Reach out in media
Media work can be done with the help of press releases, articles, opinion pieces, film clips, news tips, and posts on social media, sometimes in different channels for one and the same piece of news. The Faculty's Communications Department handles all press work and you can reach them at press [at] med [dot] lu [dot] se (press[at]med[dot]lu[dot]se).
How to reach out in media:
- Email a popular science summary, which contains the most important thing about the study and its results in a few sentences to press [at] med [dot] lu [dot] se (press[at]med[dot]lu[dot]se). Use this form:
Form for public communication scientific publishing (PDF 458 KB, new tab) - The Communications Department then makes an assessment of newsworthiness and whether, and if so in which channel, the news should be published.
- Start early. If there is to be a press release, it takes an average of two weeks from the time you contact the Communications Department to get ready and publish.
Everyone who is affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine, either as an employee or as an affiliate. For example, if you work at SUS, Skåne University Hospital, you can get help to reach out in the media.
Press releases and news tips are sent when:
- The corresponding author is active at LU or if the work is essentially linked to LU.
- The scientific work has a newsworthiness of public interest and is current outside the research community, or has a newsworthiness/added value for trade and industry press.
- New clinical studies are of relevance.
- Conferences and congresses, arranged by LU, are newsworthy.
News is something that is:
- new
- unusual or unexpected
- touches many
- something local or socially beneficial
- a new angle on a current debate
It is the communicators' responsibility that the text is as comprehensible and well-written as possible. It is your responsibility as a researcher that the facts are correct and that the news holds up to what the results of the study show.
Feel free to think carefully about what your main message is, why this is newsworthy and which target group may be interested in the research.
This is what the Communications Department needs from you as a researcher:
- Popular science summary of the results, max one A4 page long. Comprehensible to a layman and focusing on the importance of the research results.
- Brief facts about the type of study: clinical, preclinical, registry study etc.
- Information about who financed the study, links to collaborations.
- In which journal the article is/will be published and the reference data of the scientific publication.
- Information about publication date and/or contact information for the journal's press department or equivalent.
- Contact details and titles of the spokespersons for the study.
- Preferably portrait image of each spokesperson, high resolution (300 dpi) free to use as a press image. Name of the photographer. If picture does not exist, please let us know.
NB! Good image, illustration and film material enhances and contributes to better communication of research findings.
The Communications Department will help you with advice on media work, planning and production of content, choice of target group, channel and timing of mailings. If you have partners, we keep in touch with their press office and also follow up the media efforts.
If a press release is to be made, it is the communicators' responsibility to make the text as comprehensible and well-written as possible. It is your responsibility as a researcher that the facts are correct and that the news holds up to what the results of the study show.
Feel free to think carefully about what your main message is, why this is newsworthy and which target group may be interested in the research.
Contact the Communications Department if you:
- Had a scientific work accepted in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, or have nailed your thesis and believe that there is an interest among the media.
- Participate in your assignment as an LU employee in media contexts, for example with opinion pieces or as an expert, and you think there may be interest from the media.
- Are responsible for major scientific or popular science events within the framework of the Faculty of Medicine and want to communicate this to the media.
- Need support before contact with the media.
Credibility, transparency and trust between media, the Communications Department and employees.
That questions from the press and media should always be answered. If you can't answer, refer to someone else or ask to come back later.
In accordance with the freedom to communicate act, all employees have the right to communicate with journalists without contacting the Communications Department. Everyone also has the right to anonymity protection, which means that the person who receives a tip may not reveal the source.
If you are contacted by the media
- Prepare for what you want to say and how you're going to say it.
- Think about what your most important message is.
- Express yourself in as simple and understandable a way as possible.
- Please provide the journalist with additional written information: factual information, illustrations, etc.
- If you are not able to answer directly, ask to come back later, or suggest a colleague that can answer.
Ask about this in advance
- What are you expected to contribute?
- Are you the right person to answer?
- In what context should the article/feature be published/broadcast?
- Are there more people to be interviewed?
- How long does the interview take?
- About broadcast media – live broadcast or taped?
- Can you read the article before it is published? If not, then it is important to at least read their quotes.
- What is the name of the journalist?
Contact
Contact the Faculty's Communications Department if you want to reach out in media: press [at] med [dot] lu [dot] se (press[at]med[dot]lu[dot]se)