How to talk to the media about science

Despite the widespread availability of social media platforms, the news media still remains one of the primary channels through which the scientific community connects with non-scientists. Yet, many scientists are wary of speaking to journalists.

Sandip Patel, an oncologist and associate professor at UC San Diego Health in the US, believes researchers have a responsibility to interact with reporters. ‘The goal of any and everything we do in terms of research is to better humanity,’ he says. ‘If we’re not able to communicate that, people will not be interested in supporting research and the majority of research is funded through public [taxes].’