What are the most effective ways to report research results to the media?

Always aim to pitch to media outlets that target your specific audience, as this will result in quality over quantity. Structuring messaging to match your audience's understanding level is key.

To transmit research findings, it MUST not be as complex as the research could be itself. A good example to start is a "graphical abstract", a commonly used way to summarize your research for a paper or a conference. Nevertheless, you must go beyond to touch the soul of your" well-defined" audience. Use keywords, short phrases, concrete facts with easy numbers when possible, nice pictures, good management of colors, few text, and more images or sketches. Sometimes, a video is not the best choice to "craft your story", choose CAREFULLY the best results and facts you want to show, and always keep it simple, straight to the point, and "fresh" to read. picture/facts sheet

Crafting a story pertains to the above mentioned paragraph, however, all the above can be done and a compelling story crafted but all this will fall flat if the story does not resonate with the news publication, it's audience, it's editorial synopsis, and the newsworthy factor. Can you translate fact and figures to audience impact? Can you show that the reader will benefit from the research? Is the research timely? You need to craft a story of facts and figures that would resonate with the reader in question. How does is impact the audience? Is it newsworthy? Facts and figures are meaningful when considering an audience and the impact it relates to them. How does the research result affect the reader?

News reporters and outlets don't want to sit through research, facts and figures. We want the main crux of the research told and a link to the material presented. Journalists also do not have time to go through different documents so compile a research paper or technical journal. Materials should come with a reference list too. Facts and figures need to be backed by authoritative, credible sources.

In a Quadruple Helix Innovation Model, Media plays an important role in (p)reaching the society at large. Hence it is important to have the Science & Technology Journalists throughout the journey of your research. They not only play the role of one-way communication from research factory to mass population, but it is also the other way around. They can mobilize the real-time feedback on the anticipated Research Impact factors that affects the society at large.

Researching who you want to pitch to is almost as important as the research itself! Understand what outlets you're looking at, where it might fit within their publication, and look at recent articles as well. You want to ensure the comms product your pitching is something they haven't previously covered or takes a new look at a familiar topic. Craft your email or initial contact concisely and tailored to their preferences. Your attention to their media needs is vital to getting your story told.