That's why it's really important that the reporter reads the abstract and/or
talks to the scientist as well
Mary
Mary Rice
-----Original Message-----
From: psci-com: on public engagement with science
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Chris Stokes
Sent: lundi 26 juillet 2010 11:14
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [PSCI-COM] The most massive star ever detected is not a
specially giant star
I'm glad someone has pointed this out. Arguing that all media releases must
be signed off by the scientist(s) behind the story is nice and simple and
may work most times, but it is not a silver bullet. Caveat scriptor.
________________________________
From: dianne stilwell
[...] There's been many a time I've had a release for final checking and
have asked "so what does that mean?' to be told that the scientist insisted
on that particular phrase - and that the writer didn't really understand it
- but had included it for the sake of a quiet life/get the thing written
etc. At that point you can:
- leave it - and risk the sorts of misunderstandings that sparked the
present correspondence
- re-write with more explanation - leaving in the phrase to satisfy the
scientist and making it a bit long and wordy - but hopefully more
understandable
- insist on a rewrite, removing the complex phrase and with the manager
perhaps going head to head with the scientist
The options chosen will obviously vary from place to place and person to
person - and a lot will depend on the authority and standing of the comms
team within an organisation. If their status is lowly and they are just seen
as press release machines (and it sounds as if Alison has had a particularly
bad experience) then there's not much chance that an individual release can
be changed - the problems goes deeper and is far more a management issue.
Dianne
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