6 reasons comms—not IT—should ‘own’ the online newsroom

A story breaks. Reporters call seeking interviews and information.

You can barely keep up with the calls, and the last thing you want to be doing is chasing down IT folks to add updates to your website.

That explains a major shift in organizations’ web presences in recent years. No longer are communicators content to leave the keys to their online presence in the hands of those beloved but harried folks in the computer department.

“In today’s 24/7 news cycle, a brand’s online newsroom needs to be updated constantly,” says Michelle Garrett of Garrett Public Relations. “You don’t want your updates to be just another item on IT’s long to-do list. Giving the communications team the ownership can streamline the process.”

Here are some reasons comms, and not IT, should own the organizational newsroom:

1. Simplify news updates.

Consider Blue Sky, a news site of Pittsburgh International Airport. As federal workers missed their first scheduled payday due to the government shutdown, the airport cranked out a story on serving staffers a free lunch as a thank-you.