A Guide for African Science Media Officers

This guide, published by the Wellcome Trust, provides practical advice to help media officers working in African institutions improve the communication of scientific research to the public, policymakers, and funders. The guide outlines the role of a media officer and offers tips on how to promote research responsibly, for example, by ensuring that claims made in a press release are supported by peer-reviewed research. It also outlines how to source newsworthy stories, how to write a press release, and how to pitch stories to print, radio, and television journalists. The guide offers practical advice on how to identify opportunities such as conferences to promote research, use new platforms including social media, and provide a local angle on published research.

The guide seeks to help officers manage collaborative work with journals, agencies, and freelancers, organise events such as press briefings, and prepare scientists for speaking to the media. The guide concludes by presenting three case-studies highlighting challenges through the experience of media professionals working in Kenya.
The guide include of the following sections:

• Introduction
• The role of the science media officer
• Thinking strategically
• Promoting research responsibly
• Is your story newsworthy?
• Tactics, tools, and timing
• Writing the perfect press release
• Sending out your press release
• Working with journals
• Other opportunities for media coverage
• Pitching your story
• The power of radio
• Getting science news on television and organising a media event
• Embracing new media
• Preparing your scientists
• Managing collaborative stories and working with agencies and freelancers

This guide emerged from the project Capacity Building Programme for African Press Officers Working in Health and Science, which was implemented by SciDev.net and funded by the Wellcome Trust. It centred on a capacity-building workshop and a networking event organised to coincide with the 7th World Conference of Science Journalists (WCSJ) held in Doha, Qatar, in June 2011. The outcomes of the meeting were used to create the guide described above.