As I mentioned yesterday in the first post of this series, “How higher ed journalists use the Web: Scott Jaschik, editor at Inside Higher Ed,” I interviewed a few journalists for my last column: “PR on the Web 101.”
My big boss at University Business, Tim Goral, also shared with me how he uses the Web in his work as an editor.
1) How do you use the Web in your work? Do you prefer RSS feeds or email?
I use both. I’m a big fan of RSS feeds. I subscribe to maybe a dozen feeds from higher ed organizations, and about the same number from news sites of various colleges. It eliminates having to weed through junk mail to find the important message from a college or university. On the other hand, not every school offers an RSS feed—and with the number of institutions we work with, I don’t think I’d want that many—so email wins out there.
2) What are the most helpful features on institutions’ websites?
Site maps and directories. There are a lot of great websites designed so students and parents can get easy access to things like admissions or aid information, but for reporters it can sometimes be very difficult to find what you want from the home page. When that happens, I look for the site map to drill down in my search.
3) What’s missing on these websites? What would you like to see added on these websites to help you do your job?
I’d like to see a clear and direct link to the media relations department on the front page. [PR offices] are more than willing to help with stories and resources, but getting to them to ask can sometimes be a challenge.
