Section II - ETSU News Bureau

The ETSU News Bureau is responsible for

Analysis of publicity needs
News releases and media advisories
News conferences and interview opportunities
Events calendars
ETSU Accent, the faculty/staff newsletter
Photo, video and story ideas for area media
Advertising

Most of these areas relate to each other, so make notifying the News Bureau one of the FIRST PRIORITIES in your event planning!

News Releases/Media Advisories

The News Bureau sends news releases to newspaper, radio and television media outlets throughout the Northeast Tennessee, Southwest Virginia and Western North Carolina region each week, and on certain occasions, releases are sent to other locations throughout the United States. Selected news releases are also placed on ETSU's World Wide Web home page. These news releases cover a variety of topics:

News on university policies/procedures, academic/administrative programs, faculty research projects, etc.
"Hometown" news releases on student honors, major faculty accomplishments, etc.
Features on university people and programs
Announcements of upcoming events, such as public lectures, concerts, plays, museum exhibits, organizational public service fund-raisers and much more (we rarely do "after- the-fact" releases on events, and when we do, it is only due to the request of a media outlet)

News releases on public events should, in most instances, be sent by the News Bureau to the media NO LATER THAN TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE EVENT. This means that you should get all the information you want included in the release to the News Bureau AT LEAST FIVE WEEKS BEFORE THE EVENT -- allowing us to work it into the schedule. News releases must be sent out by the News Bureau only; they must not be sent to the media by campus departments or individuals.
When preparing to contact the News Bureau for a release on a public event, please be sure you have the following information:

Who (sponsoring organization/department)
What (name of the event)
When (date and time)
Where (location/alternate location)
Why (Is it a fund-raiser? Is it in conjunction with another program?)
Biographical information on the speaker, soloist, etc. (if any)
Black-and-white photo of the person or group (if available)
Any cost involved for admission/registration (and what it covers -- text, meals, etc.)
Name and phone number of department/organization contact person
Any other pertinent information

If you would like for us to prepare a release on a person in relation to a particular accomplishment, please provide us with the person's name, biographical material (resume, curriculum vita), a detailed description of the accomplishment (If it's a scholarship, give the name of the scholarship and the reason it was awarded. If it's a published book, give a description of the contents and the individual's involvement.). Please see the "Forms" section of this handbook for "News Release Information" forms for events and for both faculty/staff and students, which may be submitted along with other information for news release preparation.
If you wish to write the news release yourself before sending it to the News Bureau for editing, approval and distribution to the media, you are welcome to do so. When you do this, please be sure to:

Include all of the information listed above
Refer to our style guidelines (see Section VII of this publication)
Include with the draft you submit copies of any back-up material you use in writing the release (notes, brochures, biographical information, etc.)

Media advisories are sent to newspaper editors and broadcast news directors to inform them of a special item of interest with coverage potential.
IMPORTANT! Please keep in mind that for releases on events, we must include the following statement: "For special assistance or seating for persons with disabilities, contact (the sponsoring department) at (phone number)." For more information on YOUR responsibilities in accommodating persons with disabilities, contact the ETSU Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator in the Office for Students with Disabilities at 439-4841.

News Conference/Interview Opportunities

In some cases, the News Bureau will decide to schedule a news conference for a particular speaker, major event or announcement. In other instances, the News Bureau will opt for an interview opportunity with a specific speaker. Numerous factors are considered before deciding which activity is most appropriate.

Events Calendars

The News Bureau keeps a calendar of university events that is distributed weekly, monthly, quarterly and semi-annually to regional media outlets, arts and tourism publications, chambers of commerce, cable television public service listings and more. In addition, the monthly calendar is placed on ETSU's World Wide Web home page. This calendar is a great way to get the word out on your events!

As soon as you have the date, time and location of an event, let us know! This is very important because:

Our monthly calendar is mailed in advance on the tenth of each month to cover the following month (for a June 27 event, we would mail that calendar on May 10). And for some publications, such as tourist guides, we need to send information on a November or December event by an April deadline!
Campus departments often contact the News Bureau to make sure that an event they are planning does not conflict with another. (It's also a good idea to check with the D.P. Culp University Center office for possible conflicts!)

To get an event on the university Events Calendar, please use the "Event Publicity Form" in the "Forms" section of this publication -- just fill it out and mail it to the News Bureau at Box 70717.
IMPORTANT! If the event is cancelled or a crucial detail (such as the date/time/location) is changed, let the News Bureau know immediately! We can then take the appropriate steps to notify the media and the public of a change.

ETSU Accent

ETSU Accent, the faculty/staff newsletter, is published approximately 18 times each year (twice monthly except during the holiday months of December and January and the summer months, when it is published once per month). It contains news on university people, policies, procedures, events and more. It includes such regular features as the "Faculty/Staff Activities" page, which lists achievements, publications, presentations and other activities of our employees, and the "Campus News Briefs" page, which gives "thumbnail sketches" of events and other news.
Items for Accent may be sent to the News Bureau to the attention of Jennifer Hill, Editor:

For an item to go on the "Faculty/Staff Activities" page, please provide a typed, double-spaced memo stating the "Who, What, When, Where and Why" of the activity. Please specify the full professional name of the employee (Dr. Pat Doe instead of P. Doe), his/her title and department, and whether the person holds a doctoral degree. If the item concerns a project in which the ETSU employee has collaborated with a faculty member from another university or with an ETSU student, please specify the appropriate information for the person's title. If the faculty member has published an article in a professional or academic journal, please spell out the full name of the journal -- do not abbreviate. It is helpful if you include the phone number at which you may be reached if we have any questions.
For an item to go on the "Campus News Briefs" page, please send a typed, double-spaced memo with a paragraph or two giving the "Who, What, When, Where and Why," along with the name and phone number of the contact person.
For any other items, please call to discuss a possible article or send a memo with a story idea.

