[ASC-list] More science in the news petition

[Jess Tyler]

Great point Julian, and it also makes me wonder what impact the delivery
method has. Are people wanting 'news' as news, or do they differentiate
news from, say, reading all about something on the ABC website or a blog
from a scientist or a tweet feed.

What do people mean by 'news' and what do we mean when we ask them if they
want more of it?

Jess Tyler
SciBiz Media & Communications


On Mon, Jul 22, 2013 at 3:22 PM, JCribb <jcribb at work.netspeed.com.au> wrote:

> When we studied this at CSIRO in the 1990s we found the same thing, that
> science was of greater interest than sport – and it looked very exciting
> for those of us who love science.****
>
> ** **
>
> However when we explored beneath the surface of the raw numbers we found:*
> ***
>
> **-          **Around a half of people were actually terrified of science
> and how it was changing their lives and their “interest” in it consisted
> more of wanting to know what fresh nasties, challenges or inconvenient
> developments (like losing your job to a robot) it had in store for them.**
> **
>
> **-          **Only about a third of people were actually enthusiastic
> and wanted more science because they loved it.****
>
> ** **
>
> So before we indulge in too much self-congratulation, we should try to
> find out what it is in science that people are really interested in, and
> why.****
>
> ** **
>
> *Julian Cribb *FTSE****
>
> Julian Cribb & Associates****
>
> ph +61 (0)2 6242 8770 or 0418 639 245****
>
> www.sciencealert.com.au/jca.html****
>
> Skype: julian.cribb****
>
> ** **
>
> If you *EAT*, you should follow: http://twitter.com/#!/ComingFamine****
>
> ** **
>
> *From:* asc-list-bounces at lists.asc.asn.au [mailto:
> asc-list-bounces at lists.asc.asn.au] *On Behalf Of *Toss Gascoigne
> *Sent:* Monday, 22 July 2013 12:44 PM
> *To:* Tamzin Byrne
> *Cc:* asc-list at lists.asc.asn.au
> *Subject:* Re: [ASC-list] More science in the news petition****
>
> ** **
>
> I'm a bit sceptical about news polls showing people want more science in
> their news.  ****
>
> ** **
>
> If that's the case, why aren't sales of *New Scientist* higher than *New
> Idea*? (FYI: *New Scientist* about 20,000; *New Idea* audited at 294,000)*
> ***
>
> ** **
>
> There are a string of these polls - here's one from 1997:****
>
> ** **
>
> *Science tops in poll vote*****
>
> * *****
>
> *A new poll shows that Australians are more interested in brains than
> brawn. *****
>
> * *****
>
> *The survey of 1060 Australians from across the nation shows that they
> would rather follow media stories about science, medicine and technology
> than sport, crime or politics. It was conducted by AGB McNair on behalf of
> CSIRO.*****
>
> * *****
>
> *Dr Joe Baker, President of the Federation of Australian Scientific and
> Technological Societies (FASTS), said that he was writing to the editors of
> Australia’s top media outlets urging them to give greater coverage to
> science.*****
>
> * *****
>
> *“The batting performance of Mark Taylor and the political agenda of
> Pauline Hanson have come under the most intense media scrutiny. But where
> is the equivalent scrutiny of S&T?*****
>
>  ****
>
> Ho hum.****
>
> ** **
>
> And Tamzin is right - if we (the release writers) want science in the
> media, we have to make it relevant or interesting to ordinary people.  ***
> *
>
> ** **
>
> Toss Gascoigne****
>
> ** **
>
> ****************
>
> Toss Gascoigne and Associates****
>
> 56 Vasey Cres****
>
> CAMPBELL ACT 2612****
>
> ** **
>
> P. 02 6249 7400****
>
> M. 0408 704 442****
>
> E. director at tossgascoigne.com.au****
>
> W. tossgascoigne.com.au****
>
> Skype. tossgascoigne****
>
> ** **
>
> ABN:  31 068 557 522****
>
> *****************
>
> ** **
>
> On 22/07/2013, at 12:15 PM, Tamzin Byrne wrote:****
>
>
>
> ****
>
> And for their first story - 20 seconds on why we should all eat our greens?
>
> I'm not sure a petition is the way to go. They shouldn't be obliged to
> cover science - it's our job as science communicators to persuade them to,
> with interesting stories which are relevant to their audience. How many
> science releases have a youth angle?
>
> Plus - Hack seems to do a pretty decent job covering science. I can't
> claim to have listened recently, but in their online story archive at
> http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/hack/stories/ I count 10 out of 20 stories
> with a science/health/environment link.
>
> Tamz
> ________
> Tamzin Byrne
> Science Communicator
> Science in Public
>
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Mon, 22 Jul 2013 11:38:20 +1000
> From: Melanie McKenzie <melaniemck at hotmail.com>
> To: asc-list at lists.asc.asn.au
> Subject: [ASC-list] More science in the news petition
> Message-ID: <BLU0-SMTP4313E668325D95FA4747E33CD6E0 at phx.gbl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Hi All,
> Would you like to hear more science in the news? According to a recent
> ANUpoll (
> http://www.anu.edu.au/anupoll/images/uploads/ANUpoll_on_science.pdf),
> Australians are more interested in a variety of science topics over
> politics or sport. And yet 45% feel "not very well informed" or "not
> informed at all" about science.
>
> Please support our petition to lobby Triple J (as Australia's publicly
> owned youth radio station) to include a short "In Science" report in their
> hourly news updates.
>
> To sign the petition:
> http://chn.ge/127YakM
>
> For more information about the campaign:
> http://www.andinscience.com
>
> We're aiming for 20, 000 signatures, so we'd be most grateful if you'd ask
> your friends and colleagues to consider signing the petition. International
> supporters are also welcome!
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Melanie McKenzie (Science Communicator)
> and the rest of the "And In Science" team
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
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>
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