Science press officer training 2011

*NEW FOR 2011* Stempra is running a science press officer training day in London.

The event is to give those who are new (or fairly new) to science press work an overview of the field. This event may also be suitable for experienced press officers who would like to refresh or update their skills, those moving to work on science from other areas, or those for whom science forms only a part of their wider remit.

Topics will include:

• what national news journalists need from you
• top tips for doing science press work, including tips on writing press releases, dealing with statistics, when to use exclusives, getting your organisation on side and embargoes
• how to manage a bad news story
• debate over the role of a science press officer including discussion about peer review, hype, ethics and dealing with controversial science.

• David Spiegelhalter, Professor of the Public Understanding of Risk, is going to give tips to help press officers make sense of statistics and avoid common mistakes
• Mike Grannatt, former Director-General of the Government Information and Communication Service and currently a Director at communication consultancy Luther Pendragon. He will be talking about how important it is to communicate complex science to the media – and how press officers can make this happen 
• Fiona Fox, Director of the Science Media Centre will talk about communicating controversial science – and why science press officers are so important. 

The event will be divided up into two sessions with lunch break (lunch will be provided), and we’ll finish off over a glass of wine and the opportunity to network informally with your peers.

Date: Thursday 10 March 2011

Time: 10:30 - 16:00 (followed by refreshments)

Venue: The Royal Institution, 21 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4BS

Directions: http://www.rigb.org/

Cost: Free to attend*

To register: please email training@stempra.org.uk with your name, job title, institutional email address and a contact number.

*IMPORTANT NOTE The event is completely free of charge.  However, owing to the size of the lecture theatre, numbers will be limited so we are keen to give these limited places to those of you who will benefit most from this event. So please only contact us for a place if you are new to the area or really feel you would benefit from updating your skills.
 

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