Media management of corporate university media in the USA as a public relations tool of a university (using the example of Ivy League University media)

Shuiskaya Yuliya Viktorovna ORCID: 0000-0002-6752-3063 Doctor of Philology Professor, Department of Theory and Practice of Journalism and Modern Media Communications, Institute of International Law and Economics named after A. S. Griboyedov  111024, Russia, g. Moscow, ul. Shosse Entuziastov, 21, of. 322 shujskaya@yandex.ru Other publications by this author     Aref'ev Nikita Alekseevich Master, Department of the History of Journalism and Literature, Moscow University named after A.S. Griboyedov 66a Zeleny Prospekt str., Moscow, 111396, Russia nikar99@yandex.ru Vlasova Mariya Vladimirovna Master, Department of the History of Journalism and Literature, Moscow University named after A.S. Griboyedov 66a Zeleny Prospekt str., Moscow, 111396, Russia maxavv@yandex.ru

Shestov Nikita Aleksandrovich Master, Department of the History of Journalism and Literature, Moscow University named after A.S. Griboyedov 66a Zeleny Prospekt str., Moscow, 111396, Russia badpolitik@mail.ru

Student mass media represent a unique and distinctive form of mass media, which traditionally attracts the attention of researchers. Thus, in Russian science, student newspapers, magazines, TV channels and Internet media of various universities are considered in terms of their methodological usefulness ^[19], design ^[17], student image ^[10], stylistic features of the language ^[18], role in maintaining the brand of the university ^[9], etc. The fundamental research of N.D. Grebennikova presents a scrupulous analysis of the student press of the USA ^[11] from the mid-70s to the 2010s. At the same time, there is no generalization of the experience of the US university student press in the aspect of the formation of the image of the university and the transformation of the media from a local to an authoritative source at the national level in domestic science. In this regard, the analysis of the university press of colleges and universities of the so-called "Ivy League" seems to be an urgent task. It is significant that in the current realities of the convergent press, when the paper edition is accompanied by the media content of the website, the Ivy League university media maintain continuity with the tradition of the university and position each graduate and teacher to whom the material is dedicated as a member of the university community. In order to characterize the typological features of the Ivy League university press and extrapolate their experience to domestic university media, a review analysis of the content of the websites of the relevant newspapers and magazines for 2022 was carried out, taking into account the difference in the frequency of publication: some universities have their corporate media monthly, some have daily. In order to identify the "face" of a particular university in the display of its press and the principles of its formation, 12 issues were selected from each media outlet, for daily and weekly – during the period of the active admission campaign, May-July 2022.

 The Ivy League is an informal association of the oldest universities in the United States, which includes "eight educational institutions: Brown, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, Pennsylvania, Princeton Universities and Dartmouth College. Most of them were founded before the declaration of independence of the United States. Nowadays, it is from here that the path to the political Olympus begins not only for Americans, but also for many representatives of the world elite. Although educational institutions themselves are called the Ivy League today, their student sports teams originally bore this name"^[7]. In Western rankings, these educational institutions often occupy leading positions, and members of the American political elite are, for the most part, graduates of these universities.

The attractiveness of Ivy League universities is based not only on the traditions of these universities, their prestige and the level of training of students, but also on their self-positioning in the information space. The oldest newspapers and magazines of Ivy League universities are an example of the university press, and many of the publications have become an integral part of the American media system and the global media industry.

In this sense, the relevance of this research is due to the need to study and analyze the specifics of the "paper" media of the "Big Eight" in order to understand the mission and goals of modern university periodicals in the context of the rapid development of new media and online social platforms. The experience of the oldest universities can be useful to domestic universities, student press and professional corporate publications.

The basic principles of Ivy League university press were laid down two centuries ago. Of course, newspapers and magazines of universities are rapidly developing, transforming into multiplatform media; the content of such publications is successfully monetized. However, it is traditions that are the determining factor of their popularity not only in student and teaching environments, but also on a more global scale.

