There was a buoyant mood in the ballroom at the Pullman where the awards drew a record crowd.

“What was great this year is that the awards were really opened up to outside parties, so you had the likes of ASB and Business New Zealand hosting tables,” said SMC Manager Peter Griffin, who attended the awards and was a judge on the best use of emerging technology and best multimedia storytelling categories. You can read his judging notes on those categories here.

“I got the feeling that although everyone acknowledges the industry faces major challenges adapting its business models to the digital world, there’s a lot less angst about making the transition.”

A highlight of the awards was a speech from Otago Daily Times publisher Allied Press chairman and managing director Sir Julian Smith, who called for the industry to keep in mind the fundamentals of journalism – in essence, the written word is what sells, good journalism is paramount, t industry needs its readers more than ever and freedom of the press needs to be fought for.

Among the winners, were reporters and publishers acknowledged for delivering excellent science and environment reporting over the past year.

Tauranga-based New Zealand Herald reporter Jamie Morton won the best newspaper reporter in the science and environment category, for a series of features including:

- An extensive package looking at the twin eruptions of Mt Tongariro and White Island and  how our volcanic landscape can violently change without warning at any moment.

- A detailed look at New Zealand’s freshwater ways and rivers suffering from high levels of pollution and moves to clean them up.

- Examining the environmental impact of the MV Rena grounding and the ongoing clean-up effort.

Herald on Sunday writer Russell Blackstock picked up the award in the Best newspaper feature writer in the science and environment category for a portfolio including:

- An insight feature looking at New Zealand’s volatile volcanoes

- Coverage of a Herald on Sunday-endorsed campaign to clean up beaches.

- A more in-depth look at the state of New Zealand’s beaches and water quality at some of our favourite holiday spots.

While magazines recognise science writing in the “business and science” categories at Canon, winner , New Zealand Listener‘s Rebecca MacFie won not for a science feature, but an excellence business piece on the whistleblower who uncovered fraud at Datasouth.

In the overall magazine category, New Zealand Geographic, which commits serious resource and pages to covering science and environment issues on an ongoing basis, picked up the magazine of the year award. Credit to editor James Frankham who has taken New Zealand Geographic to a new level of quality since he and others undertook a management buy-out of the magazine.

Mention needs to also go to North & South feature writer Mike White, who won in three magazine feature categories – feature writer of the year, arts and entertainment and politics as well as the supreme prize – the fellowship to Wolfson College, Cambridge.

WHAT: Science Media SAVVY - Wellington
WHEN: Thurs – Fri, 20 – 21 June 2013
WHERE: Royal Society of NZ, 11 Turnbull Street, Thorndon – MAP

Science Media SAVVY is a two-day course designed to give scientists and researchers the confidence and skills they need to engage effectively with the wider public through broadcast, print and social media. Participants gain practical techniques to improve their communication, deal with nerves, adapt their message to their audience, capture attention, influence headlines, and respond effectively when an interview becomes challenging.

Our previous SAVVY workshops in Christchurch and Auckland presented a positive and challenging experience for participants, who ranged from senior scientists with little first-hand knowledge of the media, to emerging researchers with several interviews under their belt, all the way to seasoned veterans in front of the camera.

The flexible and interactive nature of the workshop adapts well to different confidence and experience levels. All active researchers with a desire to improve their public outreach are welcome to apply.

What participants had to say about previous workshops:

“What sets this experience apart is in-depth information regarding how the news process works and real reporters/professionals’ feedback. The practice pitch to news reporters was fantastic!”

“The workshop was very well-organised and run. I thought I would gain an insight into media, however I learned a lot about how much power I have as a scientist.”

“I honestly thought this was an amazing course. We had just enough time to cover the important things, were exposed to some great people and got a real insight into the media world with hands-on experience.”

“I had done media  training before, but the science focus of this one made it miles better.”

“Great pro-active, forthright interview tips.”

