Webinar

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Webinar September 21, 2006
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• Every scientist has a responsibility to
  communicate with the public.
• Thomas Lovejoy, President, H. John Heinz II
  Center for Science, Economics and the
  Environment former Chief Biodiversity Advisor to
  the World Bank

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• Dealing with global climate change is a dominant
  concern for scientists and engineers, but is
  viewed as less important by other groups.
• The Pew Research Center For the People and the
  Press, November 2005

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Scientific literacy in the United States (and in
other countries) is fairly low. Science and
Engineering Indicators 2004
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Pseudo-scientific beliefs continue to
thrive. Science and Engineering Indicators 2006
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When asked if scientists have a positive or a
negative effect on society, the overwhelming
majority of respondents (more than 8 out of 10)
said they had a positive effect Science and
Engineering Indicators 2006
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Only 16 percent of scientists are interviewed or
written about by journalists more than once a
year. Worlds Apart, 1997
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50 of scientists polled by the UCS report having
difficult or disappointing experiences with the
press.
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Ten hours of network news coverage contain
about ? 10 minutes on culture and arts, family
and parenting, the environment, and
transportation ? 22 minutes on accidents and
disasters ? 7 minutes on education ? 14 minutes
on healthcare ? 74 minutes on government
matters ? 97 minutes on foreign affairs The
State of the News Media 2004
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If there were a newspaper the way many
scientists would like it, nobody would read
it. Andrew Derrington, University of Newcastle
on Tyne
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If you had to explain your research in 10 words,
could you say it righter than the journalists
do? Andrew Derrington
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Staying out of the fray is not taking the high
ground it is just passing the buck. Stephen
Schneider, Stanford University
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Communicating Effectively
3. Becoming a source 4. Communication tools

• Key Messages
• 2. Interview techniques

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not simplistic.
Simple
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One hallmark of intellect is the ability to
simplify, to make the complex easy to understand.
Anyone can be unclear.
-Paula LaRocque, former writing coach, Dallas
Morning News
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Four ways to make the complex easy to understand

• 1. Develop 3-4 key messages
• 2. Remember your audience

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Four ways to make the complex easy to understand

• 3. Avoid technical or scientific jargon
• 4. Prepare sound bites to describe research/views

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Put main message into perspective
The research is "the strongest evidence of global
warming in the Arctic so far."
- Josefino Comiso, senior research scientist,
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Decline in
Winter Arctic Ice Linked to Greenhouse Gases The
Washington Post September 14, 2006
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Speak from the heart
"I thought, wow, this was a gold mine. - Ray
Huey, University of Washington evolutionary
biologist Disturbing global warming data seen
in fruit flies Houston Chronicle September 3,
2006
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Paint a picture
It's like taking a bottle of champagne and
rather than removing the cork in a careful way,
smashing the whole bottle after giving it a good
shake first. That would be the May 18th eruption
of Mount St Helens. - Jon Blundy, vulcanologist
at the University of Bristol Vulcanologists
closer to 'holy grail' of predicting violent
eruptions through changes in magma The
Independent (London) September 7, 2006
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(No Transcript)
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Analogies and metaphors They are like the
buttresses of the high cathedral. If you remove
the buttress, the cathedral will collapse. -
Jose Rial, University of North Carolina
geophysicist Greenland's Ice Sheet Is
Slip-Sliding Away Los Angeles Times June 25, 2006
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Put numbers into context
The sun provides the Earth with more energy in
an hour than the globe consumes in fossil energy
in a year. James Barber, professor of
biochemistry at Imperial College, London The
power of Popeye Could spinach harness the sun's
energy and solve our fuel crisis? The Herald
(Glasgow) September 5, 2006
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• Speak in the vernacular (use clichés)
• "We rely a great deal on various tropical models.
  But all models are not created equal.
• Chris Hebert, a hurricane forecaster,
  Houston-based ImpactWeather
• Hurricane models arent perfect, but
• Houston Chronicle
• Eric Berger
• September 4, 2006

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• Make an astute quip
• Its a No Ice Ball Left Behind policy.
• Mike Brown, planetary astronomer, California
  Institute of Technology
• Plutons? Brown dwarfs? A new crowd in the solar
  system.
• Christian Science Monitor
• August 17, 2006

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Tips for Effective Interviews
1. Do your homework Before every interview, ask
the reporter these questions What is the topic
of the story? What is the reporters angle?
When is his or her deadline? If the interview
is for television or radio, will it be live,
recorded live but played later, or edited? When
and where will the interview take place? Who are
the reporters other sources?
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Tips for Effective Interviews 2. Interview when
youre ready
Even if the reporter is on a deadline, ask if you
can talk in 10 minutes so you can prepare your
main messages and sound bites.
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Tips for Effective Interviews 3. Repeat, Repeat,
Repeat Unless you are on live radio or TV,
every interview is edited. Take control of how
you are edited by driving home your main points.
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Tips for Effective Interviews 4. If you stray
off course, bridge back to main message
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Tips for Effective Interviews 5. End interview
on your terms. Many reporters are willing to go
over passages, especially technical passages, to
ensure accuracy. Edie Lau, Science Reporter,
Sacramento Bee
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Tips for Effective Interviews 6. Never speak off
the record. 7. Never guess. 8. Emphasize
qualifications. 9. Dont get angry.
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Tips for Effective Interviews 6. Never speak off
the record. 7. Never guess. 8. Emphasize
qualifications. 9. Dont get angry. and
always follow up if a story comes out badly.
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The more scientists and journalists talk outside
the pressures of a daily news deadline, the more
likely it is that the publicthrough the
mediawill appreciate what science can and cannot
offer to the debate over difficult questions
about how to invest scarce resources or change
personal behaviors. - Andy Revkin, climate
reporter, The New York Times
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Cultivating Reporters

• Target an individual, not media
• Email comments after stories
• Set up lunches, meetings, etc.
• Prepare messages and remember to speak simply

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• op-eds
• know when to write an op-ed
• 500-700 words
• tie it to something locally
• simple language
• have an opinion

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Letters to the Editor
Keep it short Amplify a message Rebut someone
elses opinion Point out a mistake or
omission Make a statement about lack of
coverage Never forget your credentials and
contact information.
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If you have any additional questions or comments,
email ssi_at_ucsusa.org
Order the book at http//www.ucsusa.org/publicatio
ns/