Understanding the Media

The Challenge of Media Relations

The media is unfamiliar territory for many people. Without experience, it's difficult to anticipate what a reporter will ask and how the material will be presented to the public. This difficulty is compounded for research scientists and engineers, who often fear being misquoted or having work presented out of context.

The Theme of this Section

The media operate according to rational and predictable rules. News organizations want to present fair and accurate coverage, not harm your reputation. By understanding the motivations and constraints of news organizations - and by using a few simple techniques - you can dramatically improve your ability to attract enlightened and accurate coverage.

What is News?

News organizations are in the business of entertaining as well as informing and educating. Consequently, reporters look for stories that will entertain and intrigue their audience, as well as impart new information.

The Human Story Within the Science Story

News stories, even those dealing with esoteric aspects of science, are ultimately human interest stories. Their currency as news depends on the ability of the researcher and reporter to find and convey the human story within the research story.

Some fields of research are more newsworthy than others. It is relatively easy to identify the human implications of research on nutrition, medicine, biology, seismology and environmental studies. Similarly, engineering stories often have implications for lifestyles and jobs.

Scientists in more theoretical fields, such as physics and chemistry, may find it more difficult to attract news coverage. Those who succeed often relate their work to the larger enterprise of science and its implications for society.

News Is Often Local or Linked to Current Events

Research that has a local "angle" is of particular interest to the media, for example, marine and fisheries research in the Maritimes and British Columbia, agricultural science on the Prairies, and mining and metallurgy in mining communities.

Sometimes events will make a field of research intrinsically newsworthy. The movies Jaws and Jurassic Park created considerable interest in shark research and palaeontology. The public's interest in fisheries research has been sparked by the disappearance of groundfish stocks, while the spread of AIDS and other diseases has created considerable interest in such fields as virology and immunology.

Research in Progress May Be News

A corollary of this is that a research project does not have to be completed to qualify as news. The purpose and findings of a research project at mid-point may be newsworthy today, but not in two or three years when public interest in the subject has waned.

The Constraints of News Reporting

News organizations work under several constraints. By understanding them, you can help the reporter produce fair and accurate coverage. Here are three key pressing limitations on news coverage, according to reporters interviewed:

The Limitations of Time and Space

Print and electronic media often face severe limitations of printing space or broadcast time. At the same time, their audience has limited time to read or to view news or current affairs. For those reasons, the reporter's role is to simplify the world for the reader in the same way that physicists seek to simplify complex phenomena with a few underlying principles. Every news story, for example, contains at least one major point, but rarely more than three. Thus, a reporter will be looking for the one to three major points about your research, expressed as simply, directly and colourfully as possible.

Unfortunately, misunderstandings result because researchers often fail to understand those limitations and expect that every word, fact and figure will be faithfully reported. That is simply not the reporter's role.

The Limitations of Deadlines

All reporters work to a deadline. It may be a strict daily deadline in the case of a news reporter, or even an hourly deadline for radio and television reporters. On the other hand, a feature writer with a newspaper or magazine may be working with deadlines a few days or even weeks away. Reporters will appreciate your thoughtfulness if you ask them for their deadline and then do your best to help them meet it. If you cannot provide answers by the deadline, tell the reporter.

The Limitations of the Reporter's Knowledge

No matter how sophisticated a reporter may be - and some science writers are very well informed - he or she will probably know next to nothing about the details of your field of research. Be prepared to take the time to explain what you are doing using the same concepts and language as you would in teaching a first-year class. The reporter in turn will prepare a story using language that can be understood by the average junior high school student - the comprehension level of most news stories.

Working with Different Media

Most researchers are familiar with various media and their differing approaches to news and current affairs. You should also be aware that different media - print, radio, television - have very different expectations of you as an interview subject.

Print

Print stories may be hard news or features, sidebars or columns. Hard news is an objective treatment of a new development or breakthrough. A feature treats a subject in depth and provides more opportunity for the writer's own conjectures. A sidebar is a short item that relates to a feature story. A column, of course, appears on a regular basis under the byline of a specific reporter. You should find out before the interview what type of story the reporter is working on. The more information you have, the easier it is to help the reporter prepare an accurate story.

A reporter will usually want to interview you over the telephone or in your office. In some cases, the reporter will also be interested in photographs. If your work does not lend itself easily to photography, prepare a simple illustration that simplifies your research.

Don't shoot the reporter! Editors, not reporters, write the headlines for their story. If you feel the headline does not accurately reflect the story, the reporter probably agrees with you. Similarly, it is the editor, not the reporter, who decides whether or not to attribute the reporter's name or byline to the story.

Television

Television, for the most part, deals not with issues but with images supported by brief bursts of sound. This is a medium in which "visuals" - moving images of people, nature or machinery - are as important to the story as your words. An in-depth story may run no longer than three minutes. You may be interviewed for half an hour, but your words will likely be edited down to 30 seconds.

The key to getting your message across on TV is to use brief, direct and colourful language. Your most important points should be the punchiest and most memorable. Otherwise they may be edited from the broadcast.

A television interview might be shot in your office or laboratory, in the studio, or at another location. You can usually discuss the questions beforehand with the reporter. If the interview is being taped - rather than broadcast live - you can usually ask the reporter to repeat questions if you want to rephrase your answers.

Media advisors counsel men to avoid wearing white shirts and stripes, and women not to wear heavy jewellery when appearing on camera. While this is good advice, we also suggest that you wear clothes you feel comfortable in, prepare for the interview and then relax and enjoy it. And always remember to look straight at the reporter during the interview!

Radio

Radio is a fast-moving news medium. Reporters frequently work against deadlines of an hour or less. News interviews tend to be very brief and are tightly edited before broadcast. Understandably, reporters prefer to interview people who keep remarks concise and direct. As with television, active verbs and colourful metaphors are most likely to survive the editing process.

Radio features have a slower, more relaxed pace. With features, radio becomes a story-tellers' medium, ideal for those with a gift for conversation. Many stations broadcast feature programs of a half hour or an hour in length, sometimes combined with phone-ins. These may be aired live or taped in advance.

Local Stations vs. Networks

Radio in Canada is broadcast locally, with the primary exception of CBC and Radio Canada. An interview on these two networks may be broadcast locally, regionally or nationally. Similarly, television interviews may be taped for broadcast locally or nationally. Find out whether the reporter represents a local station or a network, as it may influence your remarks.

General vs. Science Reporters

Reporters have varying levels of sophistication and very different reasons for being interested in your research activities. A general reporter may know very little about your discipline. A professional science writer may be well informed. Occasionally, a researcher will be contacted by a reporter who is a specialist in some other area altogether - business, entertainment, or lifestyles - who is looking for information to complement a story in his or her field. Consequently, you should find out as much as you can about the reporter's interests before the interview.