Citing the shrinking pool of traditional news outlets, MiraCosta College has jumped into the water by launching its own “online news” website.
The Oceanside-based school follows the trail blazed by other local schools, including public-relations sites at San Diego State and UC San Diego. They also label themselves “News Centers.”
The new website — at miracosta.edu/news — highlights college news, events, award-winning publications and features links to the college social media directory, media assets, press clips and featured students and staff.
“As news industry has changed and local coverage has shrunk, organizations must be both content producers and content providers,” said Cheryl Broom, director of public and governmental relations, marketing and communications. “This is why we built this site — to ensure the community can continue to receive up-to-date information about the college.”
In 2012, U-T San Diego dove into the trend of taxpayer-supported “news centers,” focusing on San Diego County’s information website.
“The County News Center is a manifestation of a lesser-known counter-trend: a surge of government communicators to fill the void left by the media — or exploit it,” the U-T said.
“Nationwide, the number of government PR workers more than doubled from 2003 to 2011 while the number of reporters and correspondents fell by a quarter, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There used to be one government PR specialist for every four reporters in America; now the relationship is almost 1-to-1.”
MiraCosta officials say the new site is designed to entice visitors to “explore” and encourage them to learn more about the college.
The center was created by the MiraCosta College Public Information Office in collaboration with Academic Information Services and launched in mid-February. The site is viewable through multiple platforms including desktop, tablet and smartphone.
