This event is inspired by the discussion initiated by the Science Media Centre (SMC) open letter about preprints and science news. SMC raised concerns that preprints would effectively kill the embargo system, which would undermine science reporting.

Can preprints and science reporting co-exist? Do preprints affect the quality of science journalism? Should there be further guidelines for findings that are likely to attract media attention?

Four speakers will present talks, followed by a discussion:

• Tom Sheldon (Senior Press Manager, Science Media Centre) : "Preprints bring rewards to science - but beware unforeseen side-effects"
• Clare Ryan (Head of Media Relations, Wellcome Trust) : "Shifting the focus of science news away from journal papers"
• Robin Lovell-Badge (Senior Group Leader, Francis Crick Institute) : "Preprints are the future"
• Teresa Rayon Alonso (Postdoctoral Training Fellow, Francis Crick Institute) : "PreLights: preprints digests can help reporting"

The event will be chaired by Jane Hughes, Director of Communications at the Francis Crick Institute.

Accessibility info

The institute is wheelchair accessible. There are local disabled toilets near the auditorium and around the building.

A hearing loop will be available on the night, please get in touch if you wish to make use of this.

All guide dogs for the hearing and sight impaired are allowed in the ground-floor communal areas.

Programme of events

18:00-18:30 – Drinks and networking

18:30-18:40 – welcome and introduction (Jane Hughes, Director of Communications, Francis Crick Institute)

18:40-19:30 – Talks

Tom Sheldon (Senior Press Manager, Science Media Centre)

“Preprints bring rewards to science – but beware unforeseen side-effects”

Proponents of preprints have plenty to be excited about, as their promise of greater efficiency, transparency and freedom becomes ever more the norm. But when it comes to research in health and medicine, there remains far too much naivety around some very real and negative impacts that preprints could have when it comes to public understanding of science. Diet, vaccines, statins, e-cigs: research does not exist in isolation, it matters to the public and it matters when people are misinformed. But non-scientists do not read scientific journals; most people get their research information through mass media. We therefore rely on journalists to get it right when they tell their stories. But preprints could mean new scientific findings are available to journalists before any checking, corroboration, acceptance, or – crucially – the benefit of an embargo. If so, journalists’ ability to verify findings is hampered, and the risk of rushing out poor information to the public goes up. Preprints in health and medicine are coming, and a new system could bring rewards to science. But we need to be aware of any possible side effects along the path of lab study to news website; and we all need to be talking to each other to make sure public understanding is not harmed in the process.

Clare Ryan (Head of Media Relations, Wellcome Trust)

“Shifting the focus of science news away from journal papers”

Press releases based on journal papers are the bread and butter for many science journalists and science media officers. But is this way of working the best way to represent science to the media? I will talk briefly about how the rise of pre-print could be an opportunity to change the status quo. By changing the way we work with journals, and demoting the role of the embargoed press release, I will outline how we could improve science reporting.

Robin Lovell-Badge (Senior Group Leader, Francis Crick Institute)

"Preprints are the future"

For the sake of science, the media will have to adapt to the coming of preprints in biology and medicine. After all, we scientists do what we do in order to benefit society, so the sooner that society and other scientists know the results of scientific enquiry the better. Peer review has never been a perfect guarantee of truth or quality – replication by other investigators is the most reliable mechanism. Journalists have been reporting research results in the physical sciences based on non-peer-reviewed preprints for many years and there is no reason they cannot do this in the biomedical sciences too.

Teresa Rayon Alonso (Postdoctoral Training Fellow, Francis Crick Institute)

“PreLights: Preprints digests can help reporting”

Teresa will talk about the PreLights service and explain why preprint digests are useful for bringing research results to broader audiences and journalists. Preprint digests are important for transparency and communication of science.

19:30 – 20:30 - Questions/discussion