VIU Media Highlights: November 24 - December 7, 2020

NEWS STORIES 

Top Performing article for the last two weeks:

• CBC News: BC Poet Sings About Being Black in Nanaimo. Features VIU Creative Writing Professor Dr. Sonnet L’abbe. Reach: 7 million people. This story also appeared in the Nanaimo Bulletin.

Other stories:

• Dr. Shannon Dames’ research into using psychedelic drugs to treat PTSD in health-care workers has had a big response from BC news outlets and other sources:
• CTV News: New Psychedelic Treatment Being Used to Treat PTSD in Health-care Workers. Also run on CFAX Radio and Education News Canada.
• Private video production about Shannon’s research project:
• Nanaimo News Bulletin: VIU Experts See Value in Studying Psilocybin’s Effect on Treating Mental Health and Addiction.

• IndigiNews: Jesse Wente Says It’s Time to Tell the Truth (Wente was this year’s VIU Indigenous Speakers Series presenter).

• VIU News: 16 Days of Activism Campaign Aims to Eliminate Gender-Based Violence. Story picked up by:
• Nanaimo News Bulletin
• The Navigator and
• Education News Canada

• VIU Navigator Student Press: VIU Mariners Alum Opens Up About Coaching and Team’s Success.

• News of the new COVID-testing clinic at VIU’s Nanaimo Campus was widespread:
• Nanaimo News Now
• Nanaimo Bulletin
• CTV News
• Times Colonist

• Times Colonist: Post-secondary Schools Shift Focus, Use Software to Prevent Cheating on Exams (Dr. Carol Stuart, Provost and VP Academic, interviewed).

• Times Colonist: Amid Travel Curbs, Some Students Stay Put for Holidays (Richard Lewis, Interim Director, Facilities Services and Campus Development, gave information for this story).

• Canadian Collegiate Athletic Assoc: Female Apprentice Coach Program, Spotlight on Emma Platner.

• My Coast Now: Nanaimo Plants trees in honour of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day (students from the VIU Parks Canada Club involved).

• VIU News: Researchers Developing a Better User Interface for Historical Archive. Story picked up by Education News Canada.

• Atlas Obscura: Why Archaeologists Are Brewing Ancient Beers (featuring VIU Anthropology Professor Dr. Marie Hopwood.

• Vancouver Island Free Daily: Nanaimo Graphic Designer Releases First Children’s Book (featuring VIU alumna Amy Pye).  

TOP PERFORMING BROADCAST STORY: 

• CTV News: Dr. Shannon Dames’ research into treating first-responders’ mental health issues with psychedelic drugs reached more than 1.5 million people.

VIU DIGEST: 

• Wednesday, November 25: Open rate: 50%. Click thru: 16.8%.
• Most-clicked link: Island Health reminder on reducing COVID-19 transmissions
• Wednesday, December 2: Open rate: 51%. Click thru: 8.3%
• Most-clicked link: Food Services (rotational dinner menu)

VIU STUDENT PULSE:

• Wednesday, December 2: Open rate: 57.7% of 7,782 recipients, 2% click-through rate.
• Most-clicked link: Digital Survival Kit & Stressbusters.

SOCIAL MEDIA:  

• Top Tweet: A Tweet about @VIUSU encouraging everyone to attend the End Violence Against Women Virtual Memorial hosted by @psac_afpc reached 764 people: https://twitter.com/VIUniversity/status/1333854133669998595
• Top Facebook post: A congratulatory post about Lliam Broderick, a Master of Arts in Sustainable Leisure Management student who received a BC Graduate Scholarship, reached 5,841 people.
• Top Instagram post: A story promoting VIU Counsellor Noelle Hanuse’s Stress Less Workshop for Students was reviewed by 1,962 of our Instagram followers.