Missouri State University

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New Media Task Force 

Final Report

May 1, 2008

The charge to our task force as stated in your memo dated Jan. 25, 2008, was to “consider Missouri State’s new media efforts and make recommendations for the future regarding all aspects of new media.” Further, you charged us with four specific tasks:

  • An evaluation on the current level of Missouri State expertise and activity in new media, both in academic and non-academic settings;
  • A recommendation for new media activities that we should treat as priorities, with a plan for subsequent phasing of other priorities;
  • An evaluation of current staffing with any changes in number, organizational structure, etc.;
  • Any additional one-time or on-going investments to implement a new media plan successfully.

The task force first met on Feb. 27, 2008. After a general discussion, task force members agreed to survey their respective areas and invite individuals from those areas to future meetings in an effort to help bring clarity to the current situation and to discover any ongoing activities, prior to focusing on specific recommendations. The task force met a total of eight times over a 10-week period.

The university areas interviewed/surveyed included: student affairs, athletics, alumni relations, development, administration and academics. In addition, the task force gathered information from support groups, including broadcast services, computer services and photographic services. Discussions related to the new media aspects that might be included within the instructional domain in academic affairs, however, were excluded from the task force’s consideration.

The task force also met to examine and discuss new media applications and uses at other universities. (See Appendix A.) In addition, the task force reviewed the staffing levels and organizational structures at benchmark institutions to better understand how they facilitated new media development. (See Appendix C.)

Finally, the task force co-chairs both attended a two-day New Media Boot Camp in Chicago, offered through the Public Relations Society of America, in order to gain a broad understanding of new media applications and trends.

Recommendations presented in this report represent an ideal solution for the implementation of new media on the Missouri State campus, to be phased in over a two-year period. A summary of requested funds for FY09 and FY10 is listed in Appendix B.