Bethany Halford's Tips for Scientists
in Communicating with the Press

• Don't go on vacation the week your paper comes out. The press wants to talk to you, not the P.R. person.
• Don't just give a powerpoint presentation.
• Your work is interesting, but you must learn to talk to people who aren't scientists. You do it all the time — family dinners, with your dentist, on airplanes. Reporters are just the same.
• Just because someone doesn't understand everything about your work, that doesn't make them stupid. Just make it simple. Try to say it in a sentence or two.
• An analogy or image — even if it is flawed — can really bring a point home. I have described the layers of the atmosphere like an onion, and self-assembling carbon nanotubes as Slinkys, Lifesavers candy and spiral staircases.
• A good picture will get your work a lot of attention. People like cool things to look at.
• Reporters don't generally work on the same kinds of deadlines that you do. Respond as soon as you can. It would not be unusual for a reporter to have to turn something into a story within a few hours.
• Reporters are also limited in terms of time and space.
• They are not your advertising firm. A good reporter will write a balanced story. Don't be afraid of that.
• Be kind if a reporter makes a mistake. Often the error occurred sometime after the story left their hands. The editorial process is labyrinthine. A good reporter wants to be accurate, and if they've messed up, they'll generally try to correct things, or get them right the next time they report. If you throw a fit, they'll just find someone else to put in the paper ... and they'll tell their friends.

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