The biggest detriment to any campus media relations department is the idea that negative media coverage ― or no coverage at all ― is just part of the job.
That’s the message delivered by Media Matters for America Director of Outreach Rebecca Lenn on the opening day of this week’s HBCU Media Week conference, hosted by Hampton University.
Instead of just accepting negative press, said Lenn, it is important for university officials to combat the media misinformation that is presented about an institution, the HBCU community as a whole, or other socio-political issues that impact the campus or its students and faculty.
The first step to combating negative information, she said, is getting to know the media landscape.
“Know who is covering you and how they are covering you” and issues that are important to you, she said, adding that knowing the lens from which media professionals are reporting is key.
Lenn acknowledged that on many campuses, media practitioners are often stretched thin and monitoring the message may not be easy given the resources on campus, but she offered that there are a number of digital tools that make monitoring news simpler. SnapStream, TV Eyes, iQ Media, Google Alerts and Hootsuite Syndicate Pro are all inexpensive tools for real-time monitoring and finding out what is being said about an institution online, she said. Similarly, Spike, Lexis Nexis and PageOneX.com are all good tools to use for big picture monitoring of issues or media mentions.
“Be judicious with your search terms,” she advised, saying the more terms that are included in any monitoring alert, the more information will be brought to the PR professional’s attention.
