News & Media Relations

UCM produces and distributes news to audiences wide and far — from internal OHIO stakeholders to our alumni, the news media and beyond. Let us help you tell your great stories! Our staff can work with you to craft a solid pitch to the media or distribute news through OHIO channels. UCM also provides strategic public and media relations services and support to departments, colleges, and schools throughout the University. 

For the media  

 

Typical Projects and Timelines

  • OHIO News story production | 3 days – 3 weeks
  • OHIO News email | Every Thursday
  • OHIO Employee News (OEN) email | Every Monday
  • News release/media advisory preparation and distribution | 1 day – 2 weeks
  • New research announcements | 3-4 weeks
  • Strategic media list development | 1 week
  • Media interview preparation and coordination | 1 week
  • Key message and Q&A development | 1 week
  • Ohio Today magazine stories
  • Editorial board visits
  • Media monitoring
  • News conference support
  • Public and media relations training
microphones at a press conference

 

Editorial Style Guide

Our editorial style guide is designed to help you prepare copy for marketing, promotional, and creative projects for Ohio University, its colleges, academic schools and departments, administrative units, and other affiliated entities. The guide also includes boilerplate language for Ohio University. 

Style Guide

OHIO News

OHIO News serves as the primary news and information source for Ohio University. When visiting OHIO News, one can expect to read about the latest happenings at not only the Athens Campus, but at all of OHIO’s campuses and centers around the state. News stories are distributed through email, social media, and OHIO websites. 

OHIO News is updated daily and aims to be a creative, fun, informative and user-friendly news vehicle by sharing the stories that make the OHIO community a great place to be, whether you are studying, working or visiting. In addition to written stories and briefs, the site contains videos, photos, and announcements.

Submitting Stories

To submit content for OHIO News, email news@ohio.edu

Stories submitted in Word format to be posted to OHIO News by UCM must be in final form, proofread and approved by appropriate unit heads.

UCM reserves the right to edit stories for grammar/usage/punctuation, University style and brand guidelines and clarity. UCM staff will work with submitters when necessary to edit content.

OHIO News Email

Many of the news stories that appear in OHIO News are distributed to Ohio University students, faculty, staff, friends and parents on Thursdays via the OHIO News email. 

Submitting Stories

To submit stories for OHIO News email consideration, please contact UCM at news@ohio.edu no later than noon each Monday.

UCM reserves the right to edit stories for grammar/usage/punctuation, University style and brand guidelines and clarity. UCM staff will work with submitters when necessary to edit content.

UCM staff will work with content submitters to ensure their communication is included in the appropriate newsletter.


OHIO Employee News

OHIO Employee News (OEN) provides need-to-know information to Ohio University faculty and staff every Monday morning. OEN delivers vital information to all types of faculty and staff on all of OHIO’s campuses, as well as to the Board of Trustees.

Guidelines for Submitting Content

Content should be: 

  • Critical, timely, and “need-to-know” information
  • Applicable and tailored to a majority of faculty and staff on all campuses
  • Concisely written (no more than 500 words recommended)

Examples of appropriate OEN topics include:

  • Updates from Human Resources regarding benefits and other time-sensitive information
  • Major University deadlines for faculty and staff
  • Policy and procedure changes
  • Personnel change information of executive staff, deans, directors and department heads
  • News regarding University-wide strategic initiatives
  • Communications from the President and executive staff
  • Parking, construction and other campus-related updates
     

Submitting Stories

To submit stories for OHIO Employee News email consideration, please contact UCM at news@ohio.edu no later than Wednesday at 5 p.m. 

UCM reserves the right to edit stories for grammar/usage/punctuation, University style and brand guidelines and clarity. UCM staff will work with submitters when necessary to edit content.

UCM staff will work with content submitters to ensure their communication is included in the appropriate newsletter.

Get Started

Submit a request

Can UCM help with student projects?

The University Communications and Marketing team can serve as a resource for students working on a class project. We can help provide background and factual information for articles and papers that are assigned as coursework. Please use this form to submit your student class project request.

Student Project Request Form

What should I do if my request involves several different service areas?

Fill out our request form and select "combination" as your request type. Please give us as much detail as possible. We will schedule a kick-off meeting to get all the details we need. 

Who can I reach out to for questions about this service?

Gabrielle Johnston 
Marketing Services Manager
johnstog@ohio.edu
740.597.1859

News and Media Relations Staff

Dan Pittman
Dan Pittman
Senior Director of Communications
UCM
The Ridges Building #18
Headshot of Sarah Filipiak
Sarah Filipiak
Director of Content Strategy & Publications
UCM
Douglas Dennis, Search Engine Optimization Copy Writer
Douglas Dennis
Search Engine Optimization Copy Writer
UCM
Emma Henterly, Publications Manager and Editor-in-Chief of OHIO Today
Emma Henterly
Publications Manager and Editor-in-Chief of OHIO Today
UCM
The Ridges Building #18
Sarah Logue
Sarah Logue
Student News Bureau Director
UCM
Samantha Pelham
Samantha Pelham
Communications & Public Relations Strategist
UCM
Alex Semancik headshot
Alex Semancik
Communications Specialist III
UCM
Jason Walters, Digital Marketing Designer
Jason Walters
Digital Marketing Designer
UCM