FISH 6000: Week 9 - Practicing Safe Scicomm and Popular Writing

Week 9 FISH 6000 lectures

Transcript

1. Week 9: Practicing safe science communication + popular writing FISH 6000: Science Communication for Fisheries Brett Favaro 2017 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
2. Land Acknowledgment We would like to respectfully acknowledge the territory in which we gather as the ancestral homelands of the Beothuk, and the island of Newfoundland as the ancestral homelands of the Mi’kmaq and Beothuk. We would also like to recognize the Inuit of Nunatsiavut and NunatuKavut and the Innu of Nitassinan, and their ancestors, as the original people of Labrador. We strive for respectful partnerships with all the peoples of this province as we search for collective healing and true reconciliation and honour this beautiful land together. http://www.mun.ca/aboriginal_affairs/
3. First… Power ¼ Hour! 15 minutes… Ready… GO!
4. 3 Minute Thesis • Criteria: • Compliance with rules, including length below 3 minutes /5 • Comprehension and content /5 (i.e. substance) • Engagement and communication /5 (i.e. style) • Everyone: ON STICKY NOTES, write a piece of positive feedback AND a piece of constructive feedback (max 1 of each). At end, we will collect all sticky notes (remember to write the name of the presenter on it) and give to the speaker • Friendly contest: Once everyone has finished – write the name of your ‘best talk’ on a ballot. We will determine the “people’s choice award” by vote
5. Today: 1. Communicating beyond academia 2. Recall: Why communicate? 3. Practicing safe science communication 4. Case studies: When sci-comm goes bad In-Class Activities 1. Discussing scicomm anxieties 2. A paper and its popular literature counterpart 3. Writing a popular article
6. Academia Professor Students Other profs
7. Traditional sci-comm Professor Students Other profs Everyone not in university Most sci-comm training is focused on improving the distillation and delivery of messages
8. Ideally: They are an important piece of a dynamic puzzle The researcher listens AND talks Building trust, linkages, networks, etc. as important as delivering an effective message
9. Regardless of your theory of sci-comm, two skills are critical Delivery - Write it, say it, film it, etc. in an interesting and engaging way Distillation - Find the most important message, with the most relevant possible information - Describe it in language appropriate to the audience - NOT “LAYMAN” - NOT dumbing it down - Make it accessible Mastering these skills will improve your science writing (and therefore, citation count, job prospects, etc) AND popular writing!
10. Remainder of the course Audience Activity Everyone – written Popular article Someone powerful Briefing note - (Not enough time) Everyone – spoken Podcast Also: Emails!
11. Today: 1. Communicating beyond academia 2. Recall: Why communicate? 3. Practicing safe science communication 4. Case studies: When sci-comm goes bad In-Class Activities 1. A paper and its popular literature counterpart 2. Writing a popular article
12. CONSERVATION ISSUE Why communicate? RESEARCH PUBLIC POLICY CONSERVATION ISSUE RESEARCH PUBLIC POLICY
13. We counted: # science papers per year (Web of Science) # news articles per year (Google News Archives)
14. Research News articles “At present, acid rain or snow is falling on most of the northeastern United States. The annual acidity value averages about pH 4, but values between pH 2.1 and 5 have been recorded for individual storms.”
15. Research News articles “At present, acid rain or snow is falling on most of the northeastern United States. The annual acidity value averages about pH 4, but values between pH 2.1 and 5 have been recorded for individual storms.” Research News articles
16. Emissions Research News articles
17. Research News articles Emissions Rain pH CONSERVATION ISSUE RESEARCH PUBLIC POLICY
18. Science was one piece of the conservation success Excellent science was expertly communicated to the public, who in turn, demanded action. Research alone does not change the world, but research, communicated well, does.
19. Earned media vs. Bought media 1000 word op-ed Circulation = 913,000 Equivalent ad value: $409,500 Brian Lin, Director of Editorial Content Strategy: EureakAlert!
20. Why communicate? It’s an Obligation •Most research in Canada is publically-funded •We should make our work available to the people who paid for it: • To scientists • To the public • To stakeholders • To policymakers We are paid to do research. Research means publishing. Publishing = communication.
