From Publication to the Public Expanding your research beyond academia

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From Publication to Public:Expanding your research beyond academia

Los Angeles | London | New Delhi | Singapore | Washington DC | Melbourne

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Maria Balinska, Editor,

The Conversation US

Camille Gamboa,PR, Public Affairs & Conventions Manager, SAGE PublishingModerator

#SAGETalks

A workshop for SAGE authors

From Publication to the Public Expanding your research beyond academia

A bit about your presenter...

BBC Radio Current Affairs● History of anthropology; Reith Lectures; radio talksThe Conversation● Scholarly insight into current events; unlocking research for

general public

Why write for wider public“I share with my fellow presidents the notion that it’s actually a responsibility, or even an obligation, of universities to engage in public discourse and to share the expertise that we accumulate, the knowledge we discover, and the understanding we achieve with the public at large.” University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel, speaking on a panel at May 2015 “Academic Engagement in Public and Political Discourse” conference with Presidents Teresa Sullivan (University of Virginia), Philip Hamlin (Dartmouth) and Michael Crow (Arizona State University)

Why write for wider public“As the president of one of our country’s leading research university systems, I believe it is now incumbent on the academic community to ensure that the work and voices of researchers are front and center in the public square.”

Why write for wider public

• Enrich the public discourse• Share knowledge of universities• Explain big problems, offer solutions• Give academics a voice in scientific, cultural

debates• Raise personal profile - articles, interviews • Expand network in unexpected ways

Let’s talk about pitching

Pitching - where it all begins Always start from assumption that reader has no prior knowledge, little interest and no time!

• Why should they care about this topic?

– Relevance to their lives, surprise, counterintuitive

• Why now?

– Current events, anniversaries

• What does it add to current discussion?

• Why you?

Types of stories • News analysis• Report and explain new research/science or

ideas• An “explainer” of topical issue• The personal story behind the headline about a

research discovery

Timely and topical• Reaction to an event or scholarly take to the news

Cutting-edge ideas, research

The art of the news peg•Why now? An ongoing trend, an event, an anniversary?

The “explainer”• Pegged to recent events

• Based on your expertise

• Gets reader up to speed

New research explainedBerkeley’s Alan Auerbach and BU’s Laurence Kotlikoff on their new paper: U.S. INEQUALITY, FISCAL PROGRESSIVITY, AND WORK DISINCENTIVES: AN

INTRAGENERATIONAL ACCOUNTING

The personal story behind the headlineScience is hard and good science is harder – it takes persistence and tons of patience.

When we began planning a mission to Pluto over 15 years ago, we knew it was going to be, as they say, a long haul. But we also knew it had a huge potential payoff. New Horizons would be the first closeup look at a world that we’d known about only distantly for 70 years. That kind of challenge is hard to pass by. And I didn’t.

More on writing...

Starting an article• How to engage the reader?

– Topical relevance– Relatability– Surprise– Story – Provocative statement– Lay out (eg use of image)

• Outline: main points you want to make

• Why you? Establish your credentials.

What you should include• Make your main point in the first few paragraphs

(don’t save the best for last!)• ‘Nut graf’: what is this story about and why does

it matter? • Framing questions

Engaging tops…•Why boys need to have conversations about emotional intimacy in the classrooms

• How Donald Trump gets away with saying things other candidates can’t

• Toxic lead can stay in the body for years after exposure

Language • Address the piece to a smart high school

senior.• Avoid jargon. • Short sentences and short paragraphs.• Use examples to illustrate analysis or theory.

Academic rigor, journalistic flairwww.theconversation.com

@ConversationUS

• A new model that brings together best of both academic and journalistic worlds.

• An international network – TCUS launched October 2014

• Independent and non profit: supported by 10 foundations and 19 universities

• A small, start-up team of ten editors – expanding to 14 in May

The Conversation US - history

TCUS: Editorial distinctiveness • All contributors = researchers affiliated with academic

institutions • Not traditional oped, explanatory journalism• An editorial collaboration between scholar and

journalist. This is about our authors’ voices but both sides must approve final copy.

• Twin editorial aspirations: • Complement the news agenda: scholars give

insight and context to stories in the headlines. • Set the public agenda: scholars by sharing

research and new thinking.

A collaborative editorial process • Online, real-time editor• Shared draft document pre-publication

Easy revisioning• Ability to have multiple authors• Link to live site

Disclosure statement

Author’s final approval

Life after publication• Promotion on social media• Daily newsletter sent to 24+K subscribers• Republication through Creative Commons• Media follow-ups

Audiences: the numbersFree to read and to republish through Creative Commons license

Monthly unique visits to site: over half a million

Through republication: over five million reads.

Newsletter recipients: 24,000

19,000 sites republishing

Feedback from TCUS reader survey• “Sometimes popular academic writings don't seem to jive with the

times. The Conversation does.” • “I like the idea of news items being written by a person who has

some background knowledge of the topic.”• "It's refreshing to read articles that do not fall back on sarcasm,

idioms, irreverence, or other current digital writing tropes to engage the reader.“

• 90% of readers surveyed say they “like” or “strongly like” TCUS.

Contributor feedback• “Thank YOU so much for all of your help with the story. It was such a great experience to

write it, and you were immensely helpful. What strikes me most …is that you helped me make a complex argument in a simple and straight-forward way, which is just SO different from most op-eds! So, I would definitely be interested in writing for you guys again.” University of Michigan

• I can’t say enough good things about your outlet. It’s such a great way to both spread the deep knowledge academics have, while also giving them an opportunity to stretch themselves to be better communicators! Tufts

• I just saw my article is on Newsweek.com...SO COOL!!!!!!!!! And Voice of America just interviewed me yesterday - the Russian Desk is translating the interview and publishing it, with a link to the article, on their website. But awesome!! Kudos to my editor! Does that mean I can write for you again??

- Holy Cross

Please get in touch:

Maria Balinska, Editor, The Conversation US maria.balinska@theconversation.comwww.theconversation.com

Los Angeles | London | New Delhi | Singapore | Washington DC | Melbourne

While we do our best to answer as many questions as we can, time constraints may not allow us to answer every question. Thank you for

understanding.

Send us your questions!

Send in your questions via the Question Box on your screen. →

Using Twitter? Use the hashtag

#SAGETalks.

#SAGETalks

Los Angeles | London | New Delhi | Singapore | Washington DC | Melbourne

Webinar recording, slides, and follow-up Q&A will be emailed to you and available on connection.sagepub.com.

Thank you!

Maria Balinskawww.theconversation.com

Be sure to check our website for updates on our webinar series!

#SAGETalks