From peer-to-peer to public communication / MAITRE
FROM
PEER-TO-PEER
TO
PUBLIC
COMMUNICATION
Practical information for scientists interacting with the media
The media have a key role in bridging science to a large public. Yet communicating can easily get lost in translation. The problem stems from the media's over-simplification or the insufficient involvement from scientists when communicating to the public. Based on the mutual respect for one anothers roles, journalists and researchers can profit from a cooperative relationship. Media training can provide scientists with the skills needed to confidently use these channels to talk about their work.
From peer-to-peer to public communication / MAITRE
CONTENT
1. Engaging
vs.
Communicating
2. Why
should
you
get
involved?
3. Understanding
the
media
4. Guidelines
when
dealing
with
the
media
5. The
science
of
storytelling
6. How
to
grab
the
journalists
attention
7. Answering
media
requests
8. Choosing
the
right
medium
From peer-to-peer to public communication / MAITRE
A
different
language
is
a
different
view
of
life
Gustave
Flaubert
1.
Engaging
vs.
Communicating
Addressing your scientific research to the public is what is usually known as science communication i.e. one-way information, participation, and dialogue, in which the sender tells and the receiver listens. Engaging the audience in the communication process however, embraces more than just telling and listening. Nowadays the concept of science communication has shifted to sharing a cornucopia of mutual knowledge and open dialogue with the public. Engaging means searching for opportunities to communicate directly with the audience and discuss the implications of your work. Unfortunately, the kind of communication scientists normally use when talking about their research, does not necessarily foster the publics engagement. Public communication has different requirements and takes place in a different context, outside of peer-to-peer scientific communication. Successfully engaging and exchanging ideas with the public requires taking all of these differences into consideration. Only then will the general public be able to believe that your stories ring true, instead of coming across as a bunch of hypotheses, data and empirical observations.
From peer-to-peer to public communication / MAITRE
Everything
should
be
made
as
simple
as
possible,
but
not
simpler
Albert
Einstein
2.
Why
should
you
get
involved?
Whether it is your own work or from your field of study, it is only natural for you to want to communicate your research to the public. However, it is important to keep in mind that whatever the reason for deciding to do so, if you are not able to transmit your message with passion, it will be very difficult to obtain the expected results. The great paradox of science today is that even though we live in a hegemonic culture, science literacy still remains quite low. The relation between science and society has changed enormously. In the past, communicating science with society was an option, whereas today it has become a necessity. The scientific community alone no longer handles important decisions involving scientific research. Often such decisions are presented to the general public, whose opinions are later reflected in the way the media and politicians behave. 4 Because of this, there will always be a difference between people who have a deeper knowledge of scientific issues than compared to the rest. Nonetheless, communicating science will foster a more solid relationship with the public based on trust. For this reason, if you are able to get your message across clearly to the media, then you stand a much better chance of witnessing an accurate outcome and in turn of communicating important information with millions of people.
From peer-to-peer to public communication / MAITRE
3.
Understanding
the
media
Who
are
the
media?
The media is the collective term for newspapers, magazines, radio, television, websites, and online platforms. Commonly, especially in journalistic jargon, the media is defined as an alleged fourth power, because of the fact that it can have an eventual influence on public opinion. For example, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are a good illustration of a health and scientific controversy, in which the media play a central role in shaping public opinion. This is why both journalists and the scientific community have a responsibility to make sure that research is communicated accurately.
What
is
news?
Generally speaking, it is the relevance and the implication of everyday life occurrences that make science newsworthy. Often scientists and journalists have different opinions on how important a fact is. Winning a grant to fund your research might be great news for your university or research centre, but it will not mean that much to the public, who will be more interested in your research results. If you wish to communicate through the media, then you need to know what journalists consider to be a newsworthy piece of information. News can be defined as something that is new, odd, surprising, conflictive, and/or prominent and likely to affect a lot of people. All in all, it is stories about potentially life changing and new developments that will be likely to produce headlines in the national and international media. 5
We
expect
a
new
disaster
with
each
newspaper
we
read
Abraham Lincoln
From peer-to-peer to public communication / MAITRE
How
do
media
work?