21. Why communicate? It’s a privilege O’Hara (2010) Gatehouse (2013) Klinkenborg (2013)
22. PIPSC (2013) N = 4,069 “Over 85% of departments assessed received a grade of C or lower” Magnuson-Ford and Gibbs (2014)
23. Today: 1. Communicating beyond academia 2. Recall: Why communicate? 3. Practicing safe science communication 4. Case studies: When sci-comm goes bad In-Class Activities 1. A paper and its popular literature counterpart 2. Writing a popular article
24. Practicing safe science communication ❑ Publish your work ❑ Prepare your messages ❑ Pick appropriate venues ❑ Practice, practice, practice ❑ Perform
25. ❑ Publish your work Publications are your shield – the foundation of good sci comm The most important predictor of future success as a scientist is pre-PhD publication record (Laurance et al. 2013) • Why should YOU get a privileged voice? • Ultimately – because you generated knowledge (i.e. published) on the topic • Especially in early career, a science publication lends legitimacy to your opinion • If you’re wrong – fine. But you went through the right PROCESS. Your work was peer-reviewed, and the institution of science journals supported it. “…I am not aware of a single scientist known for her or his important scientific contributions that doesn’t have a prolific publication output. No, publishing s***loads of papers won’t win you the Nobel Prize, but if you don’t publish, you won’t win either.” – Corey Bradshaw, www.conservationbytes.com
26. Practicing safe science communication ✓ Publish your work ❑ Prepare your messages ❑ Pick appropriate venues ❑ Practice, practice, practice ❑ Perform
27. ❑ Prepare your messages • Peer-reviewed papers represent ALL of the information on a given talk • No matter the audience, you cannot communicate the entire paper • Start by distilling the most important messages from your paper
28. The writing pyramid Background Specific findings Science writing Popular communication Supporting information Key finding
29. https://www.compassscicomm.org/message-box-workbook
30. https://www.compassscicomm.org/the-message-box-workbook I encourage you to self-study:
31. Fundamentals of distillation: If you could only communicate a SINGLE MESSAGE to your reader, what would it be? What do you want the reader to DO after reading your work?
32. ❑ Pick appropriate venues Plan a communication strategy early Easier Harder
33. ❑ Practice, practice, practice Seminar series Campus radio Public venues (e.g. aquariums) Personal blog Journal clubs Lab meetings
34. Practicing safe science communication ✓ Publish your work ✓ Prepare your messages ✓ Pick appropriate venues ✓ Practice, practice, practice ❑ Perform
35. Today: 1. Communicating beyond academia 2. Recall: Why communicate? 3. Practicing safe science communication 4. Case studies: When sci-comm goes bad Post-disaster assessment
36. Unsafe science communication
37. Since publication: • Ten direct rebuttals in scientific literature • “Mind-bogglingly stupid” - Ray Hilborn • The authors themselves almost never discuss the 2048 figure (Branch, 2013) What happened? “[Erosion of diversity] is of serious concern because it projects the global collapse of all taxa currently fished by the mid-21st century (based on the extrapolation of regression in Fig 3A to 100% in the year 2048).”
38. Where did they go wrong? ❑ Publish your work ❑ Prepare your messages ❑ Pick appropriate venues ❑ Practice, practice, practice ❑ Perform
39. Where did they go wrong? ❑ Publish your work ❑ Prepare your messages ❑ Pick appropriate venues ❑ Practice, practice, practice ❑ Perform
40. Story 2: Salmon farms and ISA Rebecca Dolson, Speaking Up for Blue
41. Oct 24, 2011 – All salmon samples seized by CFIA Nov 9, 2011 – CFIA reports no ISA virus Oct 17, 2011 – Press release
42. “However, for weeks, while the CFIA conducted its investigation, the world was whipped into a frenzy through the malicious activities of a small group of anti- salmon farming activists, the same group who submitted the samples for testing. These activists have made it clear their mission is to shut down the B.C. salmon farming industry, at any cost. The activists’ approach was emotional, fear- driven and ignored any good science which disagreed with their pre-conceived conclusions.” – Aquaculture communications group “This is a good example of why proper sampling, testing and reporting procedures are in place and should be followed: the unconfirmed report from Simon Fraser appeared to be designed to create as much hype as possible. This has cost significant resources in time and money in emergency follow-up while also potentially impacting international markets for our business,” said [the executive director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association. – Vancouver Sun Where did they go wrong? The lab at UPEI (where the positive result was found) was stripped of its accreditation as a reference lab for ISA virus
43. ❑ Publish your work ❑ Prepare your messages ❑ Pick appropriate venues ❑ Practice, practice, practice ❑ Perform
44. Story 3: Climategate In November 2009, the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia was hacked After investigation, all parties were exonerated of wrongdoing “I’ve just completed Mike’s Nature [journal] trick…to hide the decline [in global temperatures].” Internal emails were published out of context, including ‘damning’ quotes: But…
46. Leiserowitz et al (2012)
47. “I won't worry about it until I hear it on the [BBC Radio] Today programme,” one university official - Nature (2010) Rule: Abstinence is not effective • UEA’s response was slow, unfocused • Attempted to ‘be above the issue’ • Lack of data-sharing empowered skeptics ❑ Publish your work ❑ Prepare your messages ❑ Pick appropriate venues ❑ Practice, practice, practice ❑ Perform Where did they go wrong?
48. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/articl e/pii/S0165783619302346?via%3Dihub
49. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/03/booming-demand-for-tuna-driving-unsustainable-level-of- fishing-report Scientists have warned that existing levels of tuna fishing are unsustainable after researchers found that global catches have increased more than 1,000% over the past 60 years. A study in the journal Fisheries Research estimated that about 6m tonnes of tuna are now caught annually, a rate that “risks driving tuna populations to unsustainable levels and possible extinction”. “Tuna fisheries have expanded into every region that we can possibly exploit. There are no new fishing grounds to explore and we are catching fish at the highest rate we can,” said Angie Coulter, a researcher with the Sea Around Us initiative at the University of British Columbia.
50. https://sustainablefisheries-uw.org/tuna-catches-extinction/
51. Paper? Who said this? Not necessarily the author. A study in the journal Fisheries Research estimated that about 6m tonnes of tuna are now caught annually, a rate that “risks driving tuna populations to unsustainable levels and possible extinction”. “Tuna fisheries have expanded into every region that we can possibly exploit. There are no new fishing grounds to explore and we are catching fish at the highest rate we can,” said Angie Coulter, a researcher with the Sea Around Us initiative at the University of British Columbia. no Press release? no http://www.seaaroundus.org/how-sustainable-is-tuna-new-global- catch-database-exposes-dangerous-fishing-trends/
52. What can you do? • They said/you said situation. Journalist could say you said it. • If you accuse a journalist of misquoting you (not just disagreeing with their interpretation!) you must have evidence • Record yourself during interviews on high-stakes subjects • Also: Respond on social media • Also: Ask yourself if it’s even worth the fight! Most things pass! Prevention: ❑ Publish your work ❑ Prepare your messages  including with your authorship team ❑ Pick appropriate venues ❑ Practice, practice, practice ❑ Perform Response:
53. Activity Paper Press Release Media https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/fee.1822 https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-06/uow-cmt060618.php https://grist.org/article/a-shellfish-diet-might-be-even-better-than-going-vegan/
54. Activity • Re-read the paper, press release, and media story (10 minutes) • As a class, discuss: • What were the main points of the paper? • What were the main points highlighted in the press release? • What were the main points in the media story? • Do you feel the message changed from paper → Media? • Were there differences in specific points made across the paper, the press release, and the media story? • Do you agree with the focus of the piece Paper Press Release Media
55. Goal setting • Discuss with each of your teammates: • What were your goals last week? • Did you achieve them? Why or why not? • What is your goal for THIS week? Goal-setting, peer support, reflection Examination, blame, fault, bragging
56. Popular article assignment https://thenavigatormagazine.com/ MAX 650 words. Less is better Audience: Fishers in Atlantic Canada 1. What is the problem? 2. What will you do to solve it? 3. How will doing this improve science, management or practice of fisheries?
62. 1. Write a rough draft. Get a colleague to read it out loud back to you - note where they stumbled in reading. (Week 10) 2. Revise your draft, pair up with a different colleague and again get them to read it out loud back to you. Again, note where they stumbled, and revise (Week 11) 3. Submit final version (Week 12) You are Telling a story Write in first person. “I am going to…”