Reporters work on tight deadlines, so try to respond promptly to requests from the news media – within a few hours if possible.

• Ask for the reporter’s name, what media outlet he or she represents, the general content and angle of the story, and the deadline.
• Don’t feel pressure to immediately answer interview questions. If you are hesitant, be upfront and ask, "Is this the interview now or did you want to set something up?"
• It’s perfectly acceptable to ask for more time if you need to prepare your response or gather information.

Either way, let the reporter know whether you will be available for comment. If so:

• Talk to the reporter about the interview length and location, and agree to a callback. time, email correspondence or an in-person interview.
• Find out whether the interview will be recorded.
• For on-camera interviews, the ReadyCam® broadcast studio is available on the ground floor of the New England Center on the Durham campus. This can save on the expense of travel to television stations in Manchester or Boston.

Once you’ve agreed to speak with a reporter, you’ll want to frame your thoughts and approach.

• Decide what key points you want to communicate. What do you want to say?
• Be ready for controversial questions by trying to anticipate some of them in advance, and writing out brief answers.
• Don’t dwell on questions you don’t want to answer. Instead, inform the reporter if you think a question is out of line or has little to do with the subject.
• It’s also OK to tell a reporter when you don’t have an answer for a particular question.
• Remember your audience. Think about how your new research is applicable to the "real world," or how a new piece of legislation is going to affect local families.
• Save the academic jargon for professional journals and use more conversational language that everybody will understand.

• Assume anything you say to a reporter, whether in the middle of an interview or the middle of a grocery store, is "on the record." While you can tell a reporter that certain information is "off the record,” it’s best to avoid confusion by not saying anything you wouldn't want to see in print or on the local news.
• Keep comments short and to the point. The "less is more" technique especially applies to broadcast sound bites. Expert comments on news broadcasts are seldom longer than one or two phrases, so try to limit each answer to about 20 seconds.
• If you are concerned about the technical aspects of a story, politely ask the reporter to read you back your quotes.
• Don't ask the reporter to send you a copy of the story before it is printed. Very few will, and most will be offended that you asked.
• It can be helpful to conclude an interview by reiterating your key points, and confirming that the reporter has a clear understanding of them.”
• Please don't ask for a copy of the story or a tape unless the publication or broadcast is available locally. Find out when the story is running and where you can find it on the web, set your DVR or pick up a newspaper. Media Relations also may be able to locate a copy for you through its online clipping service.

If you think something might be newsworthy but aren’t certain, feel free to contact Media Relations for help. The following are common areas of interest to the media:

• Research: Results with demonstrated public impact, as well as ongoing projects. It’s best to release the news immediately before your research is published. If you're working on something big that is about to appear in an academic journal, let us know.
• Expert commentary: News outlets look for experts to weigh in on breaking state, regional, national and international news. We can help you write an opinion piece or editorial, and we can let members of the media know you have something important to say. (Consider being added to the UNH Experts list so media may easily find you when searching for commentary.)
• Public service or outreach projects: Contact us before you visit a city or town and we can alert local media to your visit.
• Books: Books, authored or edited, that are about to be published.
• New partnerships: Partnerships with state agencies, projects or research.
• Innovative courses: Share news about innovative new courses or projects.
• Meetings and conferences: We can help with advance publicity for events, and we will do our best to encourage news coverage. We will alert the news media, but cannot guarantee a reporter will be .
• Outstanding students: Know of a student involved in interesting research or community outreach projects?

This general description should be used when describing UNH to a broad audience:

The University of New Hampshire is a flagship research university that inspires innovation and transforms lives in our state, nation and world. More than 16,000 students from all 50 states and 71 countries engage with an award-winning faculty in top-ranked programs in business, engineering, law, liberal arts and the sciences across more than 200 programs of study. UNH’s research portfolio includes partnerships with NASA, NOAA, NSF and NIH, and the university receives more than $100 million in competitive external funding every year to further explore and define the frontiers of land, sea and space.

Faculty are asked to include the following tagline when submitting an opinion piece to a media outlet:

<First name and last name> is a professor of <department/unit in the college/school/unit> at the University of New Hampshire. The view and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not imply endorsement by UNH