Stempra newsletter
FEATURE: Stempra members review the year
Stempra newsletter invited members to tell their highlights and lowlights of 2008, and to share their top tips for 2009. Here is what they said:
Claire Gilby, Senior Press Officer, the Natural History Museum
Highlight Seven-page spread in the Observer Magazine profiling some of the researchers and curators (and their science!) who will be moving into the new Darwin Centre in September 2009.
Lowlight Seeing so many science and environment journalist friends lose their jobs.
Tip for 2009 Achieving mainstream science communication coverage is going to be increasingly difficult as many specialist journalists are losing their jobs and newsdesks are being outsourced, so we need to investigate new ways and methods of communicating e.g. blogs, podcasts, vodcasts etc.
Zoe Dunford, Media Manager, Norwich BioScience Institutes
Highlight Being asked by 'The Purple Store' in Seattle (slogan: unashamedly purple) whether they could sell the GM purple tomatoes, and include a piece on them in their newsletter for "those who love, are obsessed with, or simply have a thing for the colour purple".
Lowlight Getting lost on my boat at high tide off the North Norfolk coast, and not being able to find the way back to the coast. Miles from anybody else, all alone and quiet... Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.
Tim Reynolds, Director, Inta Communication Limited, Brussels
Highlight Must be the CERN media circus for the LHC "event"– we can all learn from that case study.
Lowlight The PR operation for the European Science Awards in Brussels in March – great science achievements recognised by large amounts of cash but let down by another case study: this time how not to do it.
Tip for 2009 More science (and scientists) in politics (please).. we must be able to do better than those economists!
Hazel Lambert, Senior Press Officer, Medical Research Council
Highlight Front pages in The Scotsman and The Independent reporting how artificial reproduction techniques developed for humans could be applied to boost populations of African mammals threatened by extinction through creation of the Institute for Breeding Rare and Endangered African Mammals by scientists at the MRC Human Reproductive Sciences Unit in Edinburgh.
Lowlight Being out of the office for six weeks to recover from surgery, having the support of my brilliant colleagues helped though!
Tip for 2009 Scientists will increasingly tell the stories of their research through podcasts, online videos and other user generated content.
Craig Brierley, Media Officer, Wellcome Trust
Highlight Getting a Page 3 girl to comment on research into levels of paranoia in the general public.
Lowlight Not sure of a lowlight that I really want to share!
Gerald Chan, Head of Communications and External Affairs, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
Highlight The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.
Lowlight The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.
Ed Sykes, Press Officer, Science Media Centre
Highlight That’s easy! Starting work at the SMC and joining Stempra. ☺ But aside from that, it has to be seeing Prince Charles' pretty face with the headlines 'Scientists condemn raving loony prince for being bonkers'. On a slightly more personal note, I must admit to having a grin on my face for a few days after the RI's grand opening when I was able to meet my hero Sir David Attenborough and came to his rescue during a time of need by uttering the immortal line, "There’s a spare chair over there for you David." Brilliant! I doubt he'll ever forget it.
Lowlight Any occasion when scientists have been stopped from giving their opinions by people who think they understand the media when in fact they're missing golden opportunities!
Tip for 2009 Always be nice – everyone loves a trier if they smile!
Bob Ward, Policy and Communications Director, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment
Highlight December: President-Elect Obama states that he will work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the United States by at least 80 per cent by 2050, and pledges that his administration will take action domestically and co-operate internationally to tackle climate change.
Lowlight July: Ofcom, the communications watchdog, drops the ball after a 16-month investigation by bizarrely concluding that inaccuracies in The Great Global Warming Swindle had not breached the Broadcasting Code. An appeal against the ruling is still under consideration.
Tip for 2009 The United States Congress will pass federal legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the Obama administration will play a constructive role in securing a new international agreement to reduce global emissions at the United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen in December 2009, thus pulling the planet back from the brink of catastrophe. God Bless America!
Elspeth Bartlet, Communications Manager the CNAP Artemisia Research Project
Highlight and lowlight Delivering a high level conference on global health - an area well outside the comfort zone of both myself and my institute. Trying to get big names to come along when no-one knows you or your organisation was a real challenge that ended up dominating my year. But we got there!
Tip for 2009 The Stempra Guide to being a Press Officer, which will be on everyone’s bookshelf!
Claire Bithell, Media Manager, Human Tissue Authority
Highlight The Organ Donation Taskforce report into presumed consent – a great example of where a group of experts from different backgrounds can come together to work on a controversial, high profile topic to exhaustively examine the evidence and reach a consensus.
Lowlight Although I am really enjoying my new role, I was very sad to leave the Science Media Centre.
Tip for 2009 Surely it is time for a few cheerful stories after all the tales of woe in 2008?
Our top tip for 2009 is to tell all your friends about Stempra. With a exciting events programme and excellent networking opportunities coming up, your £15 has never been more well spent. Download your renewal form here or use the one we sent you in the post.
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