News Release and College Spokesperson

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  1. POLICY

The college president and the director of Public Relations are the official spokespersons for the college. They will determine how official college news is released to the media to ensure consistency, accuracy, and veracity. They may choose to perform that function, or delegate it as appropriate. In the event other officers or employees of the college are asked by the media for comments or information, the procedure to approve a spokesperson is to be followed.

The director of Public Relations in the Institutional Marketing and Communications department shall be the college contact for official news and information disseminated to the media through all channels of communication (news releases, media alerts, public service announcements, in-coming & out-going media calls, social media posts). Any documented occurrences in which this policy is not followed will be referred directly to division leadership of that area.

  1. REFERENCES

Reserved

  1. DEFINITIONS

Reserved

  1. PROCEDURES
    1. The president or director of Public Relations (or their designee) conveys the official college position on issues of general college-wide impact.
    2. All inquiries from the media should be referred to the director of Public Relations. Such notification is important so that inquiries can be handled to ensure a clear, timely, coordinated, and consistent college response.
    3. In cases of institutional significance to the college, the director of Public Relations will work with other college officials to issue statements or positions to detail facts of the issue and summarize the college’s position.
    4. In the event of a crisis or emergency situation, the director of Public Relations will handle all contacts with the media, and will coordinate information flow from the college to the public. In such situations, all college departments should refer calls from the media to the director of Public Relations.
    5. Since positive media exposure is an essential element of the college’s communications plan, all ideas for articles, awards, student profiles or feature stories that positively portray the institution and its work in the community should be directed to the director of Public Relations. Conversely, the director of Public Relations should be notified if negative occurrences could rise to the level of a news story.

Date of last cabinet review: February 21, 2017

The originator of this policy & procedure is the office of Institutional Advancement. Questions regarding this policy may be directed to the originator by calling 801-957-4103