Ten Tips For Working with Reporters

If you are contacted directly by the media, please get in touch with the UL Lafayette Office of Communications and Marketing for assistance and coordination. Call (337) 482-6397 or send an e-mail to communication@louisiana.edu.

1. Respond to reporters promptly. They're often on deadline.
2. Approach reporters and photographers with respect and courtesy.
3. Provide information that is accurate, concise and timely.
4. When possible, provide background information.
5. Always be truthful and fair, keeping in mind that you are a representative of UL Lafayette.
6. If you're interviewed about a sensitive topic, answer questions honestly. Choose your words carefully to minimize any misinterpretation.
7. Make sure a reporter understands whether you're expressing your personal opinion, relaying university policies or viewpoints, or stating findings from your research or other documented research.
8. If you don't know the answer to a question, offer to find out the correct information and respond to the reporter as quickly as possible.
9. Never go "off the record." Never.
10. Thank the media when they have done a good job.