STEMPRA Scotland Event, Edinburgh

STEMPRA Scotland Event, Edinburgh, Friday 18 May 2018

Location: Room 1.204, 7 Bristo Square, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AL (15min walk from Waverley train station)

Agenda

09:30 – 10:00 Registration, tea and coffee

10:00 – 10:05 Welcome from Stempra Chair, Claire Hastings

10:05 – 11:15 The science of press releases – can we have our cake and eat it?

Petroc Sumner and Luke Bratton from Cardiff University will share preliminary results from their randomised controlled trial of press releases into whether caveats, exaggerations and language impact media coverage.

11:15 – 11:30 Break

11:30 – 12:15 Making leaps forward in storytelling

Tracy Playle, CEO of Pickle Jar Communications, will consider the trends driving us to think more creatively, how to weave multimedia storytelling into our content, and how to develop content strategies and processes that really help our content travel further and drive engagement with the right audiences.

12:15 – 1:15 Improving public confidence in reporting

Media controversies about the harms and benefits of medicines such as statins have opened up public debate about medical and scientific claims. How can STEM press officers ensure evidence is communicated accurately and in an accessible way to improve public trust?

1:15 – 2:00 LUNCH

2:00 – 3:00 Panel: Media relations in the changing world of how research results are disseminated

How do we communicate complex stories in a pre-print server world without embargoes, balancing the needs of researchers and journalists?

3:00 – 4:15 Panel: Meet the journalists

Q&A session with journalists from a range of outlets including the BBC and The Sun

The session will be followed by drinks and a chance to network in a local pub.