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The presentation of accurate, timely information to the
public is critical to institutional advancement. For the LSU School of
Veterinary Medicine, an effective public relations program is a critical
component to encourage interest and investment in the School’s
programs; to educate the public in both veterinary medicine and public health
matters; and to respond to public inquiries in a forthright, professional and
truthful manner. The following guidelines are provided to assist and ease School
of Veterinary Medicine personnel when called upon to respond to media inquiries.
SVM personnel should refer any
type of media inquiry (phone call, fax, e-mail, etc. from either print or
broadcast media sources) to the Office of Public Relations (Ginger Guttner,
225-578-9922, e-mail gguttner@vetmed.lsu.edu),
prior to responding to the request for information or an interview. SVM
personnel should not make statements to the media without contacting the SVM Office
of Public Relations, regardless of media deadlines. Interviews will be scheduled
with the media to allow for a public relations representative to be present
during the interview.
When it is initially suspected that an event/situation will
prompt media attention and inquiries, the SVM Office of Public Relations will meet
with the Dean and the appropriate SVM personnel to formulate a written media
statement and to plan the School’s
response to the media. If an event/situation may have potentially negative
public relations implications, the media response should come quickly and
accurately. The SVM Office of Public Relations, with the Dean, will determine who
will be the spokesperson for the School regarding the particular
event/situation.
The
SVM Office of Public Relations will meet with SVM personnel
prior to the actual interview to anticipate questions and formulate appropriate
responses. When appropriate, a media statement and any reference materials will
be prepared to distribute to the media during the interview. Photo ops will be
determined in advance of the interview.
All responses to the media should be confined to that
person’s area of
expertise and responsibility, without providing personal speculation or opinion.
Issues of a sensitive nature (police investigations, zoonotic disease outbreak,
bioterrorist or animal rights threats, etc.) will be discussed in advance to
determine the level of confidentiality that must be maintained. In all cases,
the response must be sensitive to protecting privacy issues of LSU students—see
PS-30, Privacy Rights of Students (Buckley Amendment)—faculty and staff, as well
as sensitive to matters that might compromise research or investigations.
A patient’s
medical record is considered a legal document owned by the School of Veterinary
Medicine. Information contained in a patient medical record in the Veterinary
Teaching Hospital and Clinics can only be released upon written authorization by
the owner and the attending clinician, or upon court order or subpoena.
The
SVM Office of Public Relations will notify and work with the
LSU Office of Communications and University Relations on responses to media inquiries.
Please see
Communicating With the Media on the LSU
Communications and University Relations website.
The Office of Public Relations maintains a log of run
dates/times of all media pieces in both print and broadcast.
Page last updated
05/13/2010
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