Popular Science: Why Communicating Research Matters

1
Popular ScienceWhy Communicating Research
Matters

• Oct.23, 2006
• Chip Rose
• Asst. Director of Media Relations
• UMBC
• www.umbc.edu/NewsEvents

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Why Communicate w/ the Public?

• Hurricane Katrina Most Public Interest in Earth
  Science in Decades
• Global Warming Becoming Public Policy Issue
• California emissions deal signed by Governator
• An Inconvenient Truth

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Why Communicate w/ the Public?

• Death Taxes
• Its their money, its their planet
• Stem Cell Research, Extreme Weather, etc.
• Policy becomes personal

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Avenues Opportunities
Baltimore Sun Weather Blog http//blogs.marylandw
eather.com/
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Avenues Opportunities
Baltimore Sun Weather Blog http//blogs.marylandwe
ather.com/

• Frank Roylance
• Covers all things in the sky

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Baltimore Sun Health Science

• healthsci_at_baltsun.com
• Send honors, awards, promotions (and a photo) for
  Names in the News

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Blogs

• One of our research groups landed a CNN slot just
  by publishing their research on their blog.
• Blogs get Googled, Reporters Editors Google
  stuff they dont know.
• Blogs written by scientists
• http//www.realclimate.org/
• (climate change science)
• http//cosmicvariance.com/
• (physics astrophysics)

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Old Media Blogging or Online More

• http//blog.sciam.com/
• Scientific American
• http//www.newscientistspace.com/home.ns
• New Scientist Space
• Etc.

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Tips to Get Your Story Noticed

• Do your homework
• Read where youd like to be read.
• Learn reporters beats, what theyve covered
  recently, their voice and target audience.
• Connect to regional or national trends

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Think Visually

• Why should YouTube be all Diet Coke Mentos?
• NASA News Knows Images are Key
• A good photo can help your chances immensely
• Local TV loves a good photo-op, be creative
• We can help with on-camera training for TV
  interviews

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Become a News Junkie

• Hot Issues
• Big Bang, Darwin, Religion Science
• Anticipate tomorrows headlines, or even better,
  next weeks
• Respect Reporters Deadlines
• Exposure is great, but be prepared to be on call

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Writing Popular Summaries

• Average Newspaper Audience Reads at Middle School
  Level
• Avoid Jargon
• Explain Technical Terms if You Must Use
• Analogies, size, shape, etc.
• Sensory Detail Paint a Picture

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Writing Popular Summaries

• NY Times Science Page is Great
• Read the Leads
• Fourteen years ago, when a Berkeley astronomer
  named George F. Smoot declared that he and his
  satellite, the Cosmic Background Explorer, or
  COBE, had detected the astrophysical equivalent
  of the fingerprints of God, his euphoria was easy
  to understand.

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Stigma?

• Even Nobel Prize Winners Get Asked Tough
  Questions
• On NPRs Science Friday, Astrophysics Nobel
  Winner George Smoot got asked
• What did the Big Bang look like?
• http//www.umbc.edu/NewsEvents/PhotoGal/scifriday.
  mp3

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Best Way to Convey Results

• Power Point is Fine
• Inconvenient Truth Started as PPT
• Main thing is Making Analogies Everyday Folks can
  Understand
• While Letting Your Passion Shine Through