15 August 2018
Dr Marina Joubert, senior science communication researcher at CREST and member of the SA Research Chair in Science Communication, was interviewed by freelance science writer Roberta Kwok for a careers feature in Nature. The focus of this piece is on how scientists can work effectively with their institutional press officers to make their research more accessible to society, as well as how to avoid potential perils and pitfalls. There is a particular focus on avoiding hype and overselling in university press releases.
“It was interesting for me to see the amount of time and careful checking that the journalist invested in this piece,” Dr Joubert notes. “She spoke to me for several hours on three different occasions and sent several sets of facts for me to verify in writing.”
“However, she also made in clear that I would not see the full article before it was published, so that idea that the interviewee could change the story was clearly and firmly stifled.”
The story is available at https://go.nature.com/2vNApAk
