What are the responsibilities and job description for the Media Relations Associate position at illinois?
Duties & Responsibilities
Media outreach
• Develop and implement proactive media outreach strategies to elevate university visibility across national, state, and local media, including pitching media advisories, stories and op-eds.
• Build and maintain relationships with reporters, influencers, and media outlets; manage media contact lists and a roster of university experts.
• Meet regularly with unit communicators and coordinate on pitching.
• Engage with individual media outlets in every county throughout the state of Illinois and identify story ideas for local outlets that emphasize the university’s land-grant mission in action within their communities.
• Develop cohesive, campus-level news media campaigns in which individual campus units can participate.
• Establish and manage the Media Relations social media channel.
• Coordinate with the Senior Director of Constituent Engagement to advance the university’s visibility and reputation in the Chicago metropolitan area.
• Coordinate with the Director of Executive Communications and Issues Management to identify potential issues and provide input on how to respond.
• Coordinate with the Director of Social Media and Digital Strategy and unit social media directors to promote newsworthy items on digital platforms.
• Coordinate with News Bureau editors align on the promotion of stories and facilitate a focused news media strategy.
Media training
• Maintain and regularly disseminate a media best practices guide for use by faculty and other academics who want to promote their work.
• Develop and administer media training for faculty and staff who engage with the news media.
• Work with campus faculty and staff to promote a well-developed understanding of how their scholarship aligns with the broader context of news media, campus issues and current events.
• Assist in preparing faculty and staff for specific news interviews.
Media analytics
• Work with the Analytics and Alignment team to develop media engagement reports and statistics to inform campus leadership.
• Identify opportunities for media engagement and exposure using sound data-driven tactics.
• Review news media and social media mentions after publication to ensure accuracy, measure impact, and identify trends.