Colleges and universities pursue national news media coverage because it:

• Helps to build an institution’s reputation.
• Helps to build national awareness.
• Helps to build name recognition.
• Lends credibility to a college or university’s claim to be a major national institution.
• Brings value to key institutional messages by providing third-party endorsement.
• Can stimulate interest and support from donors and prospective donors.
• Confirms the value of the institution and its faculty to government officials and funding sources.
• Builds alumni pride and pride among internal constituencies.
• Helps to build the reputation of the faculty.
• Contributes to an environment in which student and faculty recruitment and fund raising can be successful.
• Reaches a huge audience in a cost-effective manner.
• Is more valuable and believable and is vastly more cost-effective than advertising.
• Places institutions among the major players in the national forum of ideas.