Media Highlights: October 4-18, 2021

VIU students and employees in the news. 

Top 10 News Stories

1. Time Magazine: How COVID-19 Opened the Door to a New Era in Psychedelic Medicine. The Roots to Thrive program co-developed by VIU Nursing Professor Dr. Shannon Dames is mentioned. Reach: 64.6 million.
2. Good Word News (and four others): How Hungry Sea Otters Affect Seagrass Sex Life. This story is based on the same study mentioned in the National Geographic Magazine story below. Reach: 26 million.
3. National Geographic: How Sea Otters Help Protect Underwater Meadows. Dr. Jane Watson, Biology Professor Emeritus, and alum Dr. Erin Foster, co-authored the study this article is based on. Reach: 10.5 million.
4. Ancient Origins.net: First Nation K’omoks Advanced Fishing Traps Revealed in British Columbia. VIU alum Nancy Greene started investigating this while she was still an Anthropology student. She now works as a professional archaeologist. Reach: 1.93 million.
5. Castanet: Chef Behind Penticton’s Twisted Chopsticks Restaurant Shares Immigrant Experiences and Journey. Restaurant owner Harold Cruz is a Culinary Arts alum. Reach: 1.44 million.
6. Hamilton Spectator (reposted by Yahoo News and AP): Memorial Fund Aims to Continue the Good Work of Late Fort St. John Conservation Officer. Tristan Montjoy was a Bachelor of Natural Resource Protection alum. His girlfriend, Michaela Rhees, another alum of the program, is spearheading a fundraising initiative to set up a memorial fund through the VIU Foundation. Reach: 806,000.
7. Times Colonist: Safety Audits Show Some Nanaimo Residents Don’t Feel Safe Downtown. VIU Criminology students worked with RCMP and others to do these audits. Reach: 744,000.
8. BC Local News: VIU Theatre Students Return to the Stage with Modern Shakespeare Adaptation. The department’s fall production is A Drama Class’ Dream. Reach: 178,000.
9. BC Local News: Comox Valley Big Band Seeking New Members. Greg Bush, a Jazz Studies Professor, is one of the members. Reach: 178,000.
10. Nanaimo Bulletin: Vancouver Island University Community Radio Station Celebrates 20th Anniversary. Reach: 174,000.

VIU News

1. VIU News: VIU Researcher Investigating Impact of Plastic Pollution on Deep-Sea Organisms. Story picked up by Environment Journal, Water Canada, and Education News Canada.
2. VIU News: The View Gallery Presents Rande Cook. Story picked up by Nation Talk.
3. VIU News: VIU’s Engaged Citizens Speaker Series Confronts the Housing Crisis. Story picked up by Oceanside News and Targeted News Service (behind a paywall).
4. VIU Community Classroom: Portal’s Portfolio Live Reading Series Shifts to YouTube.
5. VIU Blog: Battling Racism and Discrimination with Art: VIU Kinesiology Student Elise Cole Shares Her Story.

Top-performing Broadcast Story

• A CBC broadcast story about the safety audits that VIU Criminology students were involved with, alongside the RCMP and others, reached 86,000 people.

VIU Student Pulse

• October 6 Edition: Open rate: 77.6%

• Most-clicked link: VIU bursaries – instructions for applying.

Social Media

• Top Tweet: A post promoting the latest Engaged Citizens Speaker Series earned 3,446 impressions.
• Top Facebook post: A post about VIU Kinesiology student Elise Cole’s anti-racism art project reached 5,900 people.

• Top Instagram post: The first @viumariners Monday video (shared from TikTok) was viewed 1,412 times.