In the (good??) old days, PR for schools was easy.
Send a press release to the local paper, one of their large team of snappers would turn up, picture taken and next day the story appears in the paper.
Although less desirable, it was the same when there was a problem. Ofsted reports in all their glory would be reported on, a quote obtained and with a bit of luck a fair report would produced for tens of thousands of readers.
Today it’s not like that in the regional press. Our regional ‘newspapers’ are no longer just that, and the actual ‘paper’ is very much not the priority.
The regional ‘press’ is now a digital (website and social media) first operation almost everywhere, and certainly in the cities.
In the age of clickbait, a photo of the school musical does not cut the mustard.
Stories are often data driven constructs, perhaps contrasting exam results with levels of deprivation.
Reporters like the excellent Michael Yong, formerly of the Bristol Post, always sought to introduce context to reports but with the specialist reporter being a thing of the past, the truth behind many reports is much more nuanced.
This leaves a huge gap at the local level.
So a ‘Good’ Ofsted report, which might be a source of pride for a school and of interest for hundreds if not thousands of parents, will now routinely not be reported.
But increasingly schools are working with the growing number of hyperlocal news operations across the country.
These might be free news magazines of websites, but either way they are connected and committed to their communities.
This month, the Cabot Learning Federation in the Bristol area, a large schools trust, showcased its coverage in our sister operation, the hyperlocal Voice series.
Have a look HERE.
The stories are important and really affect local people – Ofsted, a school show and a student worried about funding cuts. Much of this would not be seen in the regional press any more but it is there at the hyperlocal level.
With such publications popular and hand delivered, schools need to embrace this option if they really want to get in front of local families.
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