product, attending
that event, buying that stock, it’s been a
story well told.
Rod Nicolson, PR Newswire, March 28, 2011
http://blog.prnewswire.com/2011/03/28/storytelling-rules-writing-better-press-releases/

23



h"p://www.ishmaelscorner.com/2012/03/27/aligning8business8storytelling8with8what8the8media8values/?

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“ I'm a sophomore at Tufts, and
I just read today's tufts.edu
proﬁle on the woman working
with the Massachusetts Gay
and Lesbian Council. I wanted to say how proud I am to
go to a school that would put an article like that on the
main school site without any fuss. My friend's sister
visited from another university this weekend, and she
mentioned how her school website featured pictures of
cheerleaders at a football game, while ours had an
article about Ghana, and now gay rights. This is why
I'm so happy to be here. Thank you =)

25

Online newsroom

Planning

Planning and publishing

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http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/wscullin/3770015203/



Why?

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/mukluk/174688752/

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A New Model for New News
Mission for the digital
marketplace (developed in 2008)

“ Create content that will
satisfy a full range of
consumers’ news needs
and then build the links that
will connect people to the
relevant news they seek.
http://www.ap.org/newmodel.pdf

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“ Especially when we're talking
about newer generations of
consumers, people and their
social graphs are the last mile.

Valeria Maltoni
Conversation Agent
Nov. 14, 2010

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Rule 1. Know your audience.

Rule 2. Give your audience
what they need to achieve their
goal.

Rule 3. Help your audience tell
the world about your story.
http://blog.prnewswire.com/2011/03/28/storytelling-rules-writing-better-press-releases/

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News is
social

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News is
permeable

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/fdctsevilla/4306301206/

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Community as
co-author

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/fdctsevilla/4306301206/

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Interactivity

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/36821100@N04/3896331106/in/photostream/

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Listening,
Listening,
Listening.

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Moving in real-time

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/julianlim/4598412264/

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Moving in real-time

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Moving in real-time

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News as landing page

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/argenberg/184104386/

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“ Readers seek
up-to-the-minute
information in a media-rich environment
that includes video, message boards,
and opportunities to connect via social
networks. ... Online publications must be
optimized to help people ﬁnd you.

48



Discoverability

• Social (Sharing)
• Search (SEO)
• Media pickup
• Your website
• RSS
• Mobile
• Digital signage
http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/somegeekintn/3709203268/

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New angles

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/18016623@N00/3666990528/

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New content types

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Teamwork

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/wonker/1436280027/

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http://onforb.es/
newnewsroom

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Editorial
workﬂow
and lifecycle

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/17258892@N05/2588347668/

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Channel
alignment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sch%C3%A4renTurku.jpg

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Style guide

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/londonmatt/3559945802/

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Editorial calendar

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/dafnecholet/5374200948/

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Design

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/wonker/1436280027/

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/myklroventine/3230231844/

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Content
management

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/seattlemunicipalarchives/4112145071

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“ Why are we letting the
delivery platform hold
our content hostage?
News organizations
should instead be
‘content-ﬁrst,’ and
use tools that
promote content
above all else.

Max Cutler
Sept. 13, 2010
http://www.maxcutler.com/2010/09/13/what-is-a-news-cms

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Publishing is
changing
rapidly.

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Structured content
and APIs

More:
http://mcont.co/
mcstructuredcontent

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Portability
and syndication

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Measurement

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What is the future
of PR in higher ed?

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/renaissancechambara/3122900531/

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• Listening is critical
• Build relationships
with the media
• Don’t rely on media
to tell our stories
• Press releases are
not just for the press
• Go beyond text
• Real-time relevance http://bit.ly/futureofpr

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“ Universities have an
opportunity to leapfrog the
mainstream media and
explain our research, teaching
and wider contributions to society in forms
beyond the text-based press release. ...
We have websites, and access to the
tools needed to reach the public.
Kyle Christie, King’s College (London), Aug. 7, 2011
http://kylelchristie.com/2011/08/07/is-it-possible-to-go-beyond-press-releases/

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References

Denison
denison.edu/theden

UT-Austin
utexas.edu/know

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References

BU Today
www.bu.edu/today

Vanderbilt News
news.vanderbilt.edu

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References

Emory News Center
www.news.emory.edu

Pepperdine Community
community.pepperdine.edu

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References

Books
• David Meerman Scott, “New Rules of Marketing and
PR,” “Real-Time Marketing and PR”
• Mark Luckie, “The Digital Journalist’s Handbook”
• C.C. Chapman & Ann Handley, “Content Rules”
Resources
• News University
• Society for News Design
Blogs
• Nieman Lab
• PBS Media Shift
• Adam Westbrook
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Thank you! Questions?
www.takethecrosstown.com
@radiofreegeorgy / @crosstowncomm

Reinventing News on your University Website

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