The PASC Guest Speaker Series continued in March with a conversation with Nate Haas, UNC’s Director of University News and Publication. Nate was joined by Dan England, Features Editor at the Greeley Tribune. Nate and Dan provided information and insight into the purview of their roles, respectively, and into how they generally work together.
Haas and England began by discussing the differences between the role and objectives of UNC’s Public Relations efforts and those of the Tribune.
Haas / UNC Public Relations (PR):
- The focus is on an internal, or campus, audience.
- Accordingly, Haas and his team encourage submissions from the campus community.
- They respond to media requests for information when things happen, whether “good” or “bad.”
- They try to “shout out” and promote the good things happening at UNC.
England / Greeley Tribune:
- The focus is on informing the broader public.
- As an editor, England strives first for objectivity.
Haas summarized these differences by stating University PR works to present UNC in the best-possible light, whereas at the Tribune, they are trying to present all sides of a story – they are not a mouthpiece of UNC (or any organization).
At this point, Haas and England solicited questions from the group to encourage dialogue. The first question was directed as England: “How do you define and decide what is news?” England’s response (paraphrased and summarized):
- It depends on the story and a number of other circumstances, including timing.
- If it’s interesting to editors at the Tribune, they think it’ll probably be interesting to readers.
- Things that defy convention or what is “usual.” Conflict makes for interesting news, as does serendipity.
- Regarding timing, the question of whether it is possible for staff to cover the story adequately comes into play depending on what else is happening; Tribune staff has been halved since 2008, which makes coverage challenging.
Another question brought up the tone of certain stories, and incited a conversation about how the Tribune hears about developments at the University.
- Regarding the perception of a “gotcha!” tone, England stated, “It’s hard to be criticized,”
noting further that the tone of an article can feel harsh to one being criticized.
- Haas stated that all he and his team can do when these types of critical articles are published is to advocate to have the University’s “voice” heard and involved in the story’s coverage.
- He and England noted further that it is one of the media’s roles to be a watchdog of public institutions and hold them accountable.
- England shared that he and his colleagues often hear about University news and developments via happenstance, noting that he is a community member, too, and occasionally hears things from acquaintances with ties to the University that indicate a story to follow up on, etc.
- To get as many perspectives as possible in a story, England often reaches out to Haas and his team to see if it is possible to gain access to different groups or constituencies on campus as appropriate.
Closing questions and comments centered on how to respond to requests for comments from media, or to open record or Freedom of Information Act Requests.
- Haas told participants that they can always tell a media person requesting a comment
that “I’m not the right person to talk to about this.”
- If you are speaking with media, Haas stated, know that they are looking for a quick soundbite. His recommendation is to be clear and concise, and to not go too far “into the weeds.”
- For open records requests, direct requestors to UNC’s PR website, where there is a link to initiate the request process – the one we have in place is mandated by, and in keeping with, State rules.
