Working with Public Information Officers: A Supplement to Explaining Research Book

Reviews Scientists who want to communicate their work are plentiful; those who want to do it well or do it better are more rare. The former need Working with Public Information Officers; the latter will find it a joy. This is the take-along booklet with powerful take-it-to-heart messages, full of wit and wisdom. -- Joann Rodgers, Senior Advisor for Science, Executive & Crisis Communications, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine This handy guide is filled with examples from universities, national laboratories, corporate facilities and other research settings. Some of the country's best public information officers explain how your research can get the attention it deserves, in ways that won't waste your time or make you uncomfortable. -- David Jarmul, Associate Vice President, News & Communications, Duke University Imagine squeezing four decades-worth of know-how and experience about communicating science from the minds of Dennis Meredith and dozens of his colleagues. That would be the only thing better than this little book. Culling from the mountains of expertise he gathered in writing Explaining Research, Dennis has provided both a roadmap for newbies in the field and a refresher course for us old-timers. Every science communications operation should have several copies close at hand. -- Earle Holland, Assistant Vice President for Research Communications,Ohio State University It's hard to think of a better resource for our craft—or a more experienced and savvy practitioner than author Dennis Meredith. This guide to our business is essential reading for anyone treading the academic science writing and media relations landscape. If you are in the business of wrangling scientists, working with science journalists, and putting discovery into societal context, this work belongs on your desk and in the hands of every scientist willing to take the time to absorb its many valuable lessons. -- Terry Devitt, Director of Research Communications, University of Wisconsin-Madison Product Description Public Information Officers (PIOs) can be invaluable allies in your communication efforts. They can offer expert advice, as well as access to communications machinery for reaching the media and other important audiences. This guide--a supplement to Explaining Research (Oxford University Press, 2010)--will help you develop the most beneficial relationships with those PIOs, whether they are in your institution, at a journal, in a scientific society, or in your funding agency. Working with Public Information Officers shows how your PIO can serve as: 1. an editorial and media relations expert who can write and distribute news releases, pitch media on story ideas, develop media strategy, and manage communication crises; 2. an institutional ambassador who conveys to administrators the significance of your research and your positions on important issues; 3. an educator who teaches you how to develop clear research explanations and work with media; and 4. a hard questioner who confronts you with those tough questions that you must answer if you are to preserve your reputation and advance your work. For further information, visit www.WorkingwithPIOs.com.Read More