Deadlines for Accent are 10 days before the scheduled date of publication for the issue in which you want the information included. Accent is generally published on the second and fourth Mondays of each month during the fall and spring semesters; during the months in which it is published once, call for deadlines. This applies to all Accent articles except "Faculty/Staff Professional Activities," which are run in the order received and on a space-available basis. Publication dates specified are tentative and may be delayed due to unforeseen circumstances.

Photo, Video, and Story Ideas

The News Bureau often provides story ideas to area news media and to student writers in ETSU communication courses. These story ideas can be on a variety of newsworthy topics that would be of interest to a wide segment of the population, including new and different research projects, interesting activities of ETSU people, topics related to upcoming events and more.
You can have subjects you care about publicized and assist us by providing story ideas to the News Bureau. These ideas are often used by the media, and those submitted to our student writers are frequently used as news releases and in ETSU Accent.

Advertising

All university advertising (except classified) must be approved by the Office of University Relations before appearing in print or broadcast media. University purchasing procedures require this approval to ensure correct information as well as uniform and quality theme and appearance. Purchasing will not process advertising requisitions until such approval is obtained.
Ad copy and departmental requisitions must be brought to the University Relations office, 300 Dossett Hall, NO LATER THAN FOUR WEEKS PRIOR TO THE DATE THE AD SHOULD RUN. This deadline allows time for ad production in University Relations (if needed), for any corrections to be made by the producing party, and for the approval process to be followed properly. Requisitions should include the name and address of the media outlet in which the ad will run along with the appropriate ad size/length and the date it will run. PLEASE NOTE: Standard departmental requisitions -- not DPOs (departmental purchase orders) -- must be used for advertising.

Print Ads: All print advertising (newspapers, magazines, scholarly/trade journals, etc.) must be approved before appearing in publication. Print ads may be produced by the department, by University Relations, by an outside advertising/public relations agency, or by the publication in which the ad will appear. If an outside agency or the publication itself is producing the ad, it must still be approved by University Relations. All university print ads MUST contain the ETSU mountain logo; approved college or departmental logos may be used but are not recommended due to design considerations.
Broadcast Ads: Radio copy and station-produced recordings must be approved before airing. Television script and video must be approved before airing.

A listing of many local newspaper, radio and television advertising rates and deadlines is maintained in University Relations. Before we list sample advertising rates, we will explain how to calculate the cost of an advertisement:

The size of a print ad is measured in "column inches"; a column is approximately two inches wide. Therefore, a two-column (approximately 4.25" wide, taking into account the "gutter" space between the columns) by five-inch-high ad would measure 10 column inches. If the newspaper's rate is $5 per column inch, you would multiply $5 by 10 column inches, and your total cost for the ad would be $50.
A radio spot is usually 30 seconds in length, sometimes 60 seconds. The average rate quoted by the station is generally for a 30-second spot. To get optimum coverage on radio, you would need to run your spot several times. To calculate the cost, just multiply the average rate by the number of times you wish the spot to air.

The following advertising rates for print and radio are subject to change at any time without notice, so before preparing a requisition for an ad, contact the specific media outlet or University Relations to verify the cost. The following advertising rates include those of some, but not all, of the major media outlets in the immediate area:

Daily Newspapers

Bristol Herald Courier -- $21.15 per column inch
Johnson City Press -- $13.55 per column inch
Kingsport Times-News -- $20.88 per column inch (weekdays)/$22.00 per column inch (Sundays)
Greeneville Sun -- $10.50 per column inch (Monday-Saturday, no Sunday edition)
Elizabethton Star/Johnson City Star -- $9.50 per column inch (Monday-Friday and Sunday, no Saturday edition)

Weekly Newspapers

Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough -- $3.96 per column inch (Wednesdays)
Rogersville Review -- $5.50 per column inch (Wednesday/Thursday edition)/$7.60 per column inch (Saturday/Sunday edition)
The Loafer -- $5 per column inch (Tuesdays)
Sullivan County News -- $5.60 per column inch (Thursdays)

Radio

WXBQ-FM -- Average rate for a 30-second spot run six times during a full-week time span is $60 per airing (call for further details -- they have a complex rate schedule)
WQUT-FM -- $40.28 average rate
WJCW-AM -- $16 average rate
WAEZ-FM -- $23 average rate
WTFM-FM -- $32 average rate
WKPT-AM -- $18 average rate

Television

Television advertising rates are very complex and change frequently with fluctuations in program ratings. If you are interested in television advertising, call the News Bureau so we can get the most up-to-date rates available from the stations.

Give University Relations a call for more information or assistance with advertising needs!

As previously indicated, many of these areas in which the News Bureau of University Relations provides assistance are interrelated. For instance, at the same time you supply us with an events calendar listing, we can make arrangements to do a news release or story idea on your subject, as well as plan to include it as an article or news brief in ETSU Accent if it would be of interest to most faculty and staff.
Always remember to keep publicity needs in mind in the early planning stages of an event! The longer you wait to discuss these needs with the News Bureau, the more limited we are in our means to help!