Think like a journalist: being candid makes for better stories
Being critical and candid about your university and the HE sector doesn’t need to come across as negative press. We’re quick to encourage students to share their stories to engage authentically with prospective students, so why aren’t we doing the same when it comes to sharing stories about our institutions?
We were invited to host a session at the All Day All Night (ADAN) education conference where we interviewed Rachel Hall, education reporter and previously universities editor at the Guardian. We talked about what makes for a good story and how universities can think more like a journalist to create greater impact and reach target audiences.
HE in the news
Rachel started off by sharing with us some of her work she is most proud of over the last 12-15 months. She highlighted how interesting it was to work on a story of interest like the fences around the Manchester campus story which the Guardian broke: “I was struck by how galvanised the student movement became and how students came up with interesting ways of activism when unable to physically gather.”
Clearly not all stories are “good news” stories for universities but is that a new problem?
Public scrutiny
Education interest makes up 20% of the Guardian audience and in the newsroom universities now tend to be covered like any other public sector bodies, NHS trusts or academies. Rachel suggested looking at an interesting HEPI report by a Times journalist which talks about holding universities to account in a way they were not previously. She says; “universities used to be a specialist area of coverage but now more of a mainstream consumer news item with stories about universities leading the papers in a way they didn’t previously.” While this could prove useful in raising awareness of universities, she goes on to note that it could create “thornier issues for marketing and communications teams to grapple with.” Are there topics that are “safer” for university comms teams to bear in mind?
Most read HE content
Rachel points out that “content marketing with colourful youth-focused advice pieces are often the things that work really well for universities” but when it comes to news articles the most read stories include:
Students as protagonists
Admissions pieces; “what’s different about the admissions cycle?”
Universities being cautious about giving offers
Grade inflation
How likely students are to get into university compared with previous years
We asked Rachel about the differences between reaching niche education audiences vs the general population when writing stories about the sector. How do you reach mass audiences you aren’t already engaging with? “To reach broad audiences you need to tap into bigger societal themes. If you’re writing a small story happening at an individual place then it has to say something bigger about society or the sector. You’re looking to illuminate a broader problem as opposed to just keeping the world updated on everything happening in one university, as most people don’t care that much.” Some of those broader themes include:
Societal issues
Diversity efforts
International students
Sexual harassment
Immigration
International interests
Rachel suggests that universities are almost like microcosms for these issues and a great piece of advice for us all to bear in mind when thinking about how to approach these topics is; “what is the broader narrative that specific detail is shedding light on?”
So are there any other tips we can pinch from the Guardian newsroom? Rachel says “we tend to focus on less but higher quality content. Curated as opposed to overwhelmed and empty content.”
How can you get your stories heard?
It’s interesting to speak to someone on the inside of a news and media organisation because it’s easy to think journalists are the difficult ones to get hold of. Rachel’s experience of contacting university comms teams has had a mixed response; “I hate it when people assume your requests come from a bad place.” Speaking about the difference between press teams “who don’t take the time to work out what you want” vs “those who understand how your publication might differ from another.”
Equally important is a contact list of press officers who will always help out even when it’s not something that will necessarily make their university look good. Things like this could be the difference between a university being featured more than another.
She went on to talk about an experience she had when the team at Stori put her in touch with a director of admissions from UEA: “I was told they were candid and good with the media and they genuinely were! They wanted to say critical and candid things about the sector”. Rachel feels that universities are trying too hard to control the public image and reputation, “I’m not saying everyone needs to highlight all the bad stuff, but sometimes being too positive can come across as a bit defensive”.
So there you have it. The most read content in HE newsrooms: smaller stories tapping into wider themes if you’re trying to reach mass audiences and achieve authenticity (not just from the students!) from marketing and comms teams too.
To find out more about our workshops on thinking (and writing) like a journalist, get in touch with Trina here.
