Science journalism is disappearing from newsrooms due to financial constraints and changing business models. Even though societies rely ever more on science, and despite the recent Covid pandemic and the ongoing climate change crisis, media organisations are less and less willing or able to invest in quality reporting on research.

How can universities and research centres help and why? Should they try to engage with journalists beyond responding to their enquiries and distributing press releases? How can they help journalists while not compromising reporters’ editorial independence? What’s in it for universities and research organisations to spend time and money on residence programmes without any immediate results? How can we avoid spin getting in the way of building genuine long-term relationships between journalists and academia?

Learn about the recent 1.5 million euro initiative funded by the European Research Council to facilitate journalists’ longer stays at universities. Listen to experience of one press officer who hosted a journalist – why and how she organised it.

Meet an international reporter who took part in the project and stayed for one month at a research institute in Italy. Get an update and practical information on available funding to host journalists at academia.

Speakers
Valeria della Cave, Head of Foreign Press Office at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
Marcin Monko, Head of Media and Content at the European Research Council, Brussels, Belgium
Christine Ro, freelance journalist working for BBC and Nature, London, UK
Fabio Turone, Executive Director at the Center for Ethics in Science and Journalism, WP lead of Frontiers project, Italy

This is a Talk (very interactive) taking place in ROOM D3 (CLE first floor)