“SAVVY was better than I expected. While I thought it would give good media tips, it actually helped me to workshop the narrative of my research, which I’ll use in funding bids, papers, etc.”

“I was blown away at the value and quality of the workshop. I considered this more valuable than some conferences attended, so great value for money.”

“I had high hopes for this course, and the reality has greatly exceeded what I had expected. When it comes to it, I am sure I will still be nervous at interview time, but the tools I learnt here will equip me well and give me enough confidence to not turn down opportunities any more.”

Read Sciblogs contributor Michael Edmonds’ take on the experience.

More information on Science Media SAVVY workshops is available here.

Applicants for this workshop must be:

- Active researchers or scientists (at any stage of their career)

- Able to nominate a specific project or area of expertise they think is of potential interest to media

Course fees for the Wellington two-day workshop will be $795 +GST.

One scholarship covering full course fees, sponsored by 2011 Prime Minister’s Science Media Communication Award winner Dr Mark Quigley, is available to a qualifying postgraduate student who shows exceptional promise in the field of science communication.

APPLICATIONS CLOSE FRIDAY 24 MAY 2013 AT 6 PM

Feel free to contact smc@sciencemediacentre.co.nz with any questions or for help figuring out whether SAVVY would be right for you.

Twelve keen scientists were put through their paces in Auckland in mid-March in the second of the Science Media Centre’s national series of media skills workshops.

More than basic media training, the course is designed to move scientists out of their comfort zone, increasing awareness of how their choice of words, body language and intensity can enable them to connect with different audiences, and providing direct feedback and support from fellow scientists.

The course also offers a unique chance to make valuable media contacts and gain first-hand insight into news media practices during an invited journalists’ panel and newsroom tour on day two. New skills are then put to the test in a story pitch session directly to visiting journalists.

An open call for SAVVY scientists in February asked applicants to outline a research area of potential interest to media and explain why they were keen to further develop their media skills.  After an intensely competitive selection process, the final list of participants included researchers from AUT University, Plant & Food Research, the Liggins Institute, Unitec, the MacDiarmid Institute and the University of Auckland.

Participants had a broad range of prior media experiences, and mid-career researchers and PhD candidates shared the table with professors and Heads of Department. Scientists told us that having a diverse range of disciplines and experience levels represented really worked for them and improved the dynamic of the course.

Feedback from scientists on SAVVY:

“I honestly thought this was an amazing course. We had just enough time to cover the important things, were exposed to some great people and got a real insight into the media world with hands-on experience.”

“The workshop exceeded my expectations, was very well-organised and run. I thought I would gain an insight into media, however I learned a lot about how much power I have as a scientist.”

Auckland SAVVY participants on the Breakfast couch inside TVNZ Studio 4

“I had high hopes for this course, and the reality has greatly exceeded what I had expected. When it comes to it, I am sure I will still be nervous at interview time, but the tools I learnt here will equip me well and give me enough confidence to not turn down opportunities any more.”

“There was a nice mix of professionalism and informal discussions — very well run.”

“What sets this experience apart is in-depth information regarding how the news process works and real reporters/professionals’ feedback. The practice pitch to news reporters was fantastic!”

“I feel like I have greater confidence to respond to and seek out media.”

“I was blown away at the value and quality of the workshop. I considered this more valuable than some conferences attended, so great value for money.”

“SAVVY was better than I expected. While I thought it would give good media tips, it actually helped me to workshop the narrative of my research, which I’ll use in funding bids, papers, etc.”

“I had done media  training before, but the science focus of this one made it miles better.”

“Great pro-active, forthright interview tips.”

“I feel very excited about future media interactions and the possibilities to get my research in the public eye.”

Thanks to our media panel (pictured above, lower right) – Alison Harley - TV3 News, James Frankham – New Zealand Geographic, Will Hine – TVNZ One News, and Jamie Morton – NZ Herald — for their extremely valuable contributions, and to TVNZ’s Jo Mark-Brown for the newsroom tour.

