This digest offers community college professionals insight into the culture and language driving the news media, with an emphasis on newspapers. In an era of increased accountability for resource expenditures, educators may stretch budgets by engaging the mass media as willing and helpful partners in promoting the institutions' identity, programs, and services in the media's regular news coverage. Colleges that have successfully worked with mass media understand that the media may help them not only to promote their programs and services but also to convey their college "identity" within the community. College leaders are most successful when they nurture relationships with mass media whose audiences are similar to the institutions' target markets. For articles that do not need to be timely and are featured in local or life-style sections, the editorial staff brainstorm stories that they believe will be of interest to their audience. It is in this realm of news stories that higher education may glean the most from successful relationships with the mass media. Knowing the news media's audience and how their college programs or services may benefit this audience, higher education professionals may propose ideas for news stories to reporters and editors or producers. (JA)