Relacions universitat-premsa local (i un web sobre webs en educació superior)

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M’ha interessant força un post titulat Josh Keller on getting the attention of a Higher Ed Reporter del blog de Kyle Christie, que sol parlar d’educació superior. En referenciar un altre post titulat How to Grab the Attention of a Higher Ed Reporter, de et he descobert un blog-web molt interessant sobre l’ús de la web, les tic, el web2.0… en educació superior: HigherEdLive.com.

Del primer n’extrec un parell de frases molt interessants: la primera, sobre els mitjans de comunicació locals, crec que aplicable al cas d’universitats de ciutats petites com Girona:

One of the additional issues is that very few local papers, certainly in the UK, have dedicated ‘higher education’ reporters. They might have a journalist who writes about education, but their remit will also include primary/secondary schools, sixth forms and FE colleges. Part of this is due to the difficulties facing local media, with cutbacks meaning fewer specialist reporters. Therefore, PRs need to develop an awareness of what interests reporters in a whole rang of other sections of a publication – business, science, or health to name a few.

Una altra cosa és sobre la llista d’experteses d’una universitat:

An academic ‘expert guide’ is a must for any University, although in my experience a lot of media will ring you up directly and ask if you have anyone on a certain topic, bypassing the online guide entirely. Having said that, it’s useful for the press office itself, as a directory of expertise when they get the inquiry.

El comentari de Kyle Christie sobre Josk Keller porta a una entrevista en video força interessant, comentada al post de HigherEdLive: com es pot atraure l’atenció dels periodistes encarregats de l’educació superior a un mitjà de comunicació (diari)? Tot aquest post val la pena llegir-lo, perquè també parla de les notes de premsa i de com comunicar coses de forma interessant (en el cas d’una universitat: la docència, la recerca, la relació amb la societat, etc.). En particular, parla de sales de premsa virtual (online newsrooms).

Keller thinks that online newsrooms, a new development in higher education that we covered in a recent conversation with Georgy Cohen of Tufts University, are a necessary tool for any school that really wants its news publicized. Presenting such information as a directory of PR staff and experts in various fields, a feed of recent press releases and fact archives makes the journalist’s research task considerably easier. News organizations have also become more open to embedding multimedia features such as YouTube videos offered by a college or university into their own news coverage.

In pitching a news item to the press, Keller advises that PR people approach journalists in the same way reporters write their own copy—that is, with an understanding of how to communicate a story and its importance. He tends to be first attracted to an email with a lead to a story; then a list of people he might speak with about it; next, some sort of reference to why the story matters beyond the context of just that institution; and finally, a follow-up phone call during business hours to make sure he’s aware of the story and its relevance.

El blog HigherEdLive ha anat publicant bones entrades que em semblen ben atractives, per exemple Tubmlr in Higher Education o Your ABC Guide to Higher Ed Home Page Navigation Best Practices. Potser serà una bona companyia a l’excel.lent blog d’en Brian Kelly (UKWebFocus) sobre aquestes temes.