Guidelines for contacts with the press

If you are approached by the media

Contact with the mass media often requires a swift response, but you can always ask to get back to them a little later, to give you time to ascertain the facts or consult with your line manager or public information officer, for example. It is usually better to say too little than too much. If a journalist turns up without warning, let him or her in and find out what he or she wants.

If you do not consider yourself to be the right person to answer the questions, try to find the right person who can talk to the journalist – or enlist the help of a faculty public information officer or press officer. The press officer, faculty public information officer and communications officer receive requests from the mass media and forward them as necessary to the relevant manager or expert.

• Once you have been contacted, if possible you should always inform the press officer or faculty public information officer.
• Questions relating to the university's overall operations, such as its budget, major changes, future plans, crisis situations, etc. should be addressed by the Vice-Chancellor, University Director or the manager responsible for the area concerned.
• Each manager has a right and responsibility to respond to questions relating to their own activities.
• A specialist in the subject will speak on other matters.

If you contact the media yourself

• Always inform the press officer or faculty public information officer when making contact yourself.
• The Vice-Chancellor, University Director, communications officer or press officer decide on contact with the press with regard to university-wide issues.
• The Dean decides on and is responsible for contact with the press regarding faculty issues. Please feel free to consult the Vice-Chancellor, University Director, faculty public information officer, press officer or communications officer.
• The head of department decides on and is responsible for contact with the press regarding departmental issues. Please feel free to consult the Dean/office director, faculty public information officer or press officer.
• The office manager decides on and is responsible for contact with the press regarding office activity. Please feel free to consult your line manager, faculty public information officer or press officer.

Division of responsibility for contact with the press with regard to the public defence of a doctoral thesis

The faculty public information officer is responsible for editing the doctoral student's own summary of the doctoral dissertation and sends the summary to the media prior to the public defence of doctoral dissertation.