“Making Science News”
April 17, 2004, 2-5 PM
Convention Center Room 140A
Chair: Andrea Gwosdow, Gwosdow Associates Science Consulting
The “Making Science News” symposium was offered for the
second consecutive year at EB 2004. Chaired by APS Communications Committee
chair, Andrea Gwosdow, goal of this symposium was to familiarize scientists
with how the media works. APS invited three journalists to discuss the
definition of “newsworthy,” the differences in print, radio and television
news, and useful tips for getting scientific research reported by the
media. A summary of the session follows. Complete handouts and media
samples can be found at below.
Bethany Halford, Ph.D.,
is an associate editor at Chemical and Engineering News. Dubbed “the
news magazine of the chemical world,” CEN is published weekly by the
American Chemical Society. A chemist by trade, Bethany became a journalist
after being an AAAS Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellow. Before
joining CEN, Halford worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
and Prism magazine.
“What Makes Print News?”
For print, newsworthy means subject matter that readers
will find interesting, informative and/or entertaining. Halford looks for
stories that are new and of broad interest. Print news will often times
have more space for pictures and more overall space than radio and
television, so they have the opportunity to tease out stories without regard
to time. They like to receive graphics.
Knowing what makes news for individual media outlets is
the first step to getting research reported. Many times, newsworthy topics
for print publications can be found “in the name.” For example, the St.
Louis Post-Dispatch looks for stories of interest to St. Louisans, while
CEN looks for stories of interest to chemists. Speaking to a
publications readership in a media pitch is also key to getting news
covered. The audience for CEN differs from a general news audience
because they are assumed to be scientist or others well-versed in
chemistry. Therefore, research pitched to CEN should be closely
related to chemistry and should supply a sufficient amount of technical
detail. If pitching a trade publication, one should be sure their research
is in line with the subject matter of that publication. For example,
biomedical research pitches should be made to biomedical trade newspapers.
Some of the best ways to get Halford’s attention are to
contact her before the research paper is released, send information that is
related to her “beat” (subject matter that she typically writes about), and
give her a concise rundown of what the research is and why it is exciting.
She also shared her list of tips for scientists in
communicating with the press, including:
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If you’re working with someone to develop a release
about your research, ask to see the final version to make sure it’s
accurate.
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Always research the reporter who’s interviewing you
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Accept that once the press release is distributed,
you lose control over the type and amount of coverage that it will get.
Henry Fishman, M.D., reports on the health and medical beat for AP
Broadcast. Additionally, he is a medical reporter for WMAL, a Washington,
D.C. news and talk radio station, and hosts a medical television series for
PBS. Fishman is also a practicing allergist.
“What Makes Radio News?”
Even though dealing with the media can be daunting at
first, Fishman asserted that it is a worthwhile undertaking for scientists.
The information that trickles down from the media to regular people
influences the public to support funding for science. Radio is a unique and
fitting vehicle for conveying research. It has the advantage of a captive
audience, since most people listen in their cars. In a distraction-free
environment, listeners are more likely to comprehend and appreciate science
news.
Radio likes topics that affect health, heart and
wallet. Pitch them “news you can use” – stories that have immediate value
and would make good conversation at the water cooler. All of Fishman’s news
stories are between 60-90 seconds and each one must be short and tight.
Often times, he has to distill extremely complex concepts into cute, simple
clips that are easy to digest in a short time period. He cannot include
every detail, so scientists must clearly and concisely explain the most
important points of their research to him.
Fishman, too, stressed the importance of understanding
media audiences. One should always attempt to answer the question “why does
this matter to my listeners?” when pitching a reporter. The Associated
Press, with its diverse audience, prefers news with universal implications
that appeal to all ages. Conversely, WMAL’s has a very specific target
audience between the ages of 35-55, affluent, Caucasian. They prefer
stories that pertain to those listeners. A strong pitch will speak directly
to a station’s audience.
He suggested that scientists work with their
institutional PR departments to present research in a media-ready format.
Fishman also encouraged scientists to acquaint themselves with local
reporters and share their research with them. By doing these two things,
scientists can greatly increase the chances of getting their research
covered.
Kathy Fowler
is the medical and health reporter for WJLA-TV, the Washington, D.C. ABC
affiliate. She has been nominated for two Emmys and has been honored with
an Edward R. Murrow award for her reports about the worldwide organ trade
from desperately poor donors in the Philippines. Fowler also does
newsbreaks for the Discovery Health Channel.
“What Makes Television News?”
With television, one must always keep the visual
element in mind. Television reporters are more likely to cover research
that converts well to film. Controversial topics are more powerful when
told with a human patient attached, so one of the first story elements she
looks for is a patient. She likes her stories to have the “personal hook.”
With typical television news story averaging about 90 seconds, time is also
definitely a concern.
Though she does want the facts, she also wants
scientists to play up some of the more exciting details of the research
(neat ways they did the testing, the implications it could have toward
curing/lessening the effects of a disease). In order to make a good
television news story, there should be a certain level of excitement. She
also encouraged interviewees not to worry about providing the perfect “sound
byte.” A good sound byte is like an exclamation point on your story, but a
clear and complete explanation of the research is what truly makes the
story.
Fowler’s favorite interviews are those where the
scientist has a patient who is concerned about their health, a new method or
therapy that will potentially help that patient and a procedure that can be
performed from start to finish on the air. Though having all these
components is usually beneficial, they are not an automatic formula for a
good news story. If the test is too graphic or if the patient is drugged or
incoherent, a significant amount of reworking may be required to get it
broadcast-ready.
The best way to send your research to a television
reporter is to email a one-pager on the research, do a follow-up call (be
sure not to call within an hour of airtime). An attention-grabbing headline
is also effective in garnering media interest. Since she gets hundreds of
press releases a day, it is important to clearly state a relationship to
other hot topics in the news. She encourages “outside of the box” thinking
when pitching story ideas.
Media Workshop
The second part of the symposium was a workshop led by
APS publicist Donna Krupa. She began with a summary of what the
panelists highlighted as the fundamentals of media and what makes news.
Krupa discussed who at news stations should receive press releases, the news
cycle and the typical shelf life of a news story.
Krupa also outlined eight factors that denote
newsworthiness: Impact – something that happens to a lot of
people; Topicality – useful information people can begin to
use right now or tomorrow); Timeliness – either it just
happened or is about to take place; Proximity – all things
being equal, something that occurs down the street is bigger news than
something that takes place 1,000 miles away; Sensation –
extreme emotions of shock, joy, pain, etc.; Prominence – big
names attract big ratings; Conflict – one party makes a claim,
the other party denies; and Novelty – if a dog bites a man,
it’s not news – BUT – if a man bites a dog, that’s definitely news.
She especially stressed the importance of communicating
research in context with familiar topics and recently reported stories in
jargon-free language. Krupa demonstrated how she got media attention for
newsworthy abstracts by rewording them into plain English. Finally, she
walked participants through the progression of two highlighted research
abstracts that were developed to press releases and were subsequently
covered in Newsweek and on CNN.
Click to view the speakers handouts from 2003:
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