Reminder: Our media relations policies
As we begin the spring semester, we’d like to remind our campus community that staff in the Office of Communication & Marketing are available to work with you to publicize virtual events, accomplishments, initiatives, awards and research with journalists seeking expert comment on issues in the news.
We encourage you to continue helping us “Tell the New Paltz Story” by sharing news of publications, awards, appointments, events and other interesting activities via our campus news submission portal. You can also share news with your division or unit rep, who works closely with liaisons in our office through the Office of Communication & Marketing Liaison Model.
Please read on to review the College’s media relations guidelines and reacquaint yourself with our policies.
Media Relations Policies
The Office of Communication & Marketing serves as the primary institutional contact with the media. All media inquiries related to institutional issues should be coordinated through our office by contacting (845) 257-3245 or emailing Chrissie Williams, the assistant director of media relations.
The Office of Communication & Marketing uses media opportunities to discuss the College and its activities in ways consistent with our overall institutional messaging and branding. In keeping with New Paltz values, we are a transparent campus and err on the side of sharing information. Our goals are to speak with one voice as an institution and put our best foot forward with the hope of generating positive news coverage of the New Paltz campus community.
If media inquire about an institutional issue, we ask that faculty and staff contact our office as our staff may be aware of factors or have other institutional knowledge that can help inform a response. Our staff is available to direct all inquiries to the appropriate administrator or campus expert who is best informed and able to respond in a timely manner. It is important when working with the media to respond to requests quickly. Media expect responsiveness and quick turnaround to questions, given the fast-paced deadline environment in which they work.
While the majority of our media inquiries are handled directly by the Office of Communication & Marketing, there are times when it makes sense for us to refer specific inquiries to administrators, faculty and staff who have distinct areas of expertise. When this happens, consistent with past practice at New Paltz, staff in the Office of Communication & Marketing will be in touch with you before referring the reporter to you.
We encourage faculty to speak with media on topics related to their expertise, and to include their College affiliation/role when writing in their faculty roles (i.e., a psychology professor publishing in Psychology Today or a journalism professor publishing on an important societal issue in the Boston Globe).
Because we have a strong journalism program and campus media at New Paltz, many inquiries come from our student journalists. Our policy has been to respond to student journalists when time allows, to provide our student journalists with valuable hands-on experience and to educate students about the institution and how it works. Our interaction with student media has led to many articles that carried the institution’s perspective on various issues in ways that have been beneficial to our campus community.
That said, it is not unusual for student journalists or professional media to contact faculty and staff directly. We ask that requests related to institutional issues be directed to the Office of Communication & Marketing, where they will be appropriately vetted by our staff with various administrators and experts across campus. This is particularly important when multiple student journalists have the same or similar questions (perhaps related to breaking news, an event, etc.) for a specific expert or administrator. Our office can help manage these inquiries in a way that maximizes the availability to respond while still meeting students’ deadlines.
Op-eds and letters to the editor must be submitted to the newspaper or magazine with your name, address and phone number. Writing personal communications in a manner that could reasonably be interpreted as an official communication from SUNY New Paltz is not allowed per SUNY and UUP policies (SUNY policy 335.27 /UUP article 9.3: “In their role as citizens, employees have the same freedoms as other citizens. However, in their extramural utterances, employees have an obligation to indicate that they are not institutional spokespersons”).
If there is the possibility of confusion about whether you might be speaking on behalf of the College, it will be necessary to specifically indicate you are speaking as a private citizen and not as a representative of the College. The Office of Communication & Marketing can help clarify these situations, and administrators, faculty and staff are encouraged to contact us for advice and guidance.
Social Media
All paid social media advertising and the creation of official social media accounts should be coordinated through our office by contacting (845) 257-2698 or emailing John Oles, marketing and social media manager.
When using social media, it is important to be consistent with institutional branding, mindful of producing appropriate content and protecting access to accounts. As such, the Office of Communication & Marketing provides training and works closely with departments to execute cost-effective social media advertising campaigns via Facebook and Instagram.
Our office has also established a social media policy that is intended to foster a thoughtful, responsible use of official College social media channels. The policy is also designed to protect and maintain professionalism in the workplace for all College faculty and staff, including student workers.
Compliance with this policy is necessary for collaboration with the Office of Communication & Marketing, and inclusion in the social media directory. These standards apply to all authorized social media accounts, accounts using the SUNY New Paltz logo or that of an official College department, program or organization, and any website created for the purpose of conducting official college business or sharing college messaging.