What. Have. You. Done. For. Me. Lately?

If you work in media relations at a college or university, that sentiment has likely been a takeaway from some interactions with faculty members and administrators.

"You landed Professor Y's research in Science last month. Why aren't we in there this month?"

"University Z got coverage in The New York Times. Why haven't we?"

"I just received a $10,000 grant to study the sound worms make when they are dying. What do you plan to do with that story?"

Not all professors and administrators understand what reporters look for in a story, recognize that the media landscape has shifted, or view social media platforms as useful communications tools. Meanwhile, nearly everyone knows what a press release is, which is why people ask for them. (And they want what they want.)

"Why a press release? What do you want to achieve?" These are the questions Susan McKenna, associate director of communications in the bioengineering department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, asks in such situations. Meanwhile, her initial thought sometimes is: "How would you react if someone told you how to run your lab?"

Randell Kennedy is well acquainted with the disconnects that can crop up between professors and communicators. As president of Boston-based media relations consultancy Academy Communications, he works exclusively with colleges and universities.

Several years ago, Kennedy received an email from a nationally known columnist thanking him for sending information about a professor's new book and related expertise on current news topics: "While I do not have an opportunity to interview him now," wrote the columnist, "I like his take on [the issue] and will certainly keep his information on file for possible future use." Kennedy forwarded the message to the professor as an encouraging update. The next day, the columnist forwarded Kennedy an email he had received from the professor, who didn't appreciate the columnist's lack of interest in his book. The professor expressed his frustration with the columnist's "inability to recognize excellent ideas when he saw them" in a message punctuated with insults. Afterward, Kennedy convinced the professor to apologize and helped him better understand how to work with the media. Since then, the professor has become a "savvy and quotable source."

So how should you manage expectations for media coverage without acquiescing to illogical requests or making your job more challenging? Here's some advice from communications pros on how to build relationships and obtain media coverage that enhances your institution's image.

Educate—and remember that you are the expert

"Our administrators and researchers have deep skill sets, but they often do not know how the news process works," says Melissa Lutz Blouin, director of news and publications for University of Florida Health. "We sometimes have to explain that [a topic] that is important to them would not be important to the media. That does not mean [the topic] isn't important, only that it will not get media coverage."

It's a communicator's job to evaluate situations and present options. Take this opportunity to educate colleagues.

Faculty members often contact McKenna and her colleagues at Illinois about the awarding or renewal of a grant. "We talk to them about how this happens all the time at institutions everywhere, so it isn't news, unless it is hundreds of millions or billions of dollars," McKenna says. "We also talk about how we risk losing credibility with our media contacts if we pitch them too many nonstories and pitch too often."

McKenna is enthusiastic about effectively promoting accomplishments, but she says faculty members need to understand what is newsworthy, why timeliness and succinctness matter, why it's essential to craft and direct the right pitch to the right people, and that there is no guarantee a news release will lead to a story.

Teaching is important, agrees Paul Redfern, executive director of communications and marketing at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania.

"We have done a fair amount of education for faculty during the past five years, which has helped to set expectations and provide more context" for the various ways the office promotes stories. For one, each academic department has a liaison from the communications office, who meets with department chairs and faculty members each semester. The liaisons provide data on how previous news stories have performed, talk about analytics for social media posts related to their department, and identify faculty members who are interested in pursuing media opportunities.

Redfern's team also works with new professors to develop op-ed ideas as part of a strategic effort to cultivate faculty experts. "Helping them understand which outlets might be interested in certain types of pieces or stories is critical to the process," Redfern says.

Receiving unrealistic requests is atypical for A'ndrea Elyse Messer, a senior science and research information officer at Penn State University for nearly three decades. But "when people do ask for things we can't give them, we try to explain why," she says. "Sometimes research just isn't ready for prime time, or it's not different enough from the last time to warrant another story."

Embrace the role of counselor, Kennedy advises. "It's up to campus communications professionals to offer honest advice, often unsolicited, to explain what's possible and realistic. It's an important part of the learning process."

Help them find the news

During Blain's first week as a science writer at the University of Arkansas in 1998, a scientist asked her to distribute a technical and long news release he had written. Buried in the last sentence was evidence disputing previous findings of possible life on Mars' meteorites. "I explained that we needed to rewrite the release," Blouin says. "Fortunately, the researcher agreed." USA Today and media outlets in Europe, Africa, and Russia picked up the news.

At Illinois, McKenna discusses how focusing on a different angle than what the faculty member proposes may be effective. A noteworthy quotation from a speaker, for example, can add to an event's newsworthiness.

Target the right outlets and audiences

"While the local newspaper covers a few research areas," Messer says, "the majority of our coverage is worldwide."

Location plays a role in the coverage equation. Situated about 2 miles north of the site of the bloodiest battle ever fought on American soil, Gettysburg College has a built-in advantage when it comes to topics related to the Civil War or the Gettysburg Address. But because it's located hours away from the Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., media markets, the campus sometimes struggles to attract media attention on other subjects, Redfern says.

