November 28, 2018, by Liz Cass

Making the Headlines Review

Tools, hints and tips from a conference to help staff engage and use the media to raise the profile of their work have now been shared.

On Thursday 22 November more than 150 members of staff joined the Media Relations team and external guests at Nottingham Lakeside Arts for Making the Headlines.

The event had three headline sessions; an overview of how the press office can help you, a panel discussion on what journalists are looking for and a talk from Eric Stoller on using social media.

Jason Ford, news editor at The Engineer was part of a panel of experts which included Maev Kennedy from the Guardian and Rob Sissons from BBC East Midlands Today.

He said: “Some of my tips for those who want to get involved with media would be as follows:

Make yourself available for interviews once a press release is issued. A quote from the release is not always sufficient, so don’t assume it is.

Don’t use buzzwords unless they are relevant. Just because a release contains, for example, ‘graphene’ or ‘3D printed’ is no guarantee of coverage

Don’t ask for copy approval as refusal often offends. Use your press office and value their opinion!”

Breakout sessions on writing opinion pieces, using video, becoming a television expert, translating research into a documentary and working with external organisations were also on offer.

The free event was put together by the University’s award-winning press office to help demystify what working with media involves.

One attendee said: “This was a really valuable day. I wasn’t aware of the range of options available for media communication or the help available from the Press Office.”

A selection of tweets from the event have been put together by the digital team who also organised the first University of Nottingham Social Media Awards after the conference.

Presentation slides and tips have now been shared for anyone within the University who wasn’t able to make the event.

• What the Press Office can do for you – presented by Lindsay Brooke, Media Relations Manager for Science.
• Globelynx Camera: The miniature newsroom on campus. Presented by Andy Gales, Globelynx.
• British Science Association fellowships: Presented by Clio Heslop, British Science Association and (additional slides) Angus Davison, BSA Fellow and evolutionary geneticist.
• Blogging and the art of an opinion piece: Presented by Jo Adetunji from The Conversation. Slides to follow.
• Academia and TV: Presented by Bafta nominated director Paul Olding and Dr Jon Henderson, Archaeology. Slides to follow.
• Telling your story through images and video (2 presentations): Presented by Rob Glass, BBC trained video journalist and Emma Lowry, Media Relations Manager for Engineering.
• Working with external press teams: Presented by Lindsay Brooke, Media Relations Manager for Science and Fiona Fox, Chief Executive of the Science Media Centre.
• Why academics should get social: Presented by Eric Stoller.

 

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