When dealing with the media, you should be aware of both the constraints and the values of journalists and media professionals.
Importance
The more a scientific message influences our way of living, the more interest it creates, hence the more important it becomes. Journalists are very aware of this importance factor. The public appreciates concrete benefits and more than anything else they appreciate whatever might have an impact on them in the most direct way.
Deadlines
You need to have respect for the deadlines that journalists have when working. Try to respond promptly to media enquiries. If a journalist says that they need information in a couple of hours, they usually mean it. If you offer to find necessary information for journalists, be sure that you can meet their deadlines.
Emotion
Emotions and feelings are an indispensable factor for every line communication. It is the emotions that spark and trigger the reader or listeners interest into reading a story.
Competition
Scientific stories have to compete against other stories that appear each day. The news editor will make the final decision about whether a scientific story should receive coverage after the story has been written.
There is no news like bad news
The media always welcomes good news, but bad news has a higher chance of selling and peaking the publics interest. Unfortunately, most scientific news tends to fall along the lines of good news.
Frequency
Frequency allows journalists to prepare themselves for covering an event beforehand. On the contrary, in science, by definition, discoveries are not predictable. The media appreciates the continuity of news, as it will be in the spotlight for a while.
The fame factor
The media appreciates stories that can be linked to an important person or place. For this reason, it is stories; such as who won the Nobel Prize, that always make the news, even if the research that the prize is awarded for dates back many years ago.
Contextualization
How relevant is a story to every day life? The closer a topic is to the context in which we live in, the stronger our level of interest becomes. On the contrary, if the topic seems remote, it is crucial for the journalist to understand how to relate it to something their audience will consider relevant.
From peer-to-peer to public communication / MAITRE
4.
Guidelines
when
dealing
with
the
media
The below-listed points should help you be better prepared for any situation, in which you have to deal with the media.
Why
communicating?
It is essential to have a clear concept of what you want to pursue. Why do you want to use the media? Why do you want to communicate? Do you have a defined objective? Be clear about the role you want to play. Having a clear aim helps to evaluate the category of people you want to address and how successful you have been.
Know
your
audience
Knowing the people you are addressing is a basic rule of communication. Which media outlets are these people likely to use and what papers do they read? This information will help you determine what media outlet would be best to approach. Think about the impact your work might have on the audience or readership.
Assess
the
service
you
can
offer
Communication should not be deemed as the simple opportunity to explain to the public what interests you as a scientist. When possible, offer the public something interesting, even if it is only marginally tied to the main topic. If you talk about genetically transmitted deafness, for example, it is useful to give information about new instruments being researched that will help discover the disorder at birth.
Facing
the
press
is
more
Assess
your
opportunities
difficult
than
bathing
a
In science, news is not as important as the maturation of a line of research. In this case, a curious piece of leper
news might represent the opportunity to talk about
Mother
Teresa
of
Calcutta the rest as well. I.e. the detachment of a large iceberg might represent the opportunity to talk 7
From peer-to-peer to public communication / MAITRE
Choose
a
clear
message
Once you have clarified your objectives, selected your audience and analyzed your opportunities, you should focus on the message. The message is the synthesis of what you want to communicate, i.e. the essential content that should be learned and remembered by the receiver. For this reason, everything in your line of communication must contribute to getting your message across to the public.
Make
what
is
difficult
easy
Offer your audience a challenge that they can handle. If further simplification means distorting the message, then you should go no further. On the other hand, if thoroughness means that the message will be lost, greater simplification is needed.
Keep
it
short
and
simple
Remember to keep your message short, simple, and clear. Explain your work in everyday terms and avoid using scientific jargon. If you have to use a technical term, explain what it means.
Despite
mi
horror
for
the
press,
I
would
really
like
to
rise
out
of
my
tomb
every
ten
years
or
so
and
buy
a
few
newspapers
Luis
Buuel
From peer-to-peer to public communication / MAITRE
It
is
not
the
voice
that
commands
the
story;
its
the
ear
Italo
Calvino
5.
