4000-5-14 Release of Information for the Media

Policy

1. Statements to media representatives regarding matters relating to college philosophy, policy, and development may only be made by an official College spokesperson in the position of:College Policy are to be made only by the President, Senior Leadership Team member or their designate, or an approved spokesperson.
   1. College President
   2. Member of the Executive Management Team, or designate
   3. Senior Director, Community Engagement, or approved delegate

Guidelines for Staff

1. The process of informing the public, through media, about Lambton College is an important part of the Corporate Communications strategy. Raising awareness through this channel will result in continuing to raise the profile of the College and support of Lambton College stakeholders.
2. Traditional forms of media along with social media, website, paid advertising, and other promotional materials such as the Viewbook will be utilized as an effective form of advertising, public relations, and brand recognition to highlight news and activities taking place at Lambton College.
3. Lambton College cannot demand that activities be aired or published - it is an editor's choice to decide what is newsworthy - however, as a College, we can work diligently to bring important highlights and news announcements to the attention of the media on a regular basis.
4. The following guidelines were drawn up to help faculty and staff in situations where they are contacted by a reporter, or when they think an activity or announcement might be of interest to the general public.

Prime Contact

1. The Senior Director, Community Engagement is the College's primary contact for all news media representatives and should be contacted immediately if faculty or staff are:
   1. contacted by a reporter,
   2. have information they would like to see publicized.
2. In the event that the Senior Director, Community Engagement can not be reached, the Corporate Communications Coordinator must be notified in any of the above circumstances.

Establishing an Effective Relationship with Reporters

1. If contact is made directly by a reporter with questions, the Senior Director or Corporate Communications Coordinator must be contacted immediately, before responding.
2. Please pass on immediately - Deadlines are common with media and respect for the deadlines governing a reporter's job should be adhered to, if at all possible.
3. Honesty is Lambton's Policy - When dealing with the news media, the College's spokespeople must always be honest. The College is a public institution, and the public has a right to be informed on all College activities. If additional fact seeking is required before a response is possible, it is acceptable to advise the media that the answer to their question(s) is currently unknown, but we will followed up on.

Referrals

1. Often the Director will approve another employee as a "content expert" to respond to a media question. In such an instance, it is recommended that the Senior Director, Community Engagement or the Corporate Communications Coordinator help to prepare a response or speaking notes.