Story Idea Request Form

Use this form to submit a story idea that promotes Penn State Altoona in a positive way.

  • Story idea suggestions: a special event, a program in your field of study, an accomplishment, research, or a human interest story
  • NOTE - Event coverage requires 3 weeks advance notice. Will will try to accommodate requests submitted later, but cannot guarantee coverage.
  • Each submission will be reviewed. If determined to be newsworthy, UR staff will follow up to get additional details, develop the story, and promote it to the media.

Contact Information

Name: Office/Program:
Email: Phone:

Story Background Information

Who?

What?

When?

Where?

Why is it news?

Additional Information

Security Code: 16800

Earned media is any public relations story, article, quote, mention, photo, video that appears in the media. In contrast to paid media (i.e., advertising), earned media must have merit in its own right and be approved by a third party editor or staff, thereby “earning” the media placement.

Earned media has public relations value because it is relatively inexpensive (compared to advertising) and increases the institution’s credibility because it is a third party endorsement.

Earned media outlets:

Public - newspaper, radio, television, online journals, web sites, etc.

Penn State -

  • Magazines – Ivy Leaf, Outreach, Penn Stater
  • Newswire – Regional and University-wide
  • Web site

Three elements that make for a good earned media story

  • Newsworthy – Is it new, interesting, informative, “real” news? Is it part of a trend or happening concurrently with other existing news?
  • Timely – Did it happen (or will it happen) within a two week window of the time the story will run?
  • Local – Is there a local, personal, or human-interest angle?