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Submissions & Story Ideas

RIC News is an online publication that includes breaking news, feature stories, arts and entertainment articles and more. The site is produced by the Office of College Communications and Marketing and Web Communications.

Email RICNews@ric.edu to:

  • submit a story, photograph or video
  • submit an idea for a story or make a campus announcement
  • report an error
  • report a problem viewing a page​

Publicity Request Form

This form is intended for offices, departments and organizations on campus to use when they have a newsworthy event or announcement. The information you submit will help OCCM determine how your request may fit into our communications priorities and schedule and what communications channels may be appropriate. 

Publicity requests should be submitted 3-4 weeks in advance of your event or announcement.

Due to the volume of requests we receive, we cannot accommodate all requests for publicity. Filling out this form is not a guarantee of publicity on the part of OCCM. Similarly, if we are able to accommodate your request, our efforts to promote your event or announcement do not guarantee media coverage. 

Please note, this form is only for publicity requests. This form is not a request for design, printing, website updates or other services provided by OCCM. If you are in need of those services, please contact Kimberly Machado at kmachado@ric.edu.

Please read the following FAQs before submitting your request:

How can I tell if my request is newsworthy?

It’s our job to help you figure that out and, frankly, there’s no exact science to this. However, these are some criteria you should consider:

  • Is this something new, unique or unexpected?
  • Is this likely to be of interest to the general public outside of our campus community?
  • Is this something that may not be newsworthy for an external audience, but is new or important enough to promote internally among faculty, staff, students and alumni?
  • Is this event open to the general public and/or expected to be well attended (i.e. 50+ people)?
  • Is this event or announcement likely to have impact beyond Rhode Island College (i.e. a community initiative, partnership with an outside organization, public event, etc.)?
  • Is there a story to be told here? Is there some unique angle, some interesting person, something about this that makes it more than just an event announcement?

What communications channels are available for publicity?

  • RIC News: Our own campus news page on the RIC website where we do features, news briefs, interviews, etc. that are of interest to our campus community and possibly the general public.
  • @RICNews: Our bi-weekly email newsletter sent to faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the college.
  • Social media: The college’s institutional social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
  • Photo/video coverage: Our own media team can capture the day of your event with photography and/or video.
  • Media outreach: Press releases, media advisories and requests for coverage from local media.

Do I get to request what channels you use to promote my event or announcement?

We cannot make every channel available for every request. However, we will work with you to determine which options are within OCCM’s ability to accomplish and are the best fit for your request. 

Does submitting this form guarantee publicity for my event or announcement?

Due to the volume of requests we receive, we cannot accommodate every one. Our team is small and covers a lot of ground. We will work with all departments, offices and organizations on campus to determine which events and announcements are within our bandwidth and best advance the college’s strategic communications interests.

How will I know if my request has been received and you are publicizing my event or announcement?

We will send a short, standard confirmation on receipt of your request. If we determine that your request fits into our communications priorities and schedules, someone from our office will follow up with you directly.

Will you edit or revise what I submit?

Your request is intended to provide the information we need to evaluate your event or announcement. If we determine that your event or announcement is appropriate for one or more of our communications channels, we may edit or revise your submitted text to best fit that channel.


Page last updated: November 13, 2020