Recommended
Recommended
More Related Content
Similar to Communicating Research to the Real World through News Media and More
Similar to Communicating Research to the Real World through News Media and More (20)
More from Kara Gavin
More from Kara Gavin (13)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Communicating Research to the Real World through News Media and More
- 1. Talking to the “real world” Kara Gavin, M.S. IHPI Research & Policy Media Relations Manager & Michigan Medicine Dept. of Communication Communicating Research Through Media & More
- 2. Who am I? • Member of IHPI Communications team and the Michigan Medicine Dept. of Communication • Trained in biology, science writing & journalism • Cover health care research, mental health, basic science • 20+ years’ experience publicizing research
- 3. • Find & tell stories • Handle news media inquiries • Push stories out any way I can What do I do?
- 4. Why does U-M have staff like me? • our institution’s work should reach people who care • our expertise can have impact • taxpayers & policymakers who fund research need to know what they’re paying for • most people need science/medicine translated • it’s easier than ever Because…
- 5. You • Papers • Talks/posters • Tweets/posts • Commentaries Comm Staff • U-M/Michigan Med. • School/college • Center/institute/dept. The world • Reporters • Policymakers • Advocates • Clinicians & Patients • Funders/Donors • Professional societies • Industry • General public The U-M communications ecosystem
- 6. Who are we communicating to, and why?
- 7. 1.8% 98.2% STEM ~ 5.7M Everyone else ~310M STEM workforce vs. US population http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2016/nsb20161/#/report/chapter-3/u-s-s-e-workforce- definition-size-and-growth
- 8. Literacy statistics •Average U.S. adult reading level: 8th grade • 20% of adults: 5th grade level or below •40% of older adults •50% of adults from minority groups The Partnership for Clear Health Communication 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy
- 9. Science literacy of American adults •20% can explain how to study something scientifically •34% can describe how to test a drug •55% say that astrology is “not at all scientific” •25% say that genetic modification of crop plants could be “very” or “extremely dangerous.” •56% say animal research is acceptable Science and Engineering Indicators, 2014 report
- 10. What do they think about science? • 89%: scientists want to make life better for average people • 72%: the benefits of scientific research have strongly outweighed the harm • Interest, trust & belief in public funding goes up with education level National Science Foundation Science and Engineering Indicators 2018
- 11. What do they know? •71%: mental illness is a medical condition that affects the brain •69%: a genetic code in cells helps determine who we are •53%: childhood vaccines are safe and effective •31%: life evolved through natural selection AP poll published April 2014; 1,012 adults rated themselves extremely confident or very confident in a scientific concept
- 12. Are genetically modified foods safe to eat? Scientists: 88% Public: 37% Should childhood vaccines be required? Scientists: 86% Public: 68% Is research involving animals OK? Scientists: 89% Public: 47% Did humans “evolve”? Scientists: 98% Public: 65% The survey of the general public was conducted using a probability-based sample of the adult population by landline and cellular telephone Aug. 15-25, 2014, with a representative sample of 2,002 adults nationwide. http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/29/public-and-scientists-views-on-science-and-society/ Public views vs. scientists’ views
- 13. Where they’re getting science info Pew Research Center – Sept. 2017 http://www.journalism.org/2017/09/20/science-news-and-information-today/ 81% watch science-related entertainment media
- 14. Activist legislators • Prominent officials taking aim at ‘wasteful spending’, industry relationships • Controversies, oversight, safety lapses • Staffers may have little scientific background
- 16. Media reporting of science •Shares results of research – much of it taxpayer funded •Changes health behavior & oversight of science •Influences public support of scientific initiatives and legislation •BUT – is declining in quantity as business model changes
- 17. What makes a reporter tick? • Most serve a general audience • Little scientific knowledge • Need to know implications for ordinary people • Most are on tight deadlines • Most have little space/time to tell the story • ALL value their independence • You probably won’t see the questions or their story ahead of time
- 18. Tips for media interactions • Prepare three key points • Have supporting statistics & context ready • Use layperson’s terms & conversational tone • Respect deadlines • Understand the news outlet • Assess reporter’s level of understanding • Respect their independence
- 19. Pitfalls to avoid: • Lacking a core message • Too-casual quotes given as offhand remarks • Wrong pitch at wrong time or to wrong place • Getting chummy with reporters • Assuming too much knowledge • Speaking beyond your expertise !
- 20. Use the time AHEAD of publication The “Scout’s honor” embargo system for research news • Institution/journal reaches out to reporters a few days ahead • Reporter agrees not to publish or broadcast results until a set date/time • Used by all major journals & scientific/medical societies
- 21. The embargo system •Increases the newsworthiness of research news •Gives institutions time to prepare text, graphics, video •Gives reporters time to prepare stories on complex issues, and increases accuracy/balance
- 22. After a news story appears • Thank the reporter • Start to build a relationship for future • Include any requests for correction or clarification if needed • Share their story on all available channels • Do not re-post their stories elsewhere • embed a link (or a shareable video) • Re-share when opportunities arise
- 23. A new era of communication • Traditional news media’s gatekeeper role is eroding • Big institutions are trustworthy news sources • Everyone is a publisher
- 24. Communicating in the age of… • Patients, donors, advocates find info on their own • Social media reaches people directly • Visuals are vital • Rapid response to crisis/controversy is expected If it’s not on the Web, it doesn’t exist!
