Abstract
The Science Media Centre (SMC) is an experiment in a new kind of media relations activity. It is a press office that eschews PR and has no institution to promote. Instead, it works on behalf of the whole of science to improve the quality of the reporting – and thus the information the public receive – when science hits the headlines. In this chapter I lay out the philosophy, values and approach to science media relations that the SMC has developed since it opened for business in April 2002. I and many others believe the Centre has had a huge influence on the coverage of science in the media and perhaps more significantly, has contributed greatly to creating a new culture within science, which regards engaging with the big topical controversies in the media as part and parcel of the scientist’s role.
The chapter is a revised reprint of a chapter published in Nerlich, B., R. Elliott, and B. Larson (eds.), Communicating biological sciences – Ethical and metaphorical dimensions. Ashgate 2009.
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Fox, F. (2012). Practitioner’s Perspective: The Role and Function of the Science Media Centre. In: Rödder, S., Franzen, M., Weingart, P. (eds) The Sciences’ Media Connection –Public Communication and its Repercussions. Sociology of the Sciences Yearbook, vol 28. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2085-5_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2085-5_13
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