Guidelines for staff - Keele University

Guidelines for Staff

The Press Office

The Press Office is responsible for all media relations for Keele University in order to enhance the University’s regional, national and international reputation. Our work with the media includes:

  •  drafting and issuing press releases highlighting research and achievements by Keele staff and students
  • working with University senior management to draft and issue corporate responses to media enquiries, including crisis communications, statements of University policy and reaction to major incidents
  • responding quickly to requests for expert comment

Dealing with media enquiries

The Press Office is the first point of contact for most media enquiries.

If you are contacted directly by a journalist to comment about your research, or issues relating to your teaching or subject expertise, you are free to do so if you wish. You should be quoted by name, giving your School/Research Institute/job title, and not as a spokesperson for the University.

Please always let the Press Office know if you have been working with the media as we may receive follow up calls from other journalists when the story is published or broadcast.

You should refer the journalist to us if the media enquiry is not relevant to your area of work, if you are unsure of how to respond or if the enquiry concerns University policy issues and the journalist is seeking the views of a University spokesperson.

Please contact us if you would like advice before responding to a media enquiry.

Contacting the media

Proactive contact with the media should always be made through press releases issued by the Press Office.

If you have an idea for a news story or press release please contact us. We will work with you to draft the release and target appropriate media.

If an external body (eg a funding council or academic journal) is issuing a press release about your work, please let us know as soon as possible before the release is issued. This will help us deal with any enquiries from journalists arising from the release.

General advice

Remember that you are the expert and will almost certainly know more about the topic than the journalist. Try to ensure that your comments are easy to understand for the general audience.

Don’t respond to a media enquiry when put on the spot. It may be better to arrange a convenient time to call the journalist back when you have prepared your key points.

If you are unable to help please let us or the journalist know so that we can try to find an alternative expert. 

A journalist can quote anything you say in their story so avoid making any “off the record” comments. You should never disclose confidential information or make negative comments about the University.

For further guidance or practical advice on working with media please contact Chris Stone on 01782 733375 / c.w.stone@keele.ac.uk or Hannah Hiles on 01782 733857 / h.e.hiles@keele.ac.uk