Sharing Your Science with the Media

The purpose of this virtual Learning Institute is to help public health scientists identify tools that are critical to successful media interviews, develop those tools and describe different approaches to implementing those tools during interviews with the media. This course will be led by three science communication professionals from SciLine, a program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science that connects scientists and journalists to bring scientific evidence to general audiences through news stories. 

The course will include insights and lessons learned from facilitating more than 5,000 interactions between scientists and journalists. Through presentations, discussions, hands-on activities and mock interviews, participants will identify language tools that can make scientific concepts accessible to general audiences; discuss public health terminology with connotations or definitions in the general population that differ from academic and technical usage; describe different types of uncomfortable situations that might arise during an interview and how to navigate them; and identify their main messages and how to communicate them during interviews.

Speakers:

• Elena Renken is a writer and editor focused on science. She reports and edits articles on all kinds of news and the scientific evidence surrounding it to shape SciLine’s editorial coverage. 
• Emily Mueller, Ph.D., is a chemist with a background in polymer science and a passion for science communication. Prior to working at SciLine, she earned her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. 
• Lily Eagan, M.S., is a media training specialist and seasoned science communicator. She founded and directed the science communication agency Dead Bird Collective and previously worked at the nonprofit news organization WhoWhatWhy. 
• Taylor Seitz, M.S., is a biologist with a background in environmental microbiology and a love for teaching others about science. 
• Tori Espensen, Ph.D., is the training director at SciLine, where she helps both scientists and journalists learn to work better together to bring accurate, engaging scientific evidence to general audiences through news stories.