VIU Media Highlights: January 24 - February 7, 2022

A roundup of VIU students and employees in the news. 

Top 10 News Stories

1. CTV News: ‘We couldn’t quite believe it’: BC researchers baffled after Nanaimo goose spotted in Chicago. Reach: 41.86 million.
2. Yahoo News (reprint of a CBC story): Researchers mystified after Canada goose tagged in BC is spotted almost 3,000 km away in Chicago. Article features an interview with Biology Professor Eric Demers on the tagging project that started in 2016. Reach: 35.1 million.
3. Vancouver Sun: BCHL referee Braiden Epp returns to ice after multiple sclerosis diagnosis. Epp is a Kinesiology student at VIU. Reach: 12 million. 
4. Black Press: Canada goose from Vancouver Island makes it all the way to the Great Lakes. Reach: 3.36 million.
5. Outdoor Life: Vancouver Island Canada Goose flies 2,000 miles to Chicago. Reach: 1.68 million.
6. Daily Hive: Canada goose from BC turns up 3,000 km away in Chicago. Reach: 1.5 million.
7. Nanaimo Bulletin: VIU’s ElderCollege offering more than 100 courses this spring. Reach: 186,330.
8. Nanaimo Bulletin: VIU Mariners win all their volleyball matches to stay unbeaten in new year. Reach: 183,750.
9. Abbotsford News: Abbotsford’s Ava Pearson signs with VIU Mariners. Reach: 234,000.
10. Nanaimo Bulletin: Ladysmith Show n Shine donates extra funds to VIU technician program award. Reach: 180,000. 

VIU News

• VIU News Release: VIU Science and Technology Community Lecture Series for Spring 2022 focuses on Climate Change. CHLY investigating how to re-share content.
• VIU News Release: VIU’s Global Citizens Week Shines Light on Justice Issues. Story picked up by Targeted News Service (behind a paywall) and Nanaimo Bulletin. 
• VIU News Release: Figuratively Speaking: A Journey Through Movement.
• VIU News Release: Indigenous Environmental Advocate Addresses Climate Crisis as a Human Rights Issue. Story picked up by NationTalk. 
• VIU News: 5 Questions with Mark Williams. 
• VIU Blog: What it’s like to be the face of the 2021 fire season.
• VIU Blog: Top 6 reasons you should talk to a VIU educational advisor.
• VIU Blog: Six ways to get involved on campus.
• VIU Blog: Pursuing a lifelong passion for art.

Top-performing Broadcast Story

• A CTV News story about a Canada goose tagged by VIU researchers in Departure Bay, Nanaimo, that ended up in Chicago reached 1.5 million people.

VIU Digest

• Wednesday January 26, 2022:
  • Open rate: 43.9%
  • Most clicked: Engaged Citizens Speaker series registration
• Wednesday February 2, 2022:
  • Open rate: 42.1%
  • Most clicked: Downloadable safety protocol resources

VIU Student Pulse

• Wednesday, January 26 Edition: Open rate: 72%
  • Most-clicked link: Career VIU

Social Media

• Top Tweet: A promo of the sixth Engaged Citizens Speaker Series featuring Sheila Watt-Cloutier, an environmental and human rights advocate, earned 742 impressions.

• Top Facebook post: A post about Biology student Laura Chilson winning the Boursiers McCall MacBain Scholars Regional Award reached 8,748 people.  

• Top Instagram post: A picture of the view from the upper cafeteria of Building 250 with the coastal mountains behind reached 4,560 people. 

• Top Instagram reel/video: A Campus Store swag video reached 8,016 people.