Research and the media

The wider public shows increasingly more interest in new research findings. Also, researchers are more frequently asked to talk to the media about their specialist research or feel the need to spread the news themselves.

News Coverage by the Media

While wider dissemination of research outcomes is generally supported by researchers, their institutions and funders, facing the media to have your research publicised by professional journalists, radio or TV broadcasters can be a challenge.

Notre Dame has established expertise in-house on how to deal with media attention. The Marketing & Communications Office (OMC) should be notified of any interest by journalists or broadcasters to cover a news story on your research.

More generally, helpful advice on positive interactions with the media are provided by the Australian Science Media Centre. Its Science Media Savvy site is developed in collaboration with CSIRO and offers training modules for a range of media interactions resulting in news coverage in print, on radio or TV.

Media releases

To attract media attention to research outcomes that are worthwhile and suitable to be disseminated to the general public, a media release can be prepared in conjunction with Notre Dame's Marketing & Communications Office (OMC) .

Besides many local and regional platforms interested in research-related media releases, the Australian Science Media Centