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 Kevin Beaver, Glen Doran, Arturo Figueroa, Dean Grubbs, Markus Huettel, Munir Humayun, David Landau, Deana Rohlinger, Samuel Staley and Angelina Sutin were among those featured by some of the top media outlets in the United States and abroad in August. Stories featuring them were published or broadcast by media outlets including Detroit Free Press, Los Angeles Times, NBC News, National Geographic and U.S. News & World Report.
There were more than 1,170 media placements in August, 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 35% research/faculty n 55% national n 35% college, unit or student focus n 25% regional and local n 30% other features, issues n 20% international management and/or editorials
Social Media § FSU gained 2,331 new Facebook fans in August; there was an average engagement rate of 8.2% (compared to a 1% industry average) while the high quality engagement rate was 2.2% The total reach for the month was more than 1.1 million users. § Twitter (@floridastate) increased by 909 followers. § The month saw more than 10 million total impressions across Facebook and Twitter, 16,877 total views via YouTube and 7,940 likes and comments on Instagram.
Broadcast Media § There were 362 mentions of Florida State University in major television markets across the country, including Dallas, Los Angeles and Miami.
The following provides highlights of media placements resulting from pitching, news releases, news events and collaborative efforts:
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL (RESEARCH)
Teen IQ — A Florida State University study conducted by College of Criminology and Criminal Justice Professor Kevin Beaver and doctoral student Joseph Schwartz found that adolescent boys who are hurt in just two physical fights suffer a loss in IQ that is
roughly equivalent to missing an entire year of school. Girls experience a similar loss of IQ after only a single fighting-related injury. A News & Research Communications news release generated dozens of stories by several national media outlets: U.S. News & World Report, (Milwaukee, Wis.) Journal Sentinel, (Florence, Ala.) Times Daily, Kitsap (Wash.) Sun, Abilene (Texas) Reporter-News, Courier Mail (Australia), Science Daily, Medical News Today, Psych Central, Youth Today, Healthy Living and WCTV.
Arctic Shark — Dean Grubbs, associate director of research at the Coastal and Marine Laboratory, reported the first documented catch of a Greenland shark in the Gulf of Mexico. A News and Research Communications news release about the rare catch generated news coverage by NBC News, CBS Miami, Wired, The (New Orleans) Times- Picayune, First Coast News, The (Lakeland) Ledger, Click Orlando (WKMG), Tallahassee Democrat and WCTV.
‘Fat Shaming’ — Angelina Sutin, assistant professor of medical humanities and social sciences in the College of Medicine, continued to get media attention in August for her study that found that discrimination against overweight people increases their risk of becoming or staying obese. Media outlets including Detroit Free Press and Business Insider reported the findings.
Oil Spill — Professor Markus Huettel in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science worked with colleagues on a study that found that bacteria living in the Gulf of Mexico beaches were able to eat up the contamination from the 2011 Deep Water Horizon oil spill by supplementing their diet with nitrogen. Science websites Bio-Medicine and Science Daily reported the findings.
Watermelon — National Geographic reported the findings of a study led by Associate Professor Arturo Figueroa in the College of Human Sciences that found that postmenopausal women experienced improved cardiovascular health after six weeks of taking watermelon extract supplements containing citrulline and arginine.
Economic Impact — Vice President for Research Gary Ostrander gave a presentation about the economic impact of Florida State’s research initiatives at the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce’s annual conference that was covered by the Tallahassee Democrat.
FACULTY EXPERTISE
Bog Body — Anthropology Professor Glen Doran in the College of Arts and Sciences was quoted in several news outlets about the discovery of the remains of a 4,000-year- old man preserved in an Irish peat bog, marking the oldest European body ever found with the skin still intact. Several media outlets reported the findings, including Discovery News, Yahoo! News-Canada and Space Coast Daily.
Sea Monster — Dean Grubbs, associate director of research at the Coastal and Marine Laboratory, was quoted in dozens of media outlets about the discovery of the remains of a mysterious “sea monster” found on a Spanish beach. Grubbs identified the remains as a shark. The media outlets included New York Daily News, New York Post, Nature World News and Newsmax.
Meteorites from Mars — Professor Munir Humayun from the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science was quoted in stories about a scientific debate about the age of a particular group of Martian meteorites and the implications for scientists’ understanding of the history of Mars. Humayun was quoted in the Los Angeles Times, The China Post and Phys.org.
March on Washington — Sociology Associate Professor Deana Rohlinger in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy was quoted in Live Science and Yahoo! News Canada about the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech and what it would take to mobilize another demonstration on the scale of the famous 1963 March on Washington.
Hyperloop — Samuel R. Staley, managing director of the DeVoe L. Moore Center in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy wrote an opinion piece for CNN in which he addressed the need to examine social impact, cost vs. benefits and the long- range sustainability of the proposed Hyperloop, a high-speed transportation system.
Constitutional Crisis — College of Law Assistant Professor David Landau co- authored an opinion piece about Egypt’s constitutional crisis that was published in the Los Angeles Times.
STUDENT-CENTERED UNIVERSITY
Seminole Sensation Week — Several media outlets reported on Florida State’s back-to- school activities, including Seminole Sensation Week (Tallahassee Democrat); the President’s Backyard Barbecue (Tallahasse Democrat); FSUnity Day (WCTV); and the enrollment of freshmen for the first time at the Panama City campus (WMBB).
ISSUES MANAGEMENT
Party School — The Princeton Review released its 2014 edition of “The Best 378 Colleges” book. Several media outlets reported that FSU was ranked No. 12 on the Review’s “Top 20 party schools,” including the Sun Sentinel and CBS Miami.
Lottery — The Florida Lottery is using the logos of the University of Florida and Florida State University on a new $2 scratch-off lottery game. An estimated $5.6 million from the sales will wind up in the state education trust fund that pays for programs such as the Bright Futures college scholarship program and other school-related expenses. Several media outlets reported the news, including USA Today, The Birmingham (Ala.) News, Tampa Bay Business Journal and The Independent Florida Alligator.