Thanks also to Dr Mark Quigley for his ongoing support of Science Media SAVVY, and to media trainer Michael Brown for his great work on the course. Finally, a huge ‘thank you’ to Pandora Carlyon and SAVVY’s host in Auckland, the Liggins Institute.

Auckland SAVVY alums

Prof Shanthi Ameratunga - Epidemiology, Acting HoD – Injury prevention/health inequality – University of Auckland
Prof Wayne Cutfield - Director of Liggins Institute – Paediatric endocrinology – University of Auckland
Dr Michelle Dickinson - Senior Lecturer – Nanotechnology – University of Auckland
Dr Mark Large - Associate Professor – Evolution biology, Botany systematics – Unitec Natural Sciences
Lisa McDonnell - PhD Candidate – Sport science – AUT University (Quigley postgraduate scholarship winner)
Dr David Pattemore - Scientist – Pollination biology – Plant & Food Research
Dr James Russell - Senior Lecturer – Ecology – University of Auckland
Dr Giovanni Russello - Lecturer – Cloud & smartphone security- University of Auckland
Elaine Smid - Research Assistant – Volcanic hazards – University of Auckland
Lisa Strover - PhD student – Chemistry (polymer science) – MacDiarmid Institute, University of Auckland
Dr Alex Taylor - Lecturer – Animal cognition – University of Auckland (STRATUS scholarship winner)
Dr Mike Taylor - Senior Lecturer – Microbiology – University of Auckland

Announcing the dates of the Science Media Centre’s new media skills workshop for scientists, now accepting applications! 

The next Science Media SAVVY course will be held Thursday and Friday 14 – 15 March 2013 in Auckland, hosted by the Liggins Institute, 85 Park Road, Grafton campus of the University of Auckland.

Our pilot course in Christchurch was a challenging and positive experience for participants, who ranged from senior scientists with little first-hand knowledge of the media, to emerging researchers with several interviews under their belt, all the way to seasoned veterans in front of the camera.

The flexible and interactive nature of the workshop adapts well to different confidence and experience levels. All researchers with a desire to improve their public outreach are welcome to apply.

What participants had to say:

“I thought the course was fantastic — intense and a great and very rewarding learning experience.”

“Talking to representatives from the different media at the end of day two was great.”

“Hearing things from the journalists’ perspective and what they are looking for was very informative. The practice pitches and recorded sessions were also very useful.”

“Better than I had anticipated…I’ve taken a lot away from it and feel a lot less terrified of potential media encounters in the future.”

Read Sciblogs contributor Michael Edmonds’ take on the experience.

More information on Science Media SAVVY workshops is available here. The Science Media Centre would like to thank SAVVY’s founding patron Dr Mark Quigley for his ongoing support.

Applicants for this workshop must be:

- Active researchers or scientists (at any stage of their career)

- Able to nominate a specific project or area of expertise they think is of potential interest to media

Course fees for the Auckland two-day workshop will be $795 +GST.

One scholarship covering full course fees, sponsored by 2011 Prime Minister’s Science Media Communication Award winner Dr Mark Quigley, is available to a qualifying postgraduate student who shows exceptional promise in the field of science communication.

A second scholarship covering full course fees, sponsored by STRATUS, is available to a qualifying* early to mid-career researcher who shows exceptional promise in the field of science communication.

*Successful applicant (to be chosen by the Science Media Centre) will hold a PhD, must be pre-Associate Professor, and will be expected to report back on the experience to STRATUS. Preference will be given to STRATUS members, and applicants from the University of Auckland.

STRATUS is a network of emerging and early career researchers in the Auckland region. STRATUS was formed in 2008 by a group of researchers at the University of Auckland who felt the need for a formal career support system and unified voice for emerging scientists. STRATUS aims to identify and address issues of importance to emerging scientists, provide a network of support for emerging scientists in Auckland, and to raise the profile of emerging scientists and science, both within institutions and with the wider community.

http://stratus.ac.nz/

APPLICATIONS CLOSE FRIDAY 8 FEB 2013 AT 6 PM

Twelve talented researchers, selected from a pool of over 50 applicants, were put through their paces by Peter, Dacia and veteran media trainer Michael Brown.

