Increasing national and international news coverage about faculty research, student achievement and innovative programs is one of the ways University Communications seeks to raise the profile of Florida State University. University Communications’ News & Research Communications staff, in collaboration with communicators across campus, pitches story ideas, provides experts lists, writes news releases and distributes video content for use by producers and reporters all over the world.
Faculty experts Bill Bales, Leslie Beitsch, James Elsner, Munir Humayun, Thomas Joiner, Marshall Kapp, Jon Maner, Jim McNulty, Eden Steven, Walter Tschinkel and Carol Weissert were among those featured by some of the top media outlets in the United States and abroad in September. Stories featuring them were published or broadcast by numerous media outlets, including the BBC News magazine, CBS News Radio, Christian Science Monitor, Fox News, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Times and The Weather Channel.
There were more than 1,100 media placements in September, and about 15 percent of those were directly generated by media relations strategies. An analysis of the media coverage is as follows:
Focus Summary Geographic Summary n 36% college, unit or student focus n 48% regional and local n 32% research/faculty n 36% national n 32% other features, issues n 16% international management and/or editorials
Social Media § FSU gained 2,538 new Facebook fans in September; there was an average engagement rate of 7.5% (compared to a 1% industry average). The total reach for the month was more than 1 million users. § Twitter (@floridastate) increased by 1,376 followers. § There were more than 11 million total impressions across Facebook and Twitter, 18,322 total views via YouTube and 4,554 likes and comments on Instagram.
Broadcast Media § There were 338 mentions of Florida State University in television and radio markets across the country, including New York, Los Angeles and Dallas.
The following provides highlights of media placements resulting from pitching, news releases, news events and collaborative efforts:
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL (RESEARCH)
Spider Web — Eden Steven, a physicist at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, successfully coated thin strands of a spider web with carbon nanotubes, a
discovery that could lead to a practical and ecologically efficient way to conduct electricity. The MagLab issued a news release in collaboration with News & Research Communications that generated coverage on science websites and media outlets across the world, including the Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The Australian, The Hindu, Discovery News, Nature World News and Science Daily.
Twister History — James Elsner, professor of geography in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, and his colleagues developed a new statistical model that will help determine whether the risk of tornadoes is increasing. A News & Research Communications news release about the new model generated news coverage on several science websites including The Weather Channel, Science Daily, Phys.org, Science Codex, Claims Journal, Property Casualty 360 and Big News Network.
Scent of Competition — New research by Jon Maner, professor of psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences, suggests that women react to the scent of other fertile women by getting a boost in testosterone. Media outlets including ABC Science, Discovery News and Huffington Post reported the findings.
FACULTY EXPERTISE
Forgiveness — Jim McNulty, associate professor of psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences, and his research about forgiveness was referenced in a Christian Science Monitor editorial about a new, indirect partnership between President Obama and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Fairy Circles — New research suggests that the bizarre circular patches of bare land called “fairy circles” in the grasslands of Africa's Namib Desert may be the natural result of the subsurface competition for resources among plants. Walter Tschinkel, the Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of Biological Science in the College of Arts and Sciences, was quoted in several news stories about the theory, including Business Insider, Fox News and (U.K.) Daily Mail.
Military Suicide — Thomas Joiner, the Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences, was quoted in news stories that examined the role of life insurance in military suicides. Among the media outlets: Los Angeles Times and CBS News Radio.
Gold — Munir Humayun, a professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, was quoted in a BBC News Magazine story regarding a scientific debate about whether the Earth’s gold came from a meteor shower.
ObamaCare — Two Florida State experts were quoted in news stories about the implementation of the two main features of the Affordable Care Act — online exchanges and expanded Medicaid. Leslie Beitsch, chair of medical humanities and social sciences in the College of Medicine, was quoted by NBC 5 (Dallas-Fort Worth); Marshall Kapp, director of the Center for Innovative Collaboration in Medicine and Law, a joint effort of the College of Law and the College of Medicine, was quoted by WFSU-FM.
Common Core — Carol Weissert, the LeRoy Collins Eminent Scholar Chair and professor of political science in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, was
quoted by WFSU-FM in a story about Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s executive order on Common Core education standards.
Crime Rate — Professor Bill Bales in the College of Criminal Justice and Criminology was quoted in a Baltimore Sun story about the use of statistics to illustrate crime rates.
STUDENT-CENTERED UNIVERSITY
U.S. News Rankings — U.S. News & World Report ranked Florida State University 40th among all public “national” universities in its 2014 edition of “America’s Best Colleges,” representing a jump of six places in just two years. Among the media outlets that covered the news: Sun-Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Business Journal.
Gubernatorial Fellows — Florida State students comprise eight of the 10 exceptional students selected to participate in this year’s Gubernatorial Fellowship Program. Among the media outlets that covered the news: The Florida Current, The (Lakeland) Ledger, SaintPetersBlog and FSView & Florida Flambeau.
Tuition for Veterans — Florida State Student Body President Rosie Contreras and student-veteran Andrew Sloan joined forces with President Eric J. Barron at a news conference in support of proposed legislative bills to offer in-state tuition to veterans who wish to attend one of Florida’s state universities. Several media outlets covered the news conference. Among them: The Tampa Tribune, The (Panama City) News Herald, WFSU- FM, WGFL (Gainesville) and FSView & Florida Flambeau.
Rembrandt Exhibit — “A Fortnight of Rembrandt: Selected Etchings from the Mower Collection,” a special exhibit sponsored by the Office of Research that featured more than 60 Rembrandt etchings on loan from Drs. Tobia and Morton Mower of Baltimore, resulted in a record number of visitors to the FSU Museum of Fine Arts and generated news coverage in media outlets including the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Tallahassee Democrat and WCTV.
ISSUES MANAGEMENT
Racist Tweet — A racist comment that was posted on a student’s Vine and Twitter social media accounts sparked news stories in several media outlets, including the New York Daily News, Huffington Post, Sun-Sentinel, Tallahassee Democrat, WCTV and FSView & Florida Flambeau.
Jameis Winston T-shirts — Florida State officials wrote a cease and desist letter to a fan who was selling unlicensed T-shirts depicting Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston as Jesus. The story was covered by media outlets including CBS Sports, TMZ Sports, The Birmingham News, Sun-Sentinel, First Coast News and The Christian Post.