Media Relations

We are happy to promote university events that are open to the public and to help drive attendance. To maximize the impact, please give us three weeks' notice.

Here's why:

• Many newspapers, including weeklies, are interested in letting their readers know about things to do close to home, but they have early deadlines. Getting the finished release to them two weeks in advance gives them enough time to publicize the event and allow their audiences to make plans.
• We need time to put the release together. The process may involve conducting interviews, researching information about speakers, finding or assigning a photo, writing and editing the story, sending it to you for review, and distributing the press release to news media.

Any flyer we use on our website must be accessible to people who depend on machine readers. It is consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and it's the right thing to do. To check for accessibility in Adobe Reader, go to View -> Read Out Loud->Activate Read Out Loud, then View -> Read Out Loud->Read to End of Document and close your eyes. If you can follow along easily, we're good to go. If not, the document is not accessible, and we can't use it.

And if a journalist follows up on the press release and wants to interview you, that's great. Please let us know so we can be on the lookout for the story, which we might share in SIU Today. If you would like assistance in preparing for the interview, contact us. We're here to help.

Reports from Cision, a news placement and tracking service, consistently say journalists are more likely to use a story with visual assets, particularly good quality photos. We prefer to use a fresh or archived photo from one of our photographers.

If that’s not available, we will consider a submitted photo, if:

• We have permission to use it. Images on the web are often copyrighted. If you don’t know who created the image, we probably can’t use it.
• It’s in focus and properly lighted (not overexposed or too dark).
• It is at least 1,200 pixels across (larger is OK), and it’s horizontal or can be cropped into a horizontal photo without looking weird. We use a horizontal photo as the main image because it shows up best on social media. The proportion is 16:9, so it helps to have a little room to crop.
• We prefer photos that show people in action rather than a group of people posing for a camera. The former is more compelling and helps to tell the story.

Journalists contact SIU for multiple reasons, including:

• Responding to a press release.
• Seeking expert insight on a story in the news cycle.
• Requesting a response from university leadership about an issue affecting SIU.
• If you are unsure of how to respond to a query or who should respond to the query — or if it’s a query for university leadership — please forward it to Kim Rendfeld as soon as possible and follow up with a text to 765-426-3650. Reporters are often a few hours – sometimes a few minutes – from the deadline, even though they often don’t specify that. We will consult with you on how to best respond.

We love to publicize research, which often draws attention beyond the Southern Illinois region. Here are a few things to consider:

• Remember that we are ultimately trying to get the attention of a general audience. Therefore, the press release must be understandable for all education levels.
• Journalists will ask us, "Why does it matter?" We need to answer that question in the press release in easily understood terms.
• Get in touch with us early in the process. We will work with you on the optimal timing to get journalists' attention and discuss possibilities for photos to accompany the release.
• Compelling photographs help us sell the story to journalists, particularly if they show research in action. We rely on researchers to know the safety measures that must be followed and photographed.
• Researchers need to inform us if there are any restrictions on access to labs or other facilities or whether photography and videography are prohibited. We will adhere to policies and manage journalists' expectations.

If you get an unsolicited query from a journalist and are unsure of how to respond, forward it to Kim Rendfeld as soon as possible and follow up with a text to 765-426-3650. We will work with you on who should respond and how to do it.

We offer training on how to work with the news media. It’s about an hour long via Teams. Please contact Kim Rendfeld at kim.rendfeld@siu.edu to set up a time. We are happy to provide coaching on upcoming interviews as well.