Presented to the University of Michigan IHPI Scholars, February 2021

1. Researchers,
Reporters &
Everything in Between
Using the communications
ecosystem to extend
your work’s reach

2. Who am I?
• Michigan Medicine Department of Communication
• IHPI communication team
• Trained in biology, science writing & journalism
• 25+ years’ experience communicating about research

3. • Find & tell stories
• Handle news media inquiries
• Push stories & info out any way I can
• Help IHPI researchers with
communication strategy & tactics
What do I do?

4. Why does U-M* have staff like me?
• So we can reach people who care
• So our faculty members’ expertise can have impact
• To be accountable to taxpayers & policymakers
• Because most people need research translated for them
*and lots of other places too

5. Why should you work with us?
Engaging with professional
communication staff & reporters
enhances the odds that your work &
expertise will reach people who can
act on them, now & in the future.

6. You
• Papers
• Talks & posters
• Tweets & posts
• Commentaries
Comm
Staff
• U-M/Michigan Med.
• School/college
• IHPI
• Center/institute/dept.
Reporters
• Policymakers
• Advocates
• Clinicians & Patients
• Funders/Donors
• Professional societies
• Industry
• General public
The U-M
Communications
Ecosystem

7. What does the public know?
•71% extremely/very confident: mental illness is a medical
condition affecting the brain (21% somewhat confident)
•69% extremely/very confident: a genetic code in cells
helps determine who we are (22% somewhat confident)
•53% extremely/very confident: childhood vaccines are
safe and effective (30% somewhat confident)
•31% extremely/very confident: life evolved through natural
selection (24% somewhat confident)
AP poll published April 2014; 1,012 adults rated confidence in a scientific concept

8. 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/
Their views vs. scientists’ views

9. Researchers & policymakers
• Policy should be based on evidence
• Formal testimony, informal
conversations, service on advisory
committees, briefs & one-pagers
• Staffers may have little or no
medical/scientific background
• Tendency to seize on controversies
and what’s in the news

10. For 200 years…
• Information flowed to the public
from officials via gatekeepers:
• News media
• Entertainment & publishing industry
• Educators & librarians
• Journalists as the ‘fourth estate’ of society
• Academic research & PR since WWII

11. The news media’s goals
• Serve the public interest
• Inform their outlet’s target audience
and hold their attention
• Be first, best or most compelling
• Operate within medium’s constraints
• Build audience
• Sell advertising (often based on clicks)

12. 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
• Respond within hours or redirect them ASAP
• Most have little space/time to tell the story
• Reductions in staff and space/airtime have made it worse!
• ALL value their independence
• You probably won’t see the questions/story ahead of time

13. Tips for media interactions
• Prepare with PR person
• three key points
• Use layperson’s terms
• avoid jargon, speak colloquially
• If there’s a press release, use it
• Respect deadlines
• Understand the news outlet & reason for request
• It’s OK to say no to some requests/do some by email
• Respect their independence

14. Can you pass the Thanksgiving Table Test?

15. 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

16. Preprints & “science by press release”
Do
research
Compile
results
Give talks
or posters
Write
papers
Get peer-
reviewed
Make
changes
Get
published
Maybe
publicity
Traditional medical & scientific process
Do
research
Compile
results
Write a
preprint
Post to
server
Get peer-
reviewed
Make
changes
Get
published
Seek
publicity
Accelerated/altered path since COVID-19
Journalists or
social media users
Press release
but little data
“Raw” version
online
Occasional
publicity

17. Pitfalls to avoid:
• Going into interviews without a core message & caveats
• Too-casual quotes given as offhand remarks
• Getting chummy with reporters you’ve worked with before
• Pay-to-play schemes
• Assuming too much knowledge on reporter’s part
• Going ‘off the record’ or ‘on background’
• Speaking beyond your expertise
!

18. Important reminders:
• Involved with industry/spinoffs? Disclose to communicators
& reporters; keep a bright line between roles
• Asked to comment on someone else’s work?
You can say no – but tell reporter who else they can contact
• Log your media hits for your CV. Share them on social media.
• Thank & compliment reporters –
even if you’re also asking for a correction/clarification

19. Track activity via Altmetrics
• Aggregates activity around journal articles:
• media coverage
• blog posts
• social media activity
• more
• Traces links to/mentions of papers by DOI
• Assigns a score & percentile
• Not perfect! But getting better

20. A New Era
The traditional news media’s gatekeeper role &
business model are eroding
Social & crowdsourced platforms, and search
engines, have gained incredible power

21. Everyone can be a publisher.

22. But…
The “old guard” news media & their newer cousins still create
or influence much of the content shared on these platforms.
Though reporting staffs are smaller, they still use the
journalistic information-gathering approach.
Institutions have become publishers too.

23. Who are the communications staff?
Three media relations “front doors”
• Michigan News
(All research/education except Medical School)
• Michigan Medicine Public Relations
(Clinical, Medical School research/education)
• U-M Public Affairs (institutional ‘sticky’ issues)
First point of contact for reporters and faculty
(Not always required – but a good idea!)

24. • Acts as matchmaker & goalie
for faculty/reporter contact
• Covers assigned beats
• Creates & distributes stories
• Gets your approval on what
they write
Your media relations person:

25. • Major papers accepted/scheduled
• Expertise related to breaking/
forthcoming news
• Reporter contacts you directly
• Others want to involve you
in their media efforts
When to contact your PR person:

26. IHPI: Investing in communication
• Staff: Communication manager, Government Relations (2), Media Relations,
Writer, Designer, Communication specialist
• Channels: Website, member profiles, news articles, issue briefs, Twitter,
LinkedIn, internal & external newsletters, videos, graphics, digital signs
• Training: Twitter, LinkedIn, Government Relations, Opinion Writing

27. U-M: Schools/colleges,
centers/institutes, departments/divisions
Outside: VA, journals, funding
agencies, professional societies,
conference organizers, companies,
advocacy groups, disease-specific
groups
Other communicators

28. 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

29. Write for
• Platform to reach the public on timely topics
• Articles created by academics, shaped by professional editors
• Open copyright for republishing
• Routinely republished by major media outlets
• Easily shared via social media and the web
• Authors can see data on views & republishing

30. I challenge you…
• Learn to speak their
language.
• Don’t just hope
someone else
will do it!
• See it as part of a
research career.

32. Creating your personal “brand”

33. Every researcher’s essentials
• A robust, updated
professional web profile
• Know your PR person &
when you should contact us
• Basic LinkedIn profile
• Google yourself/set up a
Google alert for your name

34. Take it to the next level
• Claim Twitter handle, write a
brief bio & link to your page
• Share links & posts on LinkedIn
• Write a “plain English” web
blurb on your research focus
• Post/tweet about each paper
you publish/talk you give

35. On the record. The information can be used with no caveats,
quoting the source by name.
Off the record. The information cannot be used for publication.
Background. The information can be published but only under conditions
negotiated with the source. Generally, the sources do not want their names
published but will agree to a description of their position.
Deep background. The information can be used but without attribution.
The source does not want to be identified in any way,
even on condition of anonymity.
Definitions

36. Legal Liability?
“It is the University’s policy to defend and indemnify employees who become
parties to legal proceedings by virtue of their good faith efforts to perform their
responsibilities of employment.”
http://www.spg.umich.edu/policy/601.09
Recent U-M General Counsel advice to a faculty member
who was asked to comment on a controversial treatment:
“Commenting in your professional capacity regarding the risks, benefits, potential
results, etc. of a particular treatment or procedure would constitute actions taken
in the course of your employment (as opposed to in your personal capacity)
and if done in good faith would entitle you to the protections of the policy.”