As respected members of the community who are making important contributions to society, AUC’s faculty and staff are often called upon to share their expertise. In responding to media inquiries, faculty obtain greater public awareness of their achievements and the university receives recognition for its efforts in the social, cultural and educational life of Egypt.
Office of Communications and Marketing Services
• Inform us if there is an area in which you hold expertise in that is or will be in the news. We can draft a press release on your current research and indicate that you are available for comment.
• Let us know if you have an upcoming event. We can send an advisory and invite reporters to cover your event.
• If you are faced with a controversial situation, it is recommended that you discuss the matter with the Office of Communications and Marketing before it comes to public. Our staff have extensive experience with the media and deal with journalists regularly. They will help plan a media strategy, deciding whether and when to go public, anticipating reporters’ questions and planning a positive response.
Communicating With The Media
Members of faculty and staff are free to respond to requests from the media regarding their research, teaching or professional expertise. In such cases, the Office of Communications and Marketing should be informed of the media contact. Such notification can be particularly important if follow-up inquiries are required.
Media inquiries should be referred to the Office of Communications and Marketing if they involve issues of college-wide significance and/or are of a controversial or sensitive nature.
Since positive media relations is an integral element of the AUC’s communications office, any ideas for articles or pieces that would positively portray AUC, its work or its community should be directed to the Office of Communications and Marketing.
Guidelines for communicating with the media
• Obtain the name of the person calling, the media organization and, if available, the anticipated time of release of information in print or broadcast.
• The best approach with the media is to be prompt, helpful and honest. All contacts from the media should be returned as soon as possible.
• Make sure you understand each question from the media before answering. If you cannot answer the question, or are uncomfortable providing a response, take the reporter's number and advise him/her that someone who can provide the information will contact him/her as soon as possible.
• Do not offer speculation or gossip. Do not answer a reporter's question with "no comment." Do not be condescending or underestimate the reporter's intelligence, but make sure the reporter understands your responses. Provide your phone number and/or e-mail address for follow-up questions.
• Remember that in responding to the media, you can be seen as representing and speaking for AUC. Personal opinions should be clearly and carefully identified as such.
• Don’t use the phrase off the record too often, if you do not want any information to be known or published, you want to consider not saying anything at all.
• If you feel you need to review your quotes, ask the reporter to send you your quotes after writing the story. Reporters are under no obligation to show you advanced copies of their complete stories, however.
• Ask the reporter to notify you when the story is published. In a case of a serious mistake, when your credibility and that of AUC are in question, contact the reporter to discuss a correction. You can also write a letter to the editor clarifying what you wanted to say or contact the Office of Communications and Marketing to take the necessary action.
• Try to maintain good relationships with the reporters. You will get the most value out of the press by having good relationships with the reporters that are most valuable for AUC or area of expertise.
• If you want to increase the chances of good coverage, recommend other good sources of information (colleagues, people involved in the story) and provide a short biography and quick links to information about your area of expertise to assist the reporter in writing a well rounded story.
• Always get the reporter’s contact information and build your own media contacts, so that when you have got something to publicize or a message to get out, you have a got a ready-made audience.