The
Science
of
Storytelling
Even if it has been translated so that the general public can understand it, science communication should not just be a compilation of data and listed information. You should be able to turn you abstract into something that the rest of the world can embrace and fully appreciate. You need to be able to turn the non-natural into natural and to turn what wants to be said, into what the audience wants to hear. You should be able to tell us a story! First, start off by creating a story along your line of research. You must find a theme that raises peoples interest and, furthermore, that stirs their emotions. Second, help the public to effortlessly follow this theme throughout the whole communication process. Finally, close the story by going back to the initial point with which you began your narration, thus finalizing a narrative circle. This last point is normally what is most easily recalled, and what will continue to echo in their minds. If you manage to tell a story whilst communicating your research, you will be providing broad audiences with an entryway into an otherwise cumbersome scientific subject.
From peer-to-peer to public communication / MAITRE
6.
How
to
grab
the
journalists
attention
Institutions increasingly employ press officers to act as a bridge between researchers and the media. For many press officers, a press release is the main way to communicate with the outside world. Even if your institute or research centre has a press office department, you might also find the following information useful. Place the conclusion/findings of your research at the top of the page, i.e. the news with all the essential information. A good press release needs to include the following main points in the first paragraph (not necessarily in this particular order) WHAT have you done? WHY is it important? WHO did the research? WHEN did you do it? WHERE did you do it? HOW did you do it?
The
press
release
The press release is the first tool to use when you do not have direct contact with a journalist yet. Journalists receive a huge number of press releases every day, so if the first paragraph is not clear or does not grab their attention, it will go straight into the bin. For this reason, the order of presenting information in a press release is the reverse of that in a scientific paper.
In the paragraphs follow, you can put in information that may be useful in order to understand the context of the topic, but that is not necessarily essential. Complementary information and data can appear even further down in the press release.
If
one
tells
the
truth,
sooner
or
later
one
will
be
found
out
Oscar
Wilde
10
From peer-to-peer to public communication / MAITRE
Check
list
when
distributing
your
press
release
Paste the release into the email body. Do not send it as an attachment. Keep the formatting clear, simple, and readable. The email subject should be the press release title. BCC the journalists, don't CC them. Your media list should be confidential. If distributed to daily newspapers, avoid sending your press release on Sunday. Use EurekAlert and/or AlphaGalileo to reach international audiences. Use phone calls wisely. Do not follow up with a phone call unless you have additional information for the journalist.
Is
the
journalist
in
need
of
more
material?
Once your press release has grabbed a journalists attention, you should be willing to provide them with more material, which will help them to write a good story. Keep in mind that you might even be asked to give them an interview.
Nothing
shocks
me,
I
am
a
scientist
Indiana
Jones
11
From peer-to-peer to public communication / MAITRE
7.
Answering
media
requests
Journalists often contact scientists to provide them with an interview or to have them explain something in further detail. A journalists request is an opportunity for you to reach out to the general public. When being contacted by a journalist, keep the following tricks in mind:
Help
get
your
story
published
The journalist has to like your story. By the same token, their editor in chief also has to like it. Help the journalist to understand the meaning of the news, so that he/she can convince their editor in chief of the same thing.
Be
prepared
Before the interview takes place, try to find out what the interview will be about, who the audience and the interviewer are, if the interview will be live or pre-recorded, what the interviewers angle on the story is, and if someone else has been invited.
Trust
the
judgment
of
the
journalist
After journalists approach you, make a note of their full contact details, as you never know when you may have a story that you can take to them. If a journalist contacts you to comment about a breaking story, you could offer to write an opinion piece or give an interview if time and space allow. Make the most of your journalistic network.
Practice
Whether it is for print or broadcast media, rehearse your message with a family member or friend. Avoid practicing with your colleagues because they may ask you questions that they are interested in, rather than what your targeted media audience may want to know.
Quotes
Bear in mind that journalists working on tight deadlines will only have a narrow space of time to check quotes, so try to make sure that you are easy to contact. Know that the outcome of a 30 minutes interview may be just one or two short quotes.
