Site will help build relationships with the media

As the university’s new homepage is rolled out, the Department of Media Relations is introducing a new and improved website that shares the same approach.

“Our old website was aimed specifically at print and broadcast journalists, with news releases about special events and suggestions about which professors can offer an opinion on the daily news. But as our department name implies, we work on creating a relationship with the media,” said Director Christine Mota.

With that reciprocity in mind, the new site is meant as much for Concordians as it is for reporters.

The site tells you how to tell a tale, and make it credible, interesting, clear and relevant — all prime requirements for the media — and then reminds you to be available to convey your message.

Faculty members who are a little anxious about being interviewed on television can get reassuring advice. They can not only learn how to give a better interview, they’re given a concise summary of their relationship with the interviewer: what the subject’s rights are, and what the journalist can reasonably expect.

Student groups organizing a big event can learn how to deal with the media in a positive way. The site shows them how to write news releases and public service announcements, and how to engage the media in a positive, productive way.

Mota and her team have also conducted more than 300 interviews with professors to create capsule biographies for the Experts Guide, which will be on the site at mediarelations.concordia.ca.