Abstract
Abstract. Media such as television, newspapers and social media play a key role in the communication between scientists and the general public. Communicating your science via the media can be positive and rewarding by providing the inherent joy of sharing your knowledge with a broader audience, promoting science as a fundamental part of culture and society, impacting decision- and policy-makers, and giving you a greater recognition by institutions, colleagues and funders. However, the interaction between scientists and journalists is not always straightforward. For instance, scientists may not always be able to translate their work into a compelling story, and journalists may sometimes misinterpret scientific output. In this paper, we present insights from hydrologists and journalists discussing the advantages and benefits as well as the potential pitfalls and aftermath of science–media interaction. As we perceive interacting with the media as a rewarding and essential part of our work, we aim to encourage scientists to participate in the diverse and evolving media landscape. With this paper, we call on the scientific community to support scientists who actively contribute to a fruitful science–media relationship.
Highlights
Newspapers and social media play a key role in the communication between scientists and the general public
We present insights from hydrologists and journalists discussing the advantages and benefits as well as the potential pitfalls and aftermath of science–media interaction
We call on the scientific community to support scientists who actively contribute to a fruitful science–media relationship
Summary
In this partisan era filled with “alternative facts”, it is essential for science and scientists to be transparent and communicative to the general public (Kirchner, 2017). Interacting with the media is one aspect of science communication that can be highly rewarding for scientists and comes with numerous benefits (Fig. 1) It can improve public education and attitude towards science, contribute to policy making and public debate, stimulate acknowledgement as well as critical reflection of scientific work, and increase the recognition of scientists (Dijkstra et al, 2015; Peters et al, 2008). In order to reflect both perspectives of science–media communication, we include the opinion of four journalists from different media outlets (i.e. newspaper, online media and radio) With this commentary, we do not seek to provide a compre-. The commentary concludes with a synthesis of the discussion and an outlook on how to strengthen the science–media relationship
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