Tom Durso, associate vice president for college relations and marketing at Pennsylvania's Albright College, has similar trouble cracking the Philadelphia media market. The college, however, benefits from good local coverage in part because it's easier to build relationships with reporters and editors who have fewer institutions to cover. "Being a bigger fish in a smaller pond helps in this case," he says. "The Reading Eagle is more likely to cover Albright lectures than The Philadelphia Inquirer would be if we were located closer to the city and its many colleges and universities."

It's also critical to investigate target audiences for a story, assess past media coverage of topics, and evaluate whether a small number of people reading a publication is worth the time and effort of trying to gain coverage, according to Joe Cardona, vice president of university relations at Rowan University in New Jersey.

"In today's environment, it's about sharpshooting," he says. "It's about targeting your audience and being able to convey a regular flow of information rather than one big hit in a major publication." An article in the city's primary newspaper is nice to clip, he adds, but it "won't necessarily get you the credibility the professor needs, wants, or deserves." The dean of the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering, for example, covets appearing in the media highlights listed in First Bell, the e-newsletter of the American Society for Engineering Education.

Be a publisher

Sometimes people won't take no for an answer. Faculty and administrators at Albright are generally realistic about what attracts reporters' attention and what doesn't, Durso says, but his team is occasionally "asked to pitch things we know aren't going to garner external coverage." In such cases, they try to be as honest as possible about what's newsworthy and find other channels to promote them.

The outlet Ron Gossen, senior associate vice chancellor and chief marketing officer at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, chooses is to publish the news on UMSL Daily, the institution's news website. The site is heavily promoted to the media as well as the university's key constituencies.

Posting a story on UMSL Daily "almost always satisfies [people's] request for exposure," Gossen says. "The campus and alumni will gush to faculty members about seeing them or their program on it." Afterward, Gossen sends faculty members a screenshot of their article to add to their files.

If a story is newsworthy beyond the campus, reporters who subscribe to UMSL Daily's RSS feed or routinely check the site will pick it up. As a result, media pitches are becoming increasingly rare. Even when a story does warrant a pitch, Gossen's staff will also post the news on UMSL Daily, while first honoring any embargoes or prior agreements made with reporters.

"It's been a grand slam for us, allowing us to do more with fewer resources," Gossen says.

Digital options such as blogs, online news hubs, and e-newsletters "offer a cost-effective way to disseminate information quickly and easily," Durso says.

McKenna is also inclined to use alternative channels. She posts stories that likely won't appeal to outside media on the department website and promotes them to other communicators and units on campus, as well as on social media. A few years ago, a professor insisted

McKenna distribute a press release for an annual seminar that attracts about 200 attendees. The solution? She posted a release on the landing page of his unit's website, which satisfied him. "The story gets exposure, even if it is confined to our campus. It took a few years, but now he follows my advice," McKenna says, because she has shown him measurable results, such as website analytics, and demonstrated how improving e-newsletters by including solid news stories affects open and click-thru rates. "We've built mutual respect, and he now calls me ‘the communications queen.' "

Speak their language

Relationship-building is a critical aspect of managing expectations, says Cardona at Rowan.

"Sometimes professors don't really know what we do," he says. "We as professionals should not expect them to understand our world. You have to be patient and show them you're thorough in your thinking on how to target their key audiences. Your careful situation analysis will impress them because it will speak to them as researchers."

Cardona advises young professionals to partner with senior colleagues who have built more universitywide relationships. This can help less experienced colleagues explain a difficult situation or frame expectations with a group of faculty, with the credibility of the senior staff extending to the junior people.

Achieving trust and credibility with faculty takes time and effort, but it's worth the investment, according to McKenna. "Numbers speak volumes to research faculty," she says. "I have worked with the faculty often enough that they realize [our] communicators consistently handle their stories with care, thoroughness, and attention to detail. They value and appreciate that."

Be positive and collegial

At Albright, Durso's team approaches the need to manage expectations with professionalism and good humor. "We use our collective experience as communications professionals and former journalists to point out what expectations are unrealistic and why," he says. "But that's only part of the effort. We don't want our colleagues to stop coming to us with story ideas, so we often share them in ways that don't involve reporters and editors." He says social media has been a "godsend" in this regard, though this publishing option often requires additional conversations about tactics and outcomes that differ from traditional media outreach.

"While we are not always able to garner the third-party coverage campus partners might want," Redfern says, "there is usually some way to help them feel good about their event or achievement." Developing a Facebook post, creating a Snapchat story, or running an event picture as the college's photo of the day are all strategies that have worked at Gettysburg.

It's important to remember that professors' research and publications may symbolize their life's work. Their perspective on a project will differ from that of a communicator and the media. It's the communicator's job to mediate differing viewpoints and translate perceptions. At Rowan, public information officers readily explain the ins and outs of journalism, and Cardona will offer input if his view as vice president will carry more weight with the faculty member.

Finally, help people understand why a particular pitch was effective, Kennedy recommends. When you share positive media coverage about the institution or a person, include a brief explanation with each clip or link that details what was "involved in generating the good press and what made the story work. This will empower you to own the narrative of what can be accomplished," instead of playing defense and explaining what can't be done.