The Ivy League was originally an informal association with no purpose of developing education or cooperation. As a result, it unites universities that are extremely different in their concept and orientation, which prepare students in various specialties and directions. The composition of universities is extremely diversified.

Despite the criticism of the Ivy League system, many future students and their parents are inspired by its universities. The university press, which writes about student life, plays an important role in creating the media image of the university.

To date, the media assets of Ivy League universities typologically consist of newspaper and magazine periodicals, non-periodicals, new media and social media accounts.

The effectiveness of educational and educational processes in educational institutions depends on the information available and relevant to students. In addition, student media partly form the civic position of future professionals in various fields. University media are necessary in order to cover both intra-institute events and, in general, what interests students and teachers in the most comprehensive and versatile way. In addition, it is important to tell students about the opportunities that a particular university provides. And finally, the university press allows you to demonstrate the creative abilities of students.

That is, the university press is information resources created by students and teachers for students and teachers. Thanks to such media, the information space (ecosystem) of the university is created, which directly affects the image of the institution.

Bolkunov A. believes that "the university press is corporate newspapers and magazines that officially tell about the life of the institute, the target audience of which is the administration and teachers of this university, and the peripheral audience is students and applicants" ^{[8, p. 84]}. Ivy League universities attach great importance to the image of the university, and their own media in this context is a necessary attribute of the university's corporate policy and a tool of public relations of this university.

According to T. Krasnova and E. Prudnikov, the main tasks of the university newspaper are: creation of an information space that forms a favorable image of the institute; education of a civic position; originality and creativity in the presentation of information; representation in the newspaper of the heads of the structure, teachers, showing their principles and positions ^[14]. The press of Ivy League universities forms a positive image of the university, gradually creates the impression of an intense student life and forms a desire to join the university community.

The university press of Ivy League educational institutions is a collection of print and online media belonging to the type of specialized publications. The concept of such publications is inextricably linked with their belonging to the university space. At the same time, it is interesting that such a press, as a rule, does not go beyond the target audience of the university, its future students (applicants) or graduates.

The university press, as V.V. Maksimov notes, has a focus, first of all, on those who study directly at this university: "Firstly, the staff of a particular university should be named as the target audience of this type of media. ... If we take into account that the average number of members of a university corporation numbers several tens of thousands of people, who are also distributed in the continuum of university life so that gaps in time and space arise between people, small and large groups, then it becomes clear that it is simply impossible to do without a lot. It really allows you to unite all those involved in corporate life by promptly informing about what has already taken place and what is planned in the near future. Here, in the visible space of the weekly newspaper, the most essential, interesting and useful things are reported quite densely and clearly" ^{[15, p. 133]}.

R.V. Zinin also points out the need for a certain target audience in university publications: "The indisputable advantage of such publications in the field of culture is the high coefficient of trust in the source of information. An important distinguishing feature of this channel is the segmentation of the target audience, which allows you to create content that maximally takes into account the socio–psychological characteristics of the consumer, his requests in the field of culture. This provision opens up broad prospects for attracting advertisers to publications" ^{[12, p. 101]}. 

In the version of the 2020s, the Ivy League press appears in the following format: each university has a kind of central media in print (usually a magazine or newspaper) and a convergent website accompanying it with the ability to include video clips, photos, etc.

According to scientists, university media are designed for a strictly defined audience. And to this audience, the information provided by the media should be relevant. In the case of the university press, it is an appeal to the target audience of potential students and current students, as well as graduates. Ivy League university newspapers and magazines are characterized as follows:

1.                 These are newspapers and magazines aimed at the audience of teachers and students as the "first order" and the audience of applicants, graduates and their relatives of the "second order";

2.                 In the current realities, the press of all Ivy League universities is printed publications, an expanded and augmented convergent version of which is presented on the relevant websites;

3.                 The team of creators of these media includes a variable part, consisting of enthusiastic students, and a permanent part - professional journalists and editors;

4.                 The mission and purpose of these media is to cover the activities of students and everyone related to universities as much as possible. None of these media outlets covers news of a federal nature or international news, unless a student, professor or graduate of the relevant university takes part in them.

