This talk, created for two sessions with STEM students at the high school and undergraduate level, looks at the role of science/medical communicators, and gives key tips about interacting with reporters and information about the public's scientific literacy. It encourages of ANYONE interested in STEM fields to share information with those outside the STEM world in a way that gets them excited and shows them what's being done with the taxpayer dollars that support research and public universities.

1. Talking to the
Real World
Making science & medicine
come alive for the public
Kara Gavin, M.S.
Lead Public Relations Representative,
U-M Health System Dept. of Communication

2. Who am I?
• Part of communication teams for
U-M Health System
• One of about 15 U-M media staff
• Trained in science writing/
journalism and biology
• Find & tell stories from
science & medicine at U-M
• Handle news media inquiries &
pushing news out to the world

3. Why does U-M* have staff like me?
• Discoveries should reach
people in language they can
understand
• Taxpayers who fund
research & public universities
deserve to know what they’re
paying for
• The public has an
insatiable appetite for news
about science & medicine
*and lots of other places too

4. What do I do?
• Connect with scientists & doctors
• Plan the best communication course
• Write stories & get feedback
• Commission or create visuals
• Push stories to the public/reporters
• Handle media requests/find experts
• Approach reporters with ideas
• Handle “hot button” issues

5. Why would a doctor or scientist
talk to a reporter?
• Announcements of new research
• Special case: embargoed news
• Expert opinion on an issue
• Commenting on other research
• Commenting on a societal issue
• In-depth stories on an new
program, or a disease or treatment
• Crisis/problem situations

6. Working with reporters
• Prepare key messages
3 things they MUST know by the end
• Anticipate questions
• Be ready to explain
• Avoid jargon
• Respect deadlines
• Understand the news outlet
• Respect their independence

7. A new era of communication
• The news media’s
gatekeeper role is
eroding
• Big institutions =
trustworthy news
sources
•Everyone’s a
publisher

8. Who needs reporters anyway?
• Social media/search
deliver info directly
• People find info on
their own
• Visuals are vital
• Rapid response to
controversy

9. News
Media
• Immediate coverage
• Later coverage
• Later expert source
requests
PR
services
• Eurekalert
• Newswise
• PR Newswire
• Futurity
• News aggregators
U-M
outlets
• Record / Headlines
• Magazines
• Websites & blogs
• Newsletters
• Email: donors,
alumni, others
Social
media
• U-M/UMHS fans
• Shares of our
stories
• Shares of news
coverage
• Reddit, etc.
The U-M
Science
News
Machine

10. Who’s the audience?
• 20% of Americans can explain what it means to
study something scientifically
• 34% of Americans can describe how to test a drug
• 55% say that astrology is “not at all scientific” –
down from nearly two-thirds in 2010.
• 56% say research involving animals is acceptable
NSF Science & Engineering Indicators, 2014

11. What do they know?
• 71% mental illness is a medical
condition affecting the brain
• 69% genetic code in cells helps
determine who we are
• 53% childhood vaccines are safe and
effective
• 31% life evolved via natural selection
AP Poll April 2014
1,012 adults
Extremely/very
confident in a
scientific concept

12. Getting new info to them
• Over 80% report
they’re "very" or "moderately"
interested in science/tech
discoveries
• 4 in 10 cite the Internet
as their #1 source of S&T info
• 50% say the benefits of
science have strongly
outweighed the harmful results
National Science
Foundation
Science and Engineering
Indicators 2014

13. This means…
• STEM students &
professionals must ALL be
communicators
• Communication skills are
more vital than ever
• Share things you find
online. Explain why they’re
cool. Get OTHERS excited
about them.

14. Online resources
• National Institutes of Health:
Science, Health & the Public Trust
http://umhealth.me/NIHscicomm
• American Assn. for the Advancement
of Science – Communicating Science
http://umhealth.me/AAASscicomm
• American Society of Human Genetics –
Communicating Science
http://umhealth.me/ASHGscicomm

15. Find me online
• @karag on Twitter
(also @UMHealthSystem & @UM_IHPI)
• LinkedIn: http://umhealth.me/KG-LI
• My writing:
• New this week!
http://michiganhealthlab.org
• http://uofmhealth.org/News