Media attention increases academic opportunities
Mentions of Concordia in the news over the summer amounted to the equivalent of nearly $2 million in paid advertising, according to a report by Cormex Research.
Chris Mota, Director of Media Relations, would like to see us do better, and she’s convinced we can.
“Even though our coverage went up from the same period last year, we are still lower than other universities,” she said recently.
Concordia started using the services of Cormex a year ago to keep track of the coverage we have been receiving. Besides using formulae to measure coverage in dollars, the firm can help us track whether coverage has been positive or negative, how much coverage is related to research and how we rate compared to other institutions.
“Our positive coverage went up,” Mota said. However, only nine per cent of the coverage was related to research. “The more we know about what our professors are doing, the more that information can be spread.”
Currently, Media Relations is updating their contact information on all of Concordia’s faculty. They are revamping and updating their online directory of professors and their areas of expertise to facilitate journalists’ efforts to get in touch with people who can comment on issues as they come up in the news.
Having our professors presented as experts is key in terms of raising our profile in the media.
“Journalists need experts,” said Tanya Churchmuch, Senior Media Relations Advisor. “Experts play a unique role and the journalists want them to substantiate, analyze and evaluate what is going on.” She was an on-air journalist at Global Television before she joined Concordia earlier this year and is familiar with the scenario from both sides.
Churchmuch added that there is no way to predict when expertise on any topic might become important. “An overpass crashes and people want engineers or cement experts,” she said.
Those events are also opportunities for professors to reach beyond their classrooms to share their knowledge. Professors with access to unique resources or an unusual approach can also reach potential grad students or funding sources. The more public their work, the more opportunities are possible.
Some professors are wary of the amount of control the media may have to package and present their work. Mota understands those reservations and her office can work with faculty members to prepare them to face the media. Since professors are asked to speak on subjects they know intimately, most of that work comes down to being at ease in front of a camera or with a microphone.
Of course, the media can be fickle. A random event, positive or negative, can consume the headlines, and then disappear, so any measure of media presence has to be taken in context. Even so, Mota said that coverage goes up for faculties with communications officers who work closely with Media Relations. The more people are available to represent Concordia, the more consistent coverage becomes.
Professors who want to learn more about the media experts guide or update their profiles are encouraged to contact Churchmuch at ext. 2518.