Working with the Media

The UNT Office of News and Information Services — The UNT News Service

Commonly known as the News Service, News and Information is a branch of the Office of University Relations, Communications and Marketing (URCM) that is responsible for regularly disseminating news about the university and the UNT System to the general public through the news media.

Located in Room 320 of the Hurley Administration Building, we are the central point of contact for reporters, editors, researchers and others who want information about UNT and the UNT System. We are also the main point of contact for faculty, staff and students on campus who have possible news stories or need assistance in working with news reporters.

Our Mission

UNT News Service is committed to excellence in its ongoing duties to promote and protect the institutional identity and reputation of the UNT and the UNT System as set forth in mission and vision statements.

In discharging its news-disseminating, media relations, writing, counseling, and crisis management responsibilities, the News Service always strives to maintain practices that will ensure high quality standards and high ethical standards. Furthermore, in aiming for maximum effectiveness, the News Service is committed to keeping up with and implementing the latest innovations, work practices, and technologies.

How we work together with you

News Service public information officers (PIOs) are assigned to cover specific departments, offices, schools and colleges within UNT. Each PIO has responsibilities to keep up with newsworthy developments and activities by regularly meeting with faculty, staff, deans and others in assigned areas. Through these efforts, we help develop strategies to present news- worthy information to the media, as well as to other audiences.

We are trained professionals and uphold professional ethics, including confidentiality when sensitive situations warrant it. Working with the News Service is not the same as talking to a reporter. We act as liaisons with reporters on behalf of the university.

The effective dissemination and management of news requires planning, which in turn requires advance notice. Please alert us to potential news stories as early as possible. In time of emergency and/or fast-breaking news, we will take immediate action. However, for most news, we need time to gather information and disseminate news to appropriate media well in advance of regular deadlines. This means we need to begin working several weeks to a month or more ahead of a time-specific program or event.

In the course of covering all of your areas of responsibility, you may not have the time or the inclination to see the media or public interest potential in what you do. This is why we want you to contact us when something new and interesting happens - your activities and accomplishments are important to us. And we make it our business to know the specific local, regional and national reporters who will be interested in your areas of expertise and activity.

Reporters, editors and other members of the media do not perceive all information that is important to us or to the university as newsworthy. Sometimes News Service efforts can change media minds and perceptions, but often we cannot. Therefore, we always strive to stake out the best possible positions to capture reporters' interests and develop strategies to present information in ways that have the best news story potential. All members of the New Service staff have professional training and experience as working journalists. In our News Service duties, we continually maintain and develop personal contacts with reporters and editors. As we work with you, we evaluate story ideas to determine the best potential interest among the media and other constituents.

Once we identify a newsworthy activity or development, we'll talk with you and decide the best ways to disseminate the news. This may include any of the following: phone calls or visits to specific reporters; a news release, development of a news kit or other written materials; photographs or videotapes, when appropriate; a public service announcement; a media availability session, if appropriate; an opinion piece written by you for placement in a specific publication; and story placements in InHouse, The North Texan or Resource.

Ways we get the news out

As you can see, the News Service creates and distributes information in many different ways, each targeted to achieve the best result. The following are five standard methods we use frequently:

Media pitches
News Service public information officers regularly work directly with reporters and editors to place specific UNT stories and higher education trend stories in high profile media venues.

News releases and news tips
The News Service strives to cultivate excellent relationships with reporters by providing concise, well-written, accurate news releases and other written materials delivered in a timely manner. Such releases provide sufficient facts to permit the media to use them with few changes — smaller newspapers frequently run our releases word-for-word — or as background for stories written by reporters.

Media alerts
Another way we inform the media about UNT's expert resources is through media alerts. If there is a UNT expert who can comment immediately on a breaking news story or timely issue, we will conduct an interview to gather comments on the topic, write a brief notice and distribute it to the media by e mail, fax or direct conversation. Reporters appreciate such timesaving efforts, and we benefit by increasing the likelihood that a UNT expert will be quoted in a breaking news story.

Hometown releases
News about UNT faculty, staff and students, such as awards earned, elections to offices, etc., are routinely provided to the appropriate media through hometown news releases. As the name suggests, these releases are generally sent to individuals' hometown newspapers and, when appropriate, alumni publications.

Internet resources
The News Service communicates with reporters nationwide and worldwide via e-mail and several special subscriber services on the Internet. We also create and maintain news resources for reporters as part of UNT's web site. The News Service web site, at www.unt.edu/news, offers current news releases in a searchable, user-friendly format. The Experts Database, www.unt.edu/news/expert.htm, offers reporters a searchable online database where they can find information on hundreds of UNT experts. If you are not listed in the Experts Database and would like to be included, please contact the News Service. If you are listed, it's a good idea to check your entry and provide us with updated information on an annual basis.

The making of a story

News releases and other written materials are generally created the same way the news media create their stories. However, there is one important exception - we offer you, as our sources, the opportunity to check the written material for accuracy and correct emphasis before it is released.

Our news preparation steps include:

• An interview with you and review of any written materials you may provide
• A discussion of content, audience to be targeted and timing
• Your review and approval of the news release or other materials
• Your approval on revisions, final proofreading and editing
• Reproduction and distribution to the media

After a news release is distributed

PIOs often make phone calls to reporters in conjunction with pitches and distribution of news releases. Often, the News Service makes calls before releases are distributed to evaluate and stimulate interest in the story and the UNT news angle. After we've made a pitch or distributed a news release, we typically answer questions and/or offer help in contacting sources for specific details and comprehensive information. We also track the stories that appear in the media through our clippings and broadcast monitoring services.

It's important to understand that the News Service is not in control of what the media does with a release or whether it results in a story.

We strive to create and maintain our media relationships on a foundation supported by effective communications, mutual understandings and trustworthiness. In addition, we always aim to increase the potential for accuracy by giving reporters and editors well-written, factual and timely material from the start. It is our policy to contact media representatives when we find factual errors printed or broadcast in their stories. In such cases, we ask for corrections or clarifications; but in final analysis, we do not control their product.

A news release or a call to a reporter is often only the first step in a process that can continue for some time. Often, reporters or editors will need to ask you to elaborate on the information provided by us. In such cases, we will help make it possible for them to contact you directly.

If you are cited as a source in a news release, please notify us about contacts you have with the media following the distribution of releases. While we routinely track stories about UNT, it makes it considerably easier to track all media interest generated by the releases if you inform us when reporters contact you.