Author describes these trends that involve communications programs in colleges of agriculture, extension and research programs: mission creep (to more PR), abandoning our roots (in pursuit of high rankings), communication decentralization, professional slippage (off the faculty ladder), administrative disconnect (with communications leaders), insufficient funding for strategic marketing of colleges, lack of increased communication with nonfarm audiences.
"We are not going to reverse trends affecting our profession, but if we can see where they are going, we can position ourselves for the winning shot. This leads to the second point. We need to see the future clearly. I contend that many of the issues described by Whiting are in actuality indicators of two larger trends: an increasingly diverse audience and the need for universities to be more entrepreneurial." Author calls for communications departments and centers to think and act more collectively rather than individually.
Reports on content analyses of Web sites used by Florida agricultural commodity organizations and identifies opportunities for meeting the information needs of media more effectively.