Taking into account the needs of the modern audience, the following parameters are also characteristic of the newspaper and magazine periodicals of the American universities of the "Big Eight":

1. The traditional formats of "paper" media are taken as a basis.

2. Not only the informational, but also the educational and cultural environment of universities is being formed.

3.                 Interaction is carried out between producers and consumers of content.

4.                 Media elements are interconnected and interdependent.

5.                 The transition of one element of the system affects the modifications of all the others.

6.                 Each of the elements of the university's media system is "a rather complex composition that meets the needs of students and teachers" ^{[12, p. 101]}.

All these elements of the university press ecosystem are dynamic and large-scale. That is, the information chain can be arbitrarily long, interpretation can be polar, and communication and media services affect both individuals and entire communities.

At the Ivy League University, the "core" of the media system includes not only websites, but also monthly or weekly full-color magazines. The main objectives of such publications are storytelling and attracting a new audience through high-quality and useful content. According to S.G. Korkonosenko ^{[13, p. 94]}, the essence of the role characteristics of journalism is precisely to identify a number of social responsibilities that the media performs in accordance with public requests and expectations. Journalism (including university journalism) is by its nature social and therefore is designed to carry out its activities in the name of the fullest possible interaction of various segments of the audience.

Thus, the Columbia University magazine “Columbia Magazine” has been published since 1978, and its main audience is certainly students and graduates of this university. The magazine is published four times a year. In order to form the image of a Columbia University student, the magazine writes about the achievements of current and former students in various fields. Usually such materials are accompanied by an indication of the code of the group to which the hero of the article belongs. Along with the attention to the success of students and graduates, the magazine pays close attention to the coverage of the life of the university campus with a focus on the continuity of the traditions of the university.

In general, Columbia Magazine focuses on covering the scientific life of the university and research conducted by the faculty and students. These articles take up most of the content of each issue. Special attention is paid to the athletic success of students and graduates.

Thus, Columbia Magazine forms an appropriate image of a student/graduate of Columbia University – this is, first of all, a talented and very successful young man. He achieves impressive results in politics, science, art, and sports. And, at the same time, he always remains a representative of the university: even graduates of previous years must indicate the numbering of the group in which they studied in order to emphasize their belonging to the legendary university.

Columbia Magazine is published quarterly, in color, in each issue from 98 to 116 pages. The content of the magazine is the successes of Columbia University graduates and students in all fields: science, sports, art, etc. The magazine is not distributed in retail, it is designed mainly for internal use.

Harvard Business Review is a magazine with weekly issues and a regularly updated website. It is distributed in different countries of the world, including Russia, and the subject matter of the materials goes beyond the success of graduates and includes economic materials, business stories

“Harvard Business Review” has become a broad-profile magazine that has already moved beyond the format of the internal university press. It has become a magazine of broad business topics, already related to economic issues. The topics of overcoming the crisis, dealing with the consequences of the pandemic, various expert answers to questions and life hacks are raised. For example: "Peace in the soul: how to cope with stress and start acting. In turbulent times, it is important to pay attention not only to external events, but also to the internal state — your own and others. In order not to break down, not to fall victim to circumstances, to preserve peace of mind and strength for growth and development, it is necessary to monitor one's own emotional state and lend a shoulder to loved ones, maintain a friendly atmosphere in the team and help each other cope with stress" ^[16]. In fact, today it is more of a business magazine than a sample of the university press, but the connection with the brand of the university and its graduates is maintained through the name of the magazine

Yale News is also one of the oldest student media outlets in the United States. The newspaper has been published since 1878. Today, this publication is part of the university media holding. The content of the newspaper in many ways resembles the concept of “Columbia Magazine” – it also highlights the academic and scientific achievements of graduates and students of Yale University. The materials in the newspaper, on the publication's website are accompanied by a video interview, an audio podcast. "Yale News" is no longer just a "paper", but a modern convergent media.

