Popular Science Communication
Science issues in the media are part of the fabric of civic life and sharing scientific data with the public in ways that benefit society and enhance decision making plays an important role today more than ever. At the same time, when the digital era provides people with better access to greater amounts of information research findings, we need to better understand various perceptions, biases, and challenges associated with clear and effective science communication.
Our aim is to introduce the concept of science communication with an emphasis on (mainstream and social) media as the instruments for participating in public discussion on science-related topics and contributing to knowledge development. According to your own field of research, dilemmas and challenges to address in media may differ significantly, and need therefore to be presented and discussed differently.
During the 90 minutes workshops, you will get an idea of:
- How to address different audiences (youth and adults, citizens, media professionals and media consumers) within various contexts?
- How (mainstream) media work and how to make media work for you?
- How to develop some skills and confidence in talking about research so that it has impact with media and other stakeholders?
- What makes a good story and how to use narratives and storytelling to communicate science?
- How to handle difficult/complex questions?
Instead of writing a popular article about your research, our workshops focus on podcast training. You will learn how to present your topics clearly to the public via audio. The best podcasts will be released to a wider audience.
Lecturers:
Signe Ivask a lecturer of journalism and a research fellow sociology of journalism at the Institute of Social Studies at the University of Tartu and postdoctoral researcher at Masaryk University
Signe Opermann, a research fellow in media sociology at the University of Tartu
Daina Pupkevičiūtė, a PhD student at the Institute of Cultural Research of the University of Tartu
Resources
Editing your podcast audio
In the video below, Daina Pupkevičiūté explains some techniques you can use in making your podcast, covering topics such as preparing to record, recording, and editing. If you wish to download the video you click the link here.