Journalists
constraints
Journalists always work under tight deadlines. Try to answer their requests as soon as possible. If you offer to find useful information for the story, make sure you can get it in time.
Corrections
If, when a story appears, you have been misquoted, you should write to the journalist, explaining your concerns. If you are unable to achieve a satisfactory resolution, then write to the editor for whom the journalist reports. If you are still not satisfied with the outcome, you should contact the relevant media watchdog.
Keep
it
simple
Explain your work as simply as possible and with the easiest words you can use. If you must use a technical term, explain its meaning. Also try to use as few numbers and statistics as possible.
12
From peer-to-peer to public communication / MAITRE
The
medium
is
the
message
Marshall
Mcluhan
8.
Choose
the
right
medium
The media have to be used for a means and not as an end. Therefore, you ought to be familiar with some of their main characteristics.
Radio
Radios communication is direct and more in depth. Radio can induce listeners to listen close and carefully. It allows for a wider choice of topics than television. Researchers have easier access to the radio through interviews. It is a medium that uses few intermediaries between the scientists and the public. Listening to the radio does not interfere with other activities, so it can provide background information.
Television
Television is the only medium, which can speak to a large audience. The speed under which it operates gives the audience little time to understand the information. With a few exceptions, scientific stories on TV should only explain the fundamentals. TV is usually perceived as a form of entertainment. It can be very effective in stimulating interests to learn, directing the public towards other useful media outlets like magazines.
13
From peer-to-peer to public communication / MAITRE
Our
plans
fail
because
they
do
not
have
an
objective.
If
one
does
not
know
to
which
port
one
is
sailing,
no
wind
is
favourable
Seneca
Press
Scientific news faces a strong competition due to the limited space. Specialists are more often disappearing from the news selection process. Science journalists are often external collaborators depending on the decisions made by those who work inside the newspaper. To appear in good newspapers, it is important to have a press office, which knows what is behind the choices made by the newspapers editors. In recent years, the influence that advertising and marketing have on the newspapers orientation has increased.
Online
media
More people can publish stories online thanks to its simplicity and the almost nonexistent cost for printing and distribution. The contents published online remain available forever. Just being on the Web is usually not enough to be seen. A site must be well made, constantly updated, and be linked to other sites. Nowadays online platforms should offer a channel of communication with society and not be used for just internal use. The main uses of science on the Internet are online versions of newspapers and institutional sites for research institutes and newsletters.
14
From peer-to-peer to public communication / MAITRE
Other factors to consider when selecting the medium
The
language
&
topic
factors
Each media uses a different language and lends itself more to certain topics and less to others. It is much easier to talk about ethology on television than on an online newspaper, and yet the opposite can be said about human genetics, for example. It is more straightforward to show the personality of a scientist on the radio than on TV, whereas a simple experiment from physics can better be demonstrated in a TV programme. What influences the choice of subjects is also the size of the public. On television you deal with subjects that can really interest everyone, while on the web you can talk about any topic, even if there are only a few people in the whole world interested in it.
The
time
factor
When selecting a medium, time becomes a key factor, as well as the way it is used. Whereas the radio is listened to in the morning, television is usually watched in the evening. If daily newspapers are skimmed and read quickly, more time is dedicated to the specialised press. A press agency or a website can run a piece of news in just a few minutes; on the other hand, a weekly could take up to a few days.
Science
often
explains
the
familiar
in
terms
of
the
unfamiliar
Lewis
Wolpert
15
From peer-to-peer to public communication / MAITRE
This brief manual will not make you a science communicator. It aims to provide you with the necessary tools you should be aware of when interacting with the media.
For further information contact:
MAITRE
project
coordinator
MINERVA Consulting & Communication Katja Legisa Katja@minerva-communication.eu maitre@maitreproject.eu
MAITRE
media
training
coordinator
European Journalism Centre (EJC) Cristina Romero romero@ejc.net maitre@maitreproject.eu Keep up-to-date with MAITRE: www.maitreproject.eu @maitreproject Maitre project 16