The Daily Princetonian has been published since 1876 and is the second oldest university newspaper in the United States. Compared to Yale News, The Daily Princetonian devotes significantly more pages to the issues of Princeton student life: its correspondents talk about various holidays and everyday life at the university, describe the details of student parties, publish student comics.

The content of the newspaper is designed specifically for an intra-university audience. As a rule, this is not necessarily a description of outstanding achievements of graduates, but also of ordinary student life. The format of the newspaper is much less academic: there are jokes, cartoons, comics.

The circulations of university newspapers range from 10 to 25 thousand copies. The circulations of different issues also vary depending on the events – for example, on the days of the issues, when the university receives a large number of guests (parents of graduates, relatives, etc.), as well as on the days of conferences and events, when a lot of external guests who are not related to the university come, the circulation of the newspaper increases, since the issues are distributed for free, in the hands of everyone.

Each newspaper of Ivy League universities can have its own face: for example, “The Daily Princetonian” is a newspaper about the life of the university, its local news, holidays and recreation, devoting much less time to science issues. “Penn Today” highlights issues of public policy and science, which in many ways do not correlate with the topics of graduates and students of the university. General issues, political and public news are covered.

Yale News widely covers issues of student life – social and scientific, conferences, meetings and various official events. This is a newspaper that resembles The Daily Princetonian in its content, while having a more official character.

Thus, a favorable atmosphere is formed in leading American universities for the self-realization of young amateur authors and professional journalists. Student editorial offices are beginning to compete with professional newspapers and magazines in their efficiency and quality of publications.

In general, the paper periodicals of Ivy League universities are quite successfully implemented as a business model, which gives it the degree of independence that allows the editorial offices of university newspapers and magazines to publish resonant materials and be active actors in the US information space.

Ivy League universities, being a kind of isolated environment, have a complex of specific unique media practices, which are influenced by the peculiarities of intercultural relations, due, in turn, to the presence of students from different countries. That is why most of the newspapers and magazines of the Big Eight universities are characterized by an optimal balance of thematic, stylistic representation, content content and media architecture.

Ivy League university publications have two main informational tasks that somehow affect the formats of newspapers and magazines. Firstly, the target audience of the university press traditionally refers to students and the teaching staff of a particular university. Newspapers and magazines really make it possible to unite all those involved in university life by promptly informing about what has already taken place and what is planned in the near future.

Secondly, the second task should be to influence a diverse group of readers who do not belong to the community of a particular institution, but show interest in its activities, traditions, sporting achievements, and so on.

One of the essential features of the Ivy League university press is their extreme closeness to the audience – for example, in “The Cornell Daily Sun” or “The Daily Princetonian” there is no significant difference between the authors of texts and their readers: anyone involved in the university has the opportunity to write and publish an article or comment.

Finally, the oldest fundamental universities of the New World are aimed at transmitting their values, ideals, standards and norms to society, state institutions and representatives of the business elite. That is, a kind of "narrative attitude" acts as the basic communication strategy of the Ivy League universities' media, which manifests itself in the form of careful and consistent building of their own history, in the art of creating myths around Yale, Harvard and Princeton. Thus, "university media are interpreted as a space of inter-discursive interaction" ^{[15, p. 131]}.

The experience of Ivy League university media management is extremely valuable for the organization of the domestic university press, which forms the image of a student and/or graduate. In domestic practice, there are no cases of transformation of student media into municipal or federal media with the preservation of continuity and tradition. In part, this phenomenon should be associated with the absence of "city–forming universities", common in the realities of the United States, as well as with the discreteness of the history of the press, characteristic, among other newspapers - for example, the newspaper "Kommersant" is a renewal of the project of the same name that existed before the revolution, etc. Accordingly, the experience of the Ivy League student media narrative and the main message of historical continuity can be applied as the foundation of student media in the modern history of the state. Student newspapers and magazines in Russian practice are usually an initiative project of students and teachers themselves, in many cases are not supported by the university administration or are not known to it. The experience of generating news and recreational content with a focus on the achievements of people related to a particular university could help, among other things, in shaping the domestic and international image of the country's largest universities.