Jeff Canning

Maximizing the Value of Media Relations

Jeff Canning brings to Mackey Strategies 15 years of hard-earned and trusted connections with members of the national media, as well as a deep understanding of the newsworthy elements they covet from campuses. As our Vice President and Media Strategist, Jeff helps colleges and universities capitalize on the constantly changing media ecosystem with confidence.

Institutions that get good media coverage know its power to boost campus and alumni pride, elevate reputations, influence recruitment of students and personnel, and bring rightful attention to noteworthy and exciting work. And Jeff knows how to make the most of these opportunities. As a former journalist, he learned from the inside that effective media relations is relational, not transactional.

The impact starts where Jeff always does, with learning deeply about the people, programs, and plans defining your campus and its future. From there, drawing on his vast knowledge of the higher education media world, he identifies ideas with potential, helps prepare the pitch and the interview subjects, offers reporters and editors news of value, and follows through to help you make sure that every placement has maximum value to your institution and the stories it has to tell.

Connecting Academia and the Media

At times, it can seem like the worlds of academia and the media share little common ground. Methodical, deliberate, and contemplative faculty might not fully appreciate the urgent, rapidly changing demands of journalists in a modern newsroom. And yet, the two need each other to fully reach their shared goals of informing the public dialogue.

Fortunately, the chasm can be bridged. Jeff has spent his career distilling complex academic thinking, from publications to presentations, into the most noteworthy findings for lay audiences in terms they can appreciate.

More than that, drawing on the kind of insider knowledge that only years and years of working directly with journalists can build, Jeff helps faculty learn how the media operates, how to spot opportunities in their everyday work, and how to put breaking news into appropriate context for the public.

This combination of hands-on expertise, an eye for a good story, and strong support for faculty has led Jeff and his clients to secure thousands of media placements in top-tier outlets, including:

• The New York Times

• The Wall Street Journal

• The Today Show

• USA Today

• The Washington Post

• PBS NewsHour

• CNN

• The Associated Press

• NBC Nightly News

• NPR

• CNBC

• Marketplace

• The Hill

• Newsweek

• The Atlantic

• The Guardian

Executive Thought Leadership

While the voice of every professor, staff member, student, alum, and administrator can represent a compelling story opportunity, there’s no replacing the value that rests with the president. Whether overtly speaking on behalf of the institution or setting a tone for others to follow, presidents must know when, where, and how best to leverage their public platform.

But a one-off expression of an idea or a vision rarely is enough to break through. Which is why Jeff uses thought-leadership strategy to elevate presidents and their institutions simultaneously. He does so, for example, by supporting

• Targeted media visits in D.C., NYC, and other major metropolitan markets

• Op-ed campaigns that intersect national trends with institutional priorities

• Securing podcast, online, print, and broadcast opportunities

Preserving Hard-Earned Trust and Confidence

Good reputations take years to earn and can be lost far too fast. Jeff has counseled clients amidst some of their most challenging moments to safeguard and advance individual and institutional reputations. Such outside expert support often proves pivotal during a crisis or, in fact, any event or issue that puts at risk the broader mission of the organization. Jeff lives by the principle that approaching these moments with sound ethics and clear intent, organizations and their leaders can restore trust quickly, reassure their campus and wider communities, avoid the risks of further damage, and prove that the institution adheres to its highest values, even when tested.

Education and Values

Jeff earned his B.A. in communication with a journalism option and a minor in history from Waynesburg University. He credits his interest in news and media to the days he spent delivering newspapers after school as a carrier for his hometown paper in Cambridge, OH, during which he loved reading the latest articles to stay informed on local and national news. An insatiable curiosity keeps him eager to learn more, especially when working with leading experts in their field, and drives his passion for the transformative power of higher education for students and our society.