- 25. 25 michiganhealthlab.org michiganhealthblog.org “Brand journalism” • Our own news organization • Sharing cutting-edge research news & clinical stories • Aimed at professionals & public • Jump on timely news topics quickly • Shared on web, social media and email • Optimized for search engine visibility
- 26. But there can never be enough people like ME to tell the public about what people like YOU do.
- 27. You can communicate directly! • Your own tweets, LinkedIn posts, website • Grant applications • IRB-reviewed materials • Journals and major meetings • Reaching scientists in other disciplines • Talking to donors, legislators • Public events: Nerd Nite, Science Café, Science by the Pint, TED
- 28. Engage directly: Social media for academics Facebook, Reddit, Wikipedia, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat…
- 29. Why do it? • Connect with others in your field & beyond • Raise the visibility of your work • Share new findings, publications, news items, observations, timely links • Engage with individuals & institutions around the world & next door • Get the most out of conferences & events • Raise awareness of YOU for career purposes
- 30. Why else? Altmetrics! • Aggregating activity around journal articles: • media coverage • blog posts • social media activity • policy documents • Traces links to papers & DOI mentions • Assigns a score & percentile • Not perfect! But getting better
- 32. Your essentials • A robust, updated professional web profile •Basic LinkedIn profile • Google yourself/set up alert • Know your PR person & when you should contact us
- 33. Who do you call? • Kylie Urban, Surgery, Transplant, Musculoskeletal • Ian Demsky, Cancer • Haley Otman, Cardiovascular, Neuro, Derm • Kelly Malcom, Basic science, Anesthesiology, Pulmonary/Critical Care, Infectious Disease, Urology, Pathology • Beata Mostafavi, Peds, OB/Gyn, other pediatric topics • Jordyn Imhoff, Endocrinology, Ophthalmology, Nephrology, Rheumatology • Jina Sawani, GI, Oto, Radiology, Med Ed • Nardy Baeza Bickel, Public Health • Laura Bailey, Nursing, Pharmacy • Kara Gavin, Gen Med, Hospital Med, Family Med, Geriatrics, Psychiatry – and IHPI “safety net”
- 34. Your duty as a scientist •Engage with laypeople of all kinds •Speak their language •Listen, don’t just tell •Don’t just hope someone else will do it! •See it as part of your career
- 36. • What are they looking for? • What do they know about the topic? • Why should they care? • Will they understand your jargon, acronyms, abbreviations? Who’s Your Audience?
- 38. Passive voice
- 39. Make it clear who does what: • A frog was swallowed. • Fred swallowed a frog. Avoids awkwardness: • Eye examinations and vision tests are covered in the plan. • This plan covers eye exams and vision tests. Saves time: • The application must be completed by the applicant and received by the financial office by June 1st. (17 words) • We must receive your application by June 1st. (8 words)
- 40. Don’t be afraid of pronouns! •Pull readers into a document and make it relevant to them •Reader needs to do less “translation” •Humanizes scientists •Let you eliminate a lot of words •Your team = “we” •The reader = “you” •Define who’s who
- 41. Jargon (Words that are not in the common vocabulary, or words that people in a certain field use in a different way from how others use them)
- 43. Avoid: •Undefined abbreviations & acronyms • Spell them out, give the acronym, and use it •Multiple terms for the same thing • Brain tumor, brain cancer and brain neoplasm •Strings of nouns •“Surface water quality protection procedures” …and by using illustrations & glossaries
- 44. If you can’t avoid it, EXPLAIN it!
- 45. Does it pass the Dinner Table Test?
- 46. Imagination EmotionsSenses Bring your work ALIVE by engaging the audience’s…
- 47. Testing readability • Flesch-Kincaid readability test: • File Options Proofing • Show Readability Statistics. • Define scientific terms, take them out of the text temporarily, run Spelling check. • If you get a score over 8th grade, revise!
- 48. Confusion
- 49. Place words carefully • Keep subjects & objects close to their verbs • Put conditionals such as “only” or “always” next to words they modify
- 50. Short sentences & paragraphs • More manageable, • Less intimidating • Avoid confusion • White space and headings: clues to what’s important • One subject in each sentence • One topic in each paragraph • introduce your topic in the first sentence
- 51. What should you aim for? • Average sentence length: 20 words • Maximum sentence length: 40 words • One subject per sentence, one topic per paragraph
- 52. Good design helps understanding • Use bulleted lists • Add blank space for easy reading • Show all items or steps in a process • Make a table to save words
- 53. DO NOT WRITE IN ALL CAPITALS. IT IS DIFFICULT TO READ. Instead: Emphasize critical information by putting it in a box Put important words/phrases in bold print Change font color for emphasis Increase the font size to make key info stand out
- 54. During the first phase of your treatment you will be receiving chemotherapy and radiation at the same time, this is also called “concurrent” treatment. This phase will last for 10 weeks and includes six weeks of treatment and a four week break at the end. After the break you will have an MRI and lab work done, and then may start cyclic Temodar treatment, which is discussed in another handout.
- 55. Weeks 1-5 Radiation Monday-Friday Temodar every day Labs/Blood draw once a week Weeks 6-10 Break At the end of the 10th week: MRI and labs Week 11 Start cyclic Temodar treatment
- 56. I need more help! Resources for communicating with press & public https://www.slideshare.net/KaraGavin AAAS Communication Toolkit https://www.aaas.org/resources/communication-toolkit NIH Checklist for Communicating Science & Health to the Public: http://michmed.org/EzD1O Logos, photos, templates: U-M: http://vpcomm.umich.edu/brand/home Michigan Medicine: http://www.med.umich.edu/branding/