School Division Communications in the Competitive News Market

One of the most important jobs for any school communications professional is to effectively tell your division's story broadly across and beyond your community's borders. Communicators will often utilize a district's owned media, such as website posts, social media content, and written publications created internally or partnering with local media to disseminate information to a larger audience.

The relationship between local school divisions and local media outlets is essential as the reach of the local press, including daily and weekly newspapers, television stations, and up-and-coming online publications, often provides a school division access to those who may be somewhat removed from the school division. These groups can include:

• Individuals without children/grandchildren in the local school division
• Prospective families researching school divisions in preparation for a potential move
• Community members who still rely on traditional media outlets (newspapers, television) to access information

While most school divisions in the United States have various resources to connect with stakeholders within their district, including direct mail, emails, automated calling systems (SchoolMessenger, SwiftReach), and other assets, reaching those beyond the division's reach can be critical, which is where media relations and school divisions come into play.

For any division, fostering a collaborative relationship with the local media is essential through direct lines of communication between a given outlet and the district's communications lead or designee, offering pitches for potential stories, and providing pre-written materials for publication, including press releases and social media posts.

Even with a collaborative relationship, one of the challenges a school division can face, particularly those in a rural community surrounded by larger school divisions, is being able to have your district's content featured or even considered for distribution by a media outlet.

What are news consumers saying?

Over my nearly ten years in the news business, particularly at the local and hyper-local rural newspaper level, our leadership stressed the importance of having these subjects in the newspaper as often as possible:

• Local Government (Board of Supervisors, City Council) Coverage
• Local Schools Coverage (e.g., special school events, graduation, the first day of school, annual budget discussions, sports, when resources allow)
• Local Business (e.g., Chamber of Commerce news, new business openings, economic development insights)

Often, in speaking to readers in the community, they would comment that they picked up the newspaper because it was their only source of news happening specifically in their community. They would add that it was important for them to see what was happening in the local government, the schools, and the business community. In my transition to school communications, those insights from the readers guided my approach to media relations, fostering collaborative relationships, providing engaging, print-ready content for publications, and encouraging the media to be active participants in our schools through their reporting and storytelling.

A Faltering Local Newspaper Industry

As school divisions seek more engagement from their community's media partners, those organizations face more headwinds than ever as news consumption continues to change. Similar to other industries, including big tech and retail, the news business has been plagued by rounds of layoffs. In August 2022, Poynter reported Gannett, the United States' largest newspaper operator and publisher of USA Today, laid off approximately 400 employees. The company would lay off an additional roughly 200 employees months later toward the end of 2022. While the cost-cutting measures come as Gannett and other media organizations contend with increased costs and shrinking advertising rates and circulations, cuts to editorial teams and newsrooms are not new, merely a continuation of industry trends.

In 2017, Forbes reported BH Media, a division of Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., announced they would be cutting nearly 300 jobs at its newspapers across the U.S. Cuts by publishers like Gannett and BH Media mean local newsrooms are often operating with a select group of full-time employees, sometimes relying on part-time reporters and contributed content to fill coverage gaps. In some instances, a single reporter can be tasked with covering beats across multiple communities or topics as newsrooms pivot to online, often paywalled, content via their website.

While press-ready submissions to newsrooms help share school division news and information more broadly, these same outlets may need more resources to attend district events or meetings in person as they prioritize other beats and assignments over local school-related functions or board meetings.

A Fight for Visibility

When looking at more prominent publications, such as daily newspapers that serve a multi-jurisdictional region or television stations with vast designated market areas (DMA), the challenge can evolve beyond just a lack of human resources. While some television newsrooms have faced similar headwinds to their newspaper counterparts regarding staff and a pivot to digital content creation, one of the biggest challenges for smaller, more rural school divisions is stepping from the shadow of other communities within their subscriber base or viewing area.

Newsroom teams, both newspaper and television, are conscious of their demographics and often focus on delivering content to those audiences first. A rural school division may be served by up to three television stations in a given DMA, which can include several counties and cities that represent a vast majority of the market's overall viewing base. While a school communications leader may want to have their district's content showcased to thousands of the television station's viewers and an even more significant number of digital and social media users, it can be challenging to have your content have enough allure to a newsroom receiving dozens of press releases and submissions a day while producing their own original reporting to be included in a newscast or web article.

It can also be frustrating to see a piece of similar content from another community featured in a newscast or social media post but not have your district showcased similarly or not get a reply to an invitation to an event or story pitch. In these situations and as the news industry evolves in general, the importance of a school district being able to cultivate its owned platforms for telling the division's story becomes paramount.

Building Your Platform

School divisions should consider investing in school communicators who can foster relationships with local media and support the division's storytelling through original content creation. As many journalists seek to transition out of the news industry, some find new homes in the communities they served as reporters and writers, but instead as public information officers and school communications professionals. These men and women bring expertise to a school division through their honed abilities in the news business, including writing, videography, content creation skills, and a robust knowledge of the newsroom and its inner workings. This insight can help shape a division's content to suit its audiences. Some examples can include the following:

• Preparing a press-ready media release with high-resolution artwork and written copy for the local newspaper to publish following a major division event or initiative;
• Calling or emailing the newsroom asking for their help sharing important information that impacts the broader community (e.g., a job fair or calendar change);
• Regularly updating the school division's social media with content that local newsrooms can use for potential story leads.

Even still, the district needs to use its external communications channels effectively to share information when media resources are limited. An engaging website with a news feed or dedicated school and district news page is critical to telling the school division's story. School website providers, including Edlio and WordPress, offer tools to help school divisions create unique content, including articles, photo galleries, and other communications assets. Anytime the division issues a press release, it should be published to your division's news feed and shared as broadly as possible, including the district's social media channels and other school-operated websites.

Here are some tips I use in my daily communications content creation to support our district's goals and keep our community informed:

• Update your website news feed regularly. Your news feed should be a living page. Refresh it often with division news, helpful information, and other resources that can help support your district's stakeholders;
• Create a social media schedule: Through Meta Business Suite, which I use, you can see metrics to know when your followers are typically online, helping you better target your posts. You can also schedule content days in advance. Your content should typically drive back to your platforms (e.g., your district website, photo gallery, etc.);
• Prepare content in advance: As part of your communications plan development for events or division initiatives, consider developing materials in advance of their publication. This strategy can relieve pressure in the lead-up or after the event as your materials will be ready for quick distribution to the media and your audiences. It also allows you and your communications team more time to tailor your messaging to your audiences and platforms.
• Remain connected with your media partners: While sometimes you may have yet to hear from your local reporters or news organizations, it is important to continue nurturing your district's relationship with the media. Be sure you have the email and contact information for the newsroom and their teams (including the assignment desk and digital leads at television stations) to ensure your submitted content is reaching the right people. When opportunities present themselves, meet with your local media representatives and discuss your district's goals and objectives in communications and how your division and the media outlet can collaborate to reach them.