Over two full days, the scientists had the chance to improve their on-camera presence, learn how enthusiastic they can be without losing credibility, brainstorm compelling ways to explain tough concepts, and practice saying what they really mean to say.

At the end of it all, they got hone their best science story pitches before  a panel of real-live journalists. (And, man, did they ever rise to the challenge!)

Geologist Dr Mark Quigley — awarded the 2011 Prime Minister’s Science Media Communication prize for his intensive media work in the wake of the Christchurch quakes — was instrumental in getting this initiative off the ground.

He not only championed the idea behind the two-day course, but dedicated a portion of his PM’s prize money to sponsoring it.

His generosity enabled this first workshop to be offered free-of-charge for Canterbury residents, as well as establishing a student scholarship for future workshops on an ongoing basis.

We were fortunate enough to have Mark join us throughout, sharing his perspective and valuable insights with participants.

A big thanks to our media panel (top image, left to right): Paul Gorman – The Press; Graeme Hill – RadioLive; Dr Rebecca Priestley – The Listener; Renee Graham – One News, TVNZ. And congrats to each and every one of our SAVVY alums — you really wowed their socks off!

What participants had to say

“I thought the course was fantastic — intense and a great and very rewarding learning experience.”

“Talking to representatives from the different media at the end of day two was great.”

“Hearing things from the journalists’ perspective and what they are looking for was very informative. The practice pitches and recorded sessions were also very useful.”

“Better than I had anticipated…I’ve taken a lot away from it and feel a lot less terrified of potential media encounters in the future.”

Read Sciblogs contributor Michael Edmonds’ take on the experience.

For more info on upcoming Science Media SAVVY workshops, follow the link to the SAVVY resource page.

The Science Media Centre is looking for a summer intern / volunteer to lend a hand with day-to-day operations of the centre. The successful candidate will join a fast-paced, savvy editorial team finding unexpected angles on science stories for the media and tracking down experts who can offer an evidence-based steer on breaking news and controversial topics.

You’ll need to be:

• a confident, skilled and snappy writer;
• interested in science, environment, health, tech, ag and other research-driven topics;
• solidly-skilled in website content management;
• reliable and highly self-motivated;
• available to help out in our central Wellington office for a minimum of 15 hours a week in Jan-Feb 2013.

What is the Science Media Centre?

The Science Media Centre is an independent, publicly-funded resource centre for the media that works to promote evidence-based science and up-to-date research to help inform public debate on the major issues of the day.

The SMC works proactively with journalists to help them cover science, by connecting them with reliable sources and identifying science angles in everyday news stories. The SMC works with the scientific community to help them interact more effectively with the media and ensure that their voices are heard on issues of national importance.

The SMC has made an impressive impact since we opened in 2008, injecting evidence-based comment into New Zealand media coverage of over 5400 new reports on hundreds of mainstream issues like:

For more information, contact Dacia Herbulock at the Science Media Centre on 04 499 5476. To apply, please send an expression of interest and CV to smc@sciencemediacentre.co.nz with “SMC summer internship” in the subject line, no later than 3 Dec 2013.

It really has been an impressive run for the SMC and its passionate founder Fiona Fox who has been there from day one and whose energy and enthusiasm for the venture never wanes.

This booklet of essays specially prepared for the 10th anniversary looks back at some of the major science-related issues the SMC had input into.

And this blog post by Fiona looks back at they key thing they’ve learned – that when science stories are highly polarising or politicized, scientists need to get on the front foot communicating for the sake of the public.

There are numerous examples in the booklet of where scientists have mobilized to protect the integrity of their science – and how it is perceived by the public – and other times where the science has suffered as scientists have retreated from public view.

