Reporters, producers and photographers: the COVID-19 era requires adjustments to protect the health and safety of everyone, and this includes journalists. Please contact Peter Durantine, director of media relations, at pduranti@fandm.edu or 717-602-4300, to request permission to visit the campus and interview members of the Franklin & Marshall College community. Due to the present circumstances, visitors are not permitted inside any campus building. While the media is considered essential to the community, and therefore an exception to this policy, journalists are required to first contact the media relations director to schedule your visit. If your visit is scheduled, you will be expected to wear a face mask, maintain appropriate physical distancing during your entire time on campus, and follow all relevant College protocols.

Franklin & Marshall College encourages members of the news media to share news about our rich academics and robust campus life. Because F&M is a private institution, members of our Media Relations staff are available to help facilitate access to information that might not be available in online resources. We also are committed to working with news media to facilitate access to our faculty, staff and students with minimal disruption to the core functions of the College, and with consideration to the right to privacy of members of our campus community.

Please note these resources (on this page below) to ensure ease of engagement with members of the F&M campus community:

• How to contact Media Relations
• General conduct on campus
• Attending events
• Reproducing F&M news
• Use of the Franklin & Marshall College name

Other Important Information

All members of the news media interested in capturing images or conducting interviews on College property should visit the Office of Communications to receive appropriate credentials upon arriving on campus. While the College campus and other properties are not public facilities, the College seeks to respond to community needs and the needs of the general public by sharing its resources and facilities when appropriate and possible.

The College is committed to working with news media while remaining sensitive to the central educational purpose for which the College was established. We also remain attentive to the safety of members of the College community.

News Media Contact

The Media Relations staff comprises public relations professionals and former journalists who can answer questions about the College, coordinate interviews and secure locations for video and photo shoots.

If you are seeking an official response from the College, commentary or analysis from a faculty expert, or would like to be added to the news release distribution list, please contact Media Relations Director Peter Durantine.

Athletic Communications

Information about sports and recreation at Franklin & Marshall is managed by  Director of Athletic Communications Justin Grube, in the Department of Athletics and Recreation.

Members of the news media must obtain written permission to capture photographic or video images or audio of individual members of the Franklin & Marshall community. News organizations are asked to respect the right of Franklin & Marshall College students, faculty and staff to decline to be interviewed or photographed in a way that they would be identifiable. 

The exception is events advertised as open to the public for which there is no expectation of privacy of those in attendance.

News media are not permitted to enter classrooms without notifying F&M Communications and securing advance permission from the instructor. News media are not permitted to enter occupied residential living areas at any time. Residences are our students' "homes" while they are on campus, and while a student may wish to grant individual permission to a reporter to enter his or her room, that student is not able to grant permission on behalf of all the students living in that residential facility.

Franklin & Marshall College meetings, activities and events on campus are considered to be private unless specifically designated as "open to the public." Print journalists may attend events designated as open to the public, though registration may be required for some events when seating is expected to be at a premium. Broadcast media may need to secure separate permissions. The College will make every effort to be responsive to media requests to attend public events, but we may be bound by limitations that may be imposed by invited guests with an interest in protecting intellectual property, or attendees who may have privacy concerns. 

It is appropriate for the F&M office organizing and hosting the event, and not the invited speaker or guest, to manage any media relations or outreach to news media regarding events held on campus. This allows the College to respond appropriately to any questions about the venue, and to represent accurately the details and purpose of the event. Members of the news media should consult directly with the College related to guest speakers and events held on campus.

Please check the College’s online calendar (www.fandm.edu/events-calendar) to determine whether an event is "open to the public."

For events requiring security measures, reporters who have not registered in advance likely will not be permitted entry at the time of the event. Also, for events with designated press seating, reporters and photographers will likely be asked to remain seated unless granted permission by F&M staff managing the event, or by advance permission by the event organizers in consultation with F&M Communications.

While on campus, any individual attending an event designated as “open to the public” must adhere to all College rules of conduct, all rules and conditions proscribed for that event, and state and federal law. Members of the general public who are authorized to attend events that are designated as "open to the public" are authorized to attend that event. No authorization is given to enter any building other than the building where the event is scheduled to occur. Members of the public should not interfere with or disrupt any member of the College community while on campus.

In instances in which the College makes any of its facilities available for use by any other group or organization, the group or organization may impose additional limits and restrictions upon attendess of the events it sponsors. The College shall have no liability or responsibility for actions of external event sponsors.

Franklin & Marshall College encourages news organizations and not-for-profit entities to reproduce and disseminate news content appearing on F&M News. This includes news media organizations, schools and educational institutions, foundations, grant-making agencies, and governmental organizations.

These entities may link to or copy full versions of Franklin & Marshall College news stories by including the following credit information.

• When the writer's byline is embedded in the story or copied as part of the reproduced content, the following credit should appear with the story: "News provided courtesy of Franklin & Marshall College."

• When a writer's byline is removed from the story, the following credit should appear with the reproduced content: "[Name of Writer], courtesy of Franklin & Marshall College."

Franklin & Marshall College requires review of the uses of its name in any news releases or other promotional materials when the name of the College is used other than for news, research or documentary purposes. For-profit entities not affiliated with the College  -- such as technology firms, vendors, architects, contractors, marketing professionals, and other service providers -- must consult with the College regarding guidelines for use of the Franklin & Marshall name when including references to the institution or its likeness in information intended for electronic or printed publication or dissemination for promotional purposes.

In addition to news releases, this includes use of the College's name in websites, brochures, portfolios, case studies, advertorials, etc. The College's full guidelines for name-use appear in the Office of Communications' policies section of this website.