S Y D D A N S K U N I V E R S I T E T

Over to you– Good advice on dealing with the press

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Dear Researcher

The University of Southern Denmark is approached many times a day by jour-nalists wanting to know more about our research, study programmes and other activities.

On a busy working day their questions might feel like an unnecessary burden, particularly if you are unsure how to deal with a particular approach.

All the same, we in the management like to encourage our researchers to share their knowledge and be visible in the media. Contact with the outside world is in fact vital for our university and offers a wealth of opportunities for us to exploit.

That is why Press and Communication has produced this leaflet, which offers advice on what to do when you are contacted by or want to contact the press.

I hope that it will be a useful tool and help the University of Southern Den-mark to maintain its position as an open university that likes to share its knowledge.

Jens Oddershede, Rector

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THE PRESS IN GENERAL

Journalists work very differently to researchers in a number of respects. Whereas researchers are often work-ing to long-term deadlines, journalists typically have to produce their article or feature in a day.

And whereas the process is important to researchers, journalists focus on con-clusions and consequences (what you have discovered and what it will mean).

Researchers are also used to communi-cating with colleagues, whereas one of the most important tasks of journalists is to express themselves in such a way that everyone understands the mes-sage.

Journalists generally have limited space to work with, so they are looking for clear, simplified messages. Researchers, on the other hand, are used to making lots of provisos so as to ensure their credibility.

But the main difference is that research-ers have immersed themselves in a single subject for several years, so there is no way that journalists can have the same understanding of it.

Despite all this, however, the two par-ties can still work together construc-tively. They just need to respect each other’s situation and agree on some clear ground rules.

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WHEN THE JOURNALIST PHONES YOU:

1. Clarify the situationEven if it is the journalist who phones you to ask questions, it is quite legiti-mate for you to start the conversation by clarifying a few matters. This can be done very quickly and the journalist will consider it only natural. You might, for example, ask:

Which publication is the journalist call-ing from?

What is the story?

Why is the journalist phoning you in particular?

Will you be quoted directly or are you just providing background knowledge?

Will other sources be appearing?

What does the journalist already know?

When will the story be published?

If you then need five minutes to think before deciding whether you want to contribute and what you are going to say, just ask – as long as you phone back as promised!

2. The contractIf you are willing to contribute, you and the journalist can agree the ground rules. You might, for example, ask:

Will your quotes be sent to you for checking and approval?

Will the journalist use a tape recorder during the interview?

If it is television or radio, will the inter-view be live or taped?

3. The interview itselfIt is important that you ask the journal-ist during your conversation to tell you when the interview is going to start for-mally, as from then on you can in prin-ciple be quoted. During the interview it is important to:

Make your message as brief and to the point as possible

Avoid jargon

Say whether you are speaking as a researcher or a private citizenGive the answers you consider to be correct – even if they may not fit in with the journalist’s angle

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4. After the interview If you have agreed that your quotes will be sent to you for approval, check how quickly you need to send them back. And don’t make unnecessary correc-tions – it will just annoy the journalist. Remember that the journalist may have reworded some things in order to make them easier for the reader to under-stand. And if the experience was largely a positive one, remember the journal-ist’s number, as it may come in handy at some stage if you have a story yourself!

5. The newspaper articleWhen you see your article in the news-paper, you are bound to find that it has been simplified a great deal. But that is precisely because the target group is the man or woman in the street, who is being given the opportunity to under-stand part of a problem better with the help of your comments.

WHEN YOU PHONE THE JOURNALIST:

You may also want to generate interest in your research results. In this case it is important for you to consider the fol-lowing:

1. What do you want to say? Choose the most important messages and present them in a way that the man in the street can understand.

2. Why are they of interest?Your results have to mean something to other people, so remember to think in terms of consequences – a dissertation on measuring muscle strength stands next to no chance of appearing in the media, but there is a message that the elderly can improve their quality of life by working out. And a report on man-agement theories can suddenly be of interest if the message is that Danish bosses are good at delegating responsi-bility, which attracts new staff.

3. What should you do? As a starting point you can think about issuing a press release, which all the daily newspapers will receive. Or you can target a specific journalist, who will get an exclusive and so might make slightly more of it. It is also possible

that your subject might be better suited to a specialist journal. If you are unsure, feel free to contact Press and Commu-nication.

4. AvailabilityYou must leave contact numbers so that the journalists can get hold of you if they have follow-up questions. Remember that they are often working to a tight deadline, so your story may fall flat if you don’t phone back until the next day.

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IF IT GOES WRONG GET ADVICE

If the publication has printed some-thing that is clearly incorrect, you have a right of reply under the Danish Media Liability Act. This means that the publication has to correct the story. In such cases just remember that you might be helping indirectly to prolong a story that might be better left to fade into obscurity. It is therefore worth considering whether the article did any demonstrable harm or whether it is something that you can put right by informing the management and any partners. You must always involve the management if you are thinking about issuing a denial.

Phoning the journalist in question is another option. If s/he is intending to write more on the same topic, you might be able to persuade him/her to include your information in the next article.

Whether you have been con-tacted by the press or you want to publicise your research results, you and your faculty are welcome to ask Press and Communication for input. Press and Communication has three journalists, who can be contacted on the following telephone numbers and email addresses:

Bente Dalgaard, 6550 2889, bda@sdu.dk,

Dan Hansen, 6550 2069, dan@sdu.dk,

Kent Kristensen,6550 2972, kk@sdu.dk

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S Y D D A N S K U N I V E R S I T E T . D K

Published by Press and Communication, University of Southern Denmark, 09/2007. This information is also available on:

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DU

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