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Conclusions and Further Reading
The basic message of this article is that, with the modest investment of some preparation and practice, you can be an effective communicator of your work to a journalist. There are no guarantees that the resulting story will not have flaws in your eyes, but there are strategies for mini- mizing that risk. The other message is that, in the long run, the risks of talking to journalists are outweighed by the benefits to you, your institution, your field of research, and especially to the public.
If you are interested in learning more, consider attend- ing a special session or workshop on communicating science to the public at a future ASA meeting. Jones (2020) provides an excellent overview of opportunities for science communication training in Acoustics Today. If you are already comfortable with speaking to jour- nalists about your research, consider volunteering as a media liaison for your technical committee. Join the ranks of science communicators!
References
Bardi, J., and Meyers, C. (2015). Talking science with journalists. Physics Today 68(5), 66.
Dean, C. (2009). Am I Making Myself Clear? A Scientist's Guide to Talking to the Public. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Durant, J., Evans, G., and Thomas, G. (1989). The public understand- ing of science. Nature 340, 11-14.
Farrell, D., and Jones, L. K., (2017). ASA sounds out on social media. Acoustics Today 13(4), 72-73.
Gregory, J., and Miller, S. (1998). Science in Public. Plenum, New York. Jones, L. K., (2017). ASA education and outreach program. Acoustics
Today 13(4), 69-71.
Jones, L. K., (2020). Science communication training. Acoustics Today
16(1), 73-74.
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. Farrar, Strauss and
Giroux, New York.
Peters, H. P. (2013). Gap between science and media revisited: Scien-
tists as public communicators. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 110(Suppl. 3), 14102-14109. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1212745110.
Rosentiel, T. (2009). Public praises science: Scientists fault public, media. Available at https://pewrsr.ch/2YH2g3y.
Contact Information
Andy Piacsek andy.piacsek@cwu.edu
Department of Physics
Central Washington University
400 E. University Way
Ellensburg, Washington 98926-7422, USA
"Moon over DC," watercolor painting by Alex Tolstoy. See more of Dr. Tolstoy’s art at atolstoyart.com. ©2020 Alex Tolstoy, all rights reserved.
Fall 2020 • Acoustics Today 83