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SMC: Celebrating 10 years of SMC
Celebrating 10 years of SMC
To
mark a decade of the Science Media Centre's operation,
director Dacia Herbulock reflects on ten
years.
In July 2008, a small team with a big
mission launched from a back room in the Royal Society’s
heritage premises.
We were tasked with improving the
depth, breadth and quality of science coverage in the New
Zealand media. We wanted to go further and set the agenda,
offering news leads across the full spectrum of
science-related issues: environment, technology,
agriculture, innovation, health, social policy. We needed to
be useful as a first port-of-call for busy journalists with
no special attachment to science.
We were nimble. We were
driven. We learned from our mistakes.
Over the years, we
carved out a reputation based on responsiveness to the
media’s changing needs, a solid understanding of complex
issues and scientists’ perspectives, and effectiveness at
bridging this divide.
We are deeply humbled by the
enthusiastic expressions of support we’ve received on
marking this important milestone. As the voices in the video
below demonstrate, the Science Media Centre has established
itself as an independent, trusted and essential resource for
media and research organisations alike. Our thanks go out to
the thousands of individuals whose contributions of time,
goodwill and energy have made this possible.
This decade
has been a time of enormous change for the media, for
researchers and for society. Against this backdrop, the
Science Media Centre has a more essential role to play than
ever, championing public discussion that is grounded in
evidence and fostering respectful, informed engagement from
scientists on issues that matter.
We look forward to
confronting new challenges in the decade
ahead.
Founding director Peter Griffin has also reflected on the SMC's first decade
on Sciblogs, alongside Te Pūnaha Matatini director Professor Shaun
Hendy.
Quoted: The Spinoff
"The
Impossible Burger is one company’s response to the fact
that we simply can’t afford to continue feeding the
world’s growing population using our current land-hungry,
water-thirsty, pollution-heavy and extinction-inducing ways
of producing food."
University of Auckland
microbiologist Dr Siouxsie Wiles
on reaction to the meat-free burger Air New
Zealand is
trialling.
Fresh-look website,
timeline
To celebrate our anniversary,
we've unveiled a new look to our website, including an
interactive timeline of a decade in science
media.
Our old website has been around since before the SMC was officially launched, so it's done well to hang on this long. However, a new decade felt like a good time for a facelift.
We've also created an interactive timeline reflecting on some of the major science stories from the past ten years and those where the SMC has played a role in helping media coverage. Check out the timeline here.
We've also put together a video with reflections from some of the journalists and scientists we've worked with over the years. Click below to watch the video:
Policy news & developments
Flu vaccine uptake: More than 1.29 million Kiwis have had an influenza immunisation this season, which is already the highest number of any year.
President-elect of ISC: Sir Peter Gluckman has been elected to the position of President-elect of the newly formed International Science Council at its inaugural meeting in Paris.
Drinking water safety: The Government will amend the Health Act to allow for improvements to drinking water safety.
Possible Unitec commissioner:
The Tertiary Education Commission has opened consultation on
the possibility of dissolving Unitec's council and
appointing a commissioner.
This week on the NZ
Conversation.
New gene transfer rules could help prevent
spread of antibiotic
resistance
Heather Hendrickson,
Massey University
Why Trump’s liberal demolition job and
authoritarian outreach is about
China
Reuben Steff, University of
Waikato
See more NZ-authored Conversation articles.
September SAVVY
Auckland workshops
We're holding two
2-day Science Media SAVVY training workshops in Auckland in
September.
• Sept 3-4 – Media SAVVY
for Māori researchers
• Sept 6-7 –
Science Media SAVVY
These highly-acclaimed
workshops offer researchers first-hand insight into the
workings of news and social media, as well as hands-on,
practical exercises to improve communication.
Our experienced facilitators provide a supportive environment for researchers to consider their work from different perspectives and find new ways to describe the value of their research to the public.
Ideally suited for researchers with previous media experience seeking further development of their skills, as well as beginners anticipating media interest in thei
Science Media Centre NZ
Our aim is to promote accurate, evidence-based reporting on science and technology by helping the media work more closely with the scientific community.
The Science Media Centre is New Zealand's only trusted, independent source of information for the media on all issues related to science. Thousands of news stories providing context from and quoting New Zealand researchers have been published as a direct result of our work.
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