Here's What To Do If You're An Academic Who Wants To Talk To The Media

Late in the evening of Monday August 20, 2018, students brought down the statue known as "Silent Sam" on the campus of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. And although a good deal of the reporting so far has focused on the what and how, as well as the political aftershocks of that event, "Silent Sam" of course had a history.

And this moment was not lost on historians themselves. It prompted prominent Civil War historian, Kevin M. Levin to tweet:

Hey historians, if you receive a request today by the media to talk about Silent Sam, TAKE IT. #twitterstorians

— Kevin M. Levin (@KevinLevin) August 21, 2018

And not just in this one specific case.

Scholars are increasingly taking on a more public role, breaking down the tired stereotype of the "ivory tower intellectual," locked away from the "real world." Scholars are realizing more and more that they have something to contribute to the public debate, and journalists are realizing how great a resource these scholars can be.

But there's a problem.

Leaving aside the perils of actually finding a scholar on a university website, it turns out that academics and journalists often seem to think they speak the same language. But they really don't. They move at different paces and have different imagined audiences for the stories they're trying to tell.

To combat this for my fellow academics, let me offer some tips for when you are contacted by the media.

First and foremost, when that call or email or tweet comes in, the most important thing in this entire process is responding quickly. As academics, we're all busy. We all have lots of emails to answer. But if you do want to talk - even if it's just to learn more about what that journalist is writing about - get back to them ASAP. More likely than not, that journalist is on a deadline and so needs to complete their piece soon. If you don't answer, they might move on to someone else or leave out the informed comment you could offer. As David Perry has written, sometimes you have to move quicker than you otherwise want to.

Second, when you're thinking about what you might say, don't immediately talk yourself out of your expertise. You might not want to talk to the journalist and that's fine (see below) but don't exclude yourself if what they're looking for isn't your particular research subfield. Our research might be narrow, but we all teach broadly. That journalist isn't looking for a book manuscript - they're looking to learn something. During the course of the conversation, you might realize you really do have some things to say about the topic. In a worst case scenario, you could point the journalist towards a colleague who might have that perfect answer to what they're asking.

Third, the journalist is likely contacting you for a reason. In other words, they likely have a specific set of questions that they think you can answer that will help them fill in the gaps of what they already know. So, try to answer directly and briefly. But sometimes the journalist doesn't know what they don't know, so don't be afraid to offer more information if you think it's really important. Don't be afraid to point out the a problem in the way a question is framed. Help them understand. You're the expert. That's why they got in touch with you in the first place!

Fourth, if you have a good conversation with the journalist, make it clear that you're happy to answer follow-up questions. You might have the opportunity to clarify what you said earlier. Alternately, you might be the first person they call if they're working on something similar in the future, or you could be in a position to help them find other academics for another project on a different topic. 

Finally, and maybe most importantly, remember that you don't have to talk to anyone you don't want to. There are rewards and dangers to being the public eye. You'll live by your words that appear in that media piece. If those words appear in an ethically-problematic publication you have to live with the implications of that. If those words are picked up by the bad-faith social media outrage machine, this can lead to harassment, particularly (but not exclusively) if you're a woman or person of color. It's important for colleges and universities to know that that might happen and act accordingly. Unfortunately, few have so far taken steps so far so you have to make the decision that's right for you. 

There are lots of other great resources available to help academics make that leap into the public domain. What's offered here is just a start - a brief list that can be supplemented by listening to the many others who are already doing such great work.