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What a fine checklist. (Hey Jens, any thoughts on the message on the Brighton bash?) Excuse me if I steal it for my next session with Sussex Post Docs in March. (Are you around?) I step in to add just one more channel to investigate. If the researchers gets money from one of a research council then its press machine is almost certainly better equipped to deal with complicated science than the university team. Good as that may be, it also has to deal with stuff like the VCs housing arrangements. The Research Council may also have the wherewithal to provide the media training that would go with a truly significant story. A really significant "breakthrough" could lead to lots of appearances and interviews. The go-it-alone strategy would leave the researcher vulnerable. As someone else has said, send me the details. In my case, though, I would be brutally honest and tell you if the thing really might fly. (Even without knowing anything about the story I doubt it.) I even promise not to tell anyone else about it. These days, now that I don't have to grab headlines, I hand out advice for free, unless you are a government department or someone with money to pay for it. MK ----Original Message----- From: psci-com: on public engagement with science [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of jennifer gristock Sent: 13 January 2010 19:42 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [PSCI-COM] cracking science story /access to media Some options. There will be others. 1. Issue a press release to journalists via AlphaGalileo [it has been around for 12 years and has a big following. You will need to allocate a little budget for this in the research funding proposal tho] Use web links to more info. http://www.alphagalileo.org/ 2. Contact your press officer who may be able to help, or chat to others at a STEMPRA event http://www.stempra.org.uk 3. Make your research paper (or a similar draft) available in your university's Repository [is that ERIC for Exeter? http://eric.exeter.ac.uk/exeter/ ] or the national alternative, the Depot [http://depot.edina.ac.uk/]. 4. Make a Youtube video that might have the potential to go viral, or be used by interested charities, Facebook Groups etc 5. Go on a Media Fellowship and make personal links with journos by spending time with them http://www.britishscienceassociation.org/web/scienceinsociety/MediaFellowshi ps/ 6. Give a talk at the BA. (Oops! British Science Association) 7. If you think the story has the potential to be big (as opposed to is just something you find extremely interesting) then think about creating some sort of event. If I remember correctly, Stephen Dealler [Google: Mad Cow, CJD] issued a press release, created a press event and issued a paper all on the same day, Or something like that. 8. Get your own science column and keep writing for 12 years or so ;-) best, Jenny G On 13 Jan 2010, at 18:21, Newson, Lesley wrote: > OK. Let's cut to the chase. How can scientists get their stories > heard? Is there anything in place already? Does the Media Expert > Group have this in hand? > > Imagine a scientist has does some work that has been recently > published in a high impact journal ... and attracted no interest > from the media. (But it is not the sort of journal a journalist > would read.) > > The scientist believes the implications of the work are of great > relevance and importance because they suggest that conventional > wisdom on a topic may be deeply flawed. It questions the work and > assumption of most of his/her esteemed colleagues so there is a > danger that people is his/her field will decide to ignore it. > > Because of the complexity (and danger of ruffling feathers) the > story needs to be told carefully. It can't be put in a quick press > release. So going to the university press office is not an option. > > Let's assume that this scientist is not a wacko and the story really > is important. Could this hypothetical humble scientist get access > to the "media gatekeepers"? If so, how? > > > Lesley Newson > > ********************************************************************** > 1. To suspend yourself from the list, whilst on leave, for example, > send an email to mailto:[log in to unmask] with the following > message: > > set psci-com nomail -- [include hyphens] > > 2. To resume email from the list, send an email to [log in to unmask] > with the message: > > set psci-com mail -- [include hyphens] > > 3. To leave psci-com, send an email to [log in to unmask] with > the message: > > leave psci-com -- [include hyphens] > > 4. Further information about the psci-com discussion list, including > list archive, can be found at the list web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/psci-com.html > > 5. 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The psci-com gateway to internet resources on science communication and science and society can be found at http://psci-com.ac.uk 6. To contact the Psci-com list owner, please send an email to mailto:[log in to unmask] ********************************************************************** ********************************************************************** 1. To suspend yourself from the list, whilst on leave, for example, send an email to mailto:[log in to unmask] with the following message: set psci-com nomail -- [include hyphens] 2. To resume email from the list, send an email to [log in to unmask] with the message: set psci-com mail -- [include hyphens] 3. To leave psci-com, send an email to [log in to unmask] with the message: leave psci-com -- [include hyphens] 4. Further information about the psci-com discussion list, including list archive, can be found at the list web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/psci-com.html 5. The psci-com gateway to internet resources on science communication and science and society can be found at http://psci-com.ac.uk 6. To contact the Psci-com list owner, please send an email to mailto:[log in to unmask] **********************************************************************