News and Communication Services, Oregon State University

WORKING WITH THE MEDIA

Working with the media is an essential part of our job at Oregon State University. As the state's land-grant university, it's important for OSU employees to share research and teaching successes. It not only helps the reputation of individual researchers and teachers, but it also elevates the institution. Positive media coverage attracts grant money and legislative support. It may be easier to ignore the mainstream media, but expanding our audience is essential for the success of the university.

WHAT IS A NEWS STORY?

It can be difficult to tell what kind of story will make news. It's not an exact science. Simply sending a press release doesn't guarantee its use. But there are steps you can take to help identify the newsworthiness of a story.

Is the subject matter current? If you are working on research or teaching a class involving subjects that are already in the news, you know there is interest. AIDS, global warming, and school violence are examples of issues discussed daily in t he mainstream press. If you have new information about a subject that is already in the news, it could be interesting to the media.

Who would care about this issue? Ask yourself that question when considering a news release. Editors ask the same question before they decide which stories make the news. A mathematical equation might have exciting ramifications within the math ematics community, but does it appeal to the average television viewer or newspaper subscriber? If that same mathematics equation results in the development of a new rocket propulsion system that helps the space industry, it has broader appeal.

There are different audiences for different stories. If you are planning a news release on the latest display at the campus art gallery you will have a different audience than if you release news on genetically-modified food. Understand who you r audience is. You can't expect to make national news with a local-interest story.

FINDING THE 'PATH' TO NEWS

What does the news media want from higher education in terms of news stories? That's the question OSU News & Communications wanted to answer when it undertook a six-month study of higher education stories in the national and regional newspapers. The goal was to find a "path" for OSU researchers and teachers when dealing with the media. It's not the only path and it doesn't always lead to publicity, but it significantly increases the odds of a positive news story.

From mid-December of 1999 to May of 2000, OSU News & Communications examined 2,472 newspaper articles pertaining to higher education published in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Oregonian, and USA Today. Essentially, the department used the same tool used by editors to determine if readers' needs were being met - it examined the newspapers to determine which issues are being covered, to what length, and how prominent each story was displayed.

The study yielded some interesting results:

The largest source of higher education stories came directly from research studies released in peer-reviewed journals, at scientific conferences, and in books. More than 45 percent of all the stories on higher education came from the release of information from a scientific study. The study also examined the front-page stories to determine what newspaper editors considered the most important higher education stories. More than 68 percent of these stories were related to scientific studies. By t heir actions, editors made it clear what kind of higher education stories they considered newsworthy.

The second most prominent source of higher education stories came from "expert sources" who provided comment on breaking news stories. That category made up slightly more than 14 percent of the total. These sources are identified as experts in their field of study and are normally contacted directly by reporters. While the total number of stories generated by expert sources is significant, it is fewer stories than were generated directly from scientific journals (22 percent).

The media places a heavy reliance on scientific journals. A total of 544 articles (22 percent) came directly from journals. While a total of 126 different journals were used to generate news stories, the media relied on four major journals for the bulk of their news. Nature, New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association and Science produced 283 articles, or 52 percent of all the news articles that referenced a scientific journal. It's interesting to note that thos e four journals produced more news stories than awards, educational programs, administration, grants, and gifts combined.

Health was the major issue. A total of 605 (24 percent) stories attributed to higher education were linked directly to health issues.

The information gained in the study shows a clear path to publicity --- research studies pertaining to health released in prestigious national journals. Oregon State University is certainly at a disadvantage because it lacks a medical school, but as we le arned, researchers and teachers at the university are very capable of making national news.

The study also showed us what doesn't make the news. There were only 23 stories generated from honors and awards received by higher education employees. Stories on educational programs --- new or existing --- represented less than 2 percent of the total, or about the same as stories on higher education administration.

Also interesting was the lack of stories on gifts and grants, which made up less than 2 percent of the total. A $35 million grant to UCLA was reported in the "News Briefs" section with a three paragraph story in the L.A. Times, the university's regional n ewspaper. Reporters and editors seem much more interested in the resulting scientific studies than they do the initial funding mechanisms for the research.

HOW DOES OSU COMPARE?

During the six-month study, OSU was referenced 83 times in the four newspapers. That ranked sixth behind UCLA, Harvard, California-Berkeley, USC and Stanford. Because The Oregonian is our regional newspaper, we felt the results were skewed in our favor. T hat's why we felt it was more important to examine how OSU did against its peer institutions when examining The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and USA Today. Again, OSU compared favorably. There were seven articles referencing OSU studies or expert s in the national news during those six months. That ranked fourth behind U.C. Davis, the University of Oregon, and North Carolina State.

So what kind of articles made national news for OSU? Basically, the same type of articles that made national news for other universities across the country --- research studies reported in national journals. Five of the seven stories (71 percent) came dir ectly from research studies with the other two were generated from expert sources. Two of the seven (28 percent) articles referenced a scientific journal.

SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

The study clearly shows that OSU is capable of making regional and national news if we focus on the issues that are important to journalists. During the study, OSU News & Communication Services also examined the stories that it sent to the media. Of the 203 stories released during the six months, nearly 40 percent were lecture and event previews. Only 13 percent were related to scientific studi es. We must continue to announce important lectures and events, but as a university, it's important to find a way to increase the number of stories we release to the media based on scientific studies.

There are several steps we can take as a university community to do that. They include:

Targeting prestigious national journals with research studies. Rather than releasing the information to a regional journal, researchers should consider publishing the information in a national journal.

Working with the staff of News & Communication Services prior to the release of a research study. News & Communication Services staff can alert national and regional media prior to the story's release and help create "a buzz."

Think about your research and teaching in terms of making news. If you have something new to add to the discussion on a "hot topic," meet with the staff of News & Communication Services and develop a plan to introduce this information to the public.

Last Update:Tuesday, 03-Jan-2006 16:28:02 PST

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