Our services

How we can help get your scientists in the news:

Rapid Reactions

When a story is breaking that has a science angle, the AusSMC will issue a ‘Rapid Reaction’ – a series of unedited quotes from experts in the relevant area who are up to date on the story and willing to talk.  This reaction to a breaking story can be invaluable as a source of direct quotes, as a gauge of expert opinion and background information or as a source of talent for interview. Round-ups are issued as soon as possible after a story breaks.

Round-ups

Scientific and medical journals are a regular source of scientific news, but making sense of them can be a nightmare. Our ‘Round-up’ service provides journalists with context and independent expert comment to help decipher the research. This is all done while the story is still under embargo so that the comments and opinions of experts can be incorporated into stories as they are being written.

Heads-up/Heads-up extra

The most frequent way in which we can help your scientists reach the media is by adding research from your organisation to our twice-weekly embargoed media alert. These alerts outline what the AusSMC considers the most newsworthy new research, reports and related material being published by the scientific community that week. The journalists know that we select only the most significant research each week and the journals trust us with their embargoed material.

Heads-up for Media officers

If your institution is an affiliate of ours then you are able to receive a special version of our Heads-up alert, designed for media officers, which will enable you to be one step ahead of the game in the news cycle. Contact us for more information on becoming an Affiliate.

Media enquires

The AusSMC operates an expert database which we use to source experts for briefings, round-ups and media enquiries. The more of your experts we have on this database the more likely we are to contact them with media opportunities. The database is not open to journalists so the privacy of your experts can be maintained at a level they are comfortable with. The AusSMC policy on selection of experts is available here.

The AusSMC has 3,000 experts on file who cover every topic from alcohol addiction to zoology and takes up to 100 media enquiries a week from journalists.

Media Briefings

When a story is big or complex enough the AusSMC runs national briefings for journalists around Australia and beyond. The central topic of a briefing must have broad news appeal. Experts are asked to give short presentations and answer media questions – on the record. All briefings are streamed live over the Internet making them easily accessible to journalists throughout the country. The AusSMC operates two types of media briefings, ‘News Briefings’ where new research or data is being released, and ‘Background Briefings’ where experts discuss an issue which is in the news or an issue the AusSMC considers newsworthy.  Please let us know if you have an idea for a briefing we could run together. For more information on briefing guidelines click here.

Getting more from the AusSMC

The AusSMC has a collaborative program which encourages organisations to become affiliates of the Science Media Centre. By becoming an affiliate your organisation can become even more actively involved in how science is reported in the media.  You will be adding your support to a growing movement that encourages and supports evidence-based reporting. Contact us for more information on becoming an Affiliate.

What we are not

The AusSMC IS NOT:

  • A distribution service for institutional media releases;

  • Responsible for increasing the profile of specific concepts or areas of science (eg: chemistry, physics etc) in the media;

  • A PR agency for institutions that do not have access to a media office;

  • Set up to take general enquiries directly from the public or non-media institutions.