Sharing Your Science with the Media
September 10, 2025
Location Not Available
Many political scientists feel a duty to communicate with the public, but at the same time, they often feel intimidated by speaking with the media, lack confidence, or are concerned about facing hostile interviewers or publics. Namely, scientists often express their discomfort with interviews and their concerns about potentially being misquoted and misunderstood, which can act as a roadblock to engaging with the media. This is particularly true in the current political climate. Through presentations, discussions, hands-on activities, and mock interviews, this workshop will guide participants through the most important things to know about the media ecosystem and how to interact with it effectively as a source, making language choices that will make your science more accessible to lay audiences, developing messages and working them into responses to interview questions, how reporters find expert sources, and how to navigate and survive uncomfortable interview questions and situations. The workshop is presented by facilitators 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, and will pull from the lessons we’ve learned from facilitating more than 5,000 interactions between those two groups.