The NZ SMC has had the support and guidance of our colleagues in London since our inception in 2008 and some of the most rewarding times I’ve spent at the SMC have been in the company of other SMCers from around the world discussing science media and how we can assist journalists in doing the best reporting they can.

Congratulations to Fiona and her team and to all the funders and supporters who have allowed the SMC UK to grow into the respected and influential organisation it has.

Peter Griffin

Manager, New Zealand Science Media Centre

Sir Paul Callaghan

Sir Paul passed away in March, leaving a huge gap in New Zealand science as someone who could comment with authority on the big, science-related issues in an engaging way that had cut-through with New Zealanders. The lectures Sir Paul gave in the last years of his life were incredibly influential and embodied everything that made him such a great communicator – check them out on Youtube.

One thing became clear to me in Gisborne and has been reinforced by my interactions with scientists in our work at the Science Media Centre: most scientists fundamentally feel a desire and obligation to communicate their science and to contribute to the wider scientific discourse that is underway in society.

A large number of them do a great job in stepping forward when their expertise is needed and we take our hat off to those scientists we’ve worked with over the years and the members of our Scientific Advisory Panel who give their time and expertise so generously in the name of improving understanding of science.

A larger number of scientists want to do more science communication but for numerous reasons feel limited in their ability to do so. They may feel ill-prepared for dealing with journalists or work in areas of science that are controversial and therefore incite strong reaction in the public sphere. Their institution may be involved in commercial work, which limits what they can say, or they may feel self-conscious among their peers for “hogging the limelight”.

All of those things are very real pressures, but they are not insurmountable and the benefits to both the scientists and society of engaging in effective science communication far outweigh the potential pitfalls – we have numerous examples from the SMC to prove this is true.

The bottom line is that scientists need greater support if they are to be expected to step up and contribute much-needed scientific input to the discussions society needs to have.

A helping hand for scientists

That’s why we are kicking off Science Media Savvy, a nationwide series of science media training workshops that are suitable for scientists at any stage of their career.

The workshops are not designed to replace the types of media training activities going on inside scientific institutions or companies engaged in research and development, but to offer scientists the opportunity to build their confidence, gain a better understanding of the changing needs of the media, and explore more effective ways of communicating their science in general.

We will be offering two day workshops for scientists around the country, starting with Christchurch, where our workshop will feature seasoned media trainer and former journalist Michael Brown of Skillset NZ and the Science Media Centre’s media advisors. The workshop is supported by and has been developed in consultation with Dr. Mark Quigley, geology lecturer at the University of Canterbury and the winner of the 2011 Prime Minister’s Science Media Communication Prize for his extensive work with the media around the Canterbury earthquakes. We are delighted that Dr. Quigley will be sponsoring the Christchurch workshop allowing us to offer this opportunity to scientists in the Canterbury region free of charge – see details on how to apply for the workshop.

The workshops

Our workshops feature a maximum of 12 scientists each and comprise a mix of practical exercises, interaction with working journalists and knowledge building sessions about the media. Areas covered include:

• Newsroom tour and Q&A with a panel of print and broadcast journalists
• Inspiration from examples of science done well in the media
• Orientation to the changing media landscape
• Practical exercises and feedback
• Video-recorded practice interviews
• Opportunities in new and social media
• Advice on handling controversy, uncertainty and risk
• Tips for preparing for print and broadcast media
• ‘Pitch’ session to local and national media – an opportunity to put new skills to the test

Ongoing support

The Science Media Centre has become the go-to place for journalists seeking scientific experts and access to research and scientists who have gone through Science Media Savvy will receive ongoing support from the SMC, which is well-positioned to generated media opportunities for them as well as opportunities to engage in new media opportunities via the Sciblogs network which we founded and host.

In conjunction with our colleagues at the Australian Science Media Centre, we will also be making available online materials in the form of short refresher videos and tip-sheets that Science Media Savvy attendees will be able to access.

We are looking forward to working with scientists keen to improve their science communication skills. If you are interested in attending these workshops, we’d love to hear from you as we put our schedule together for the rest of the country.