There and Back: News Director Returns to UC Merced

If James Leonard looks familiar, you’re not experiencing déjà vu.

 

Leonard works in University Communications as director of news and social media, and it’s his second time working at UC Merced. He first joined the campus in 2010 as a senior public information representative and was later promoted to news director. 

 

In 2012, Leonard left to become a senior writer at California State University, Stanislaus, his alma mater. During his time at CSU Stanislaus, he learned a lot about the differences between the CSU system and the University of California and developed a strong appreciation for the role both institutions play in the region and state.

 

Leonard returned to Bobcat country in December when his former position opened up. While he was already acquainted with UC Merced, a lot had changed in the 2 1/2 years he was gone.

 

“The transition has been made easier because I was already familiar with a lot of the staff and faculty members here, and that made coming back more exciting,” said the Modesto-born married father of two. “I’ve come to learn about all of the interesting things happening at UC Merced and have a good understanding of why the university is here and what our strengths are.”

 

Leonard recently discussed his role with Panorama.

 

I manage the team responsible for the news stories and videos on the UC Merced website, the university’s social media channels and our media relations efforts. When people ask what I do, I say my job is to help build a positive reputation for the university and to maintain that reputation. 

 

We all know how great UC Merced is. Our job is to make sure everyone else — including prospective students and faculty members, parents, the community, elected officials and donors — has an image of the university that is positive. We want everyone to know the effects the campus is having on students, the region, the state and the world. 

The most rewarding thing is when our team is able to write an article or produce a video or capture a photo that helps tell the university’s story to an audience that has never heard of UC Merced or maybe isn’t aware of what we’re doing here. Our goal is to raise awareness of and support for UC Merced. When we’re able to do that, it benefits all of us. The work our team does goes a long way toward building a positive perception of the university. 

 

I think our biggest challenge is how new UC Merced is. It’s not as widely recognized as other universities that have been around much longer. Our task is to get the word out about who we are and what we’re doing here. But that also can be an advantage — as a new campus, and an innovative campus, we have a unique story to tell that older universities don’t have.

 

Another challenge is how the traditional media landscape continues to change. Newsrooms are smaller and have fewer resources. That puts a greater importance on us in telling our own stories and producing Web stories, photography and videos. It allows us to get the word out about UC Merced, even when traditional news outlets focus their attention elsewhere.

 

We launched the new gateway site last summer but continue to work hard on revamping and re-launching secondary websites. We also have some exciting new video projects we're working on, including the "Discover UC Merced" video series. And we’re continuing to work with faculty, staff and students to make sure we’re telling all the stories there are to tell at UC Merced.

 

I ran for city council in 2010, which was a fun and interesting process. I didn’t win, but I learned a lot. And in a previous life, I covered (San Francisco 49ers quarterback) Colin Kaepernick’s last high school football game. I started my journalism career covering high school sports in the Central Valley. While at the Tracy Press, I covered a playoff game between West High in Tracy and Pitman High in Turlock. I remember Colin being tall, skinny and a pretty good player, but West High got the better of him that night.