Public Relations in Higher Education

Media Coverage: A Necessary Evil?

 

One of the tasks of PR is acquiring good media coverage for the University so that 

the public is informed about its benefit to the community. The problem, however, is 

that these achievements are often not considered newsworthy. Mainstream 

newspapers tend to ignore the University unless it becomes involved in some sort of 

political controversy.

 

The same concerns NU Focus: it carries important information about the University 

and its contribution to society's development but it seldom, if at all, reaches the local 

newspapers. However, Tomaselli (October 7 1991) suggests that the concept of PR 

success goes beyond simply counting the number of column centimetres of articles 

penned by NU academics which appear in newspapers:

 

This indicator is not a measure of public relations strategy, audience 

reception or impact - which are not the central issues - but rather of 

the degree to which one particular, and in my view insufficient, 

strategy has been successful. Measuring column centimetres only 

quantifies the degree to which one (important but not sufficient) mode 

---

of publicising the University and disseminating research findings is 

successful.

 

This statement is echoed by Graham Howe: "Some NU Focus material will find its 

way into the national media but this is certainly not the major goal of the 

publication" (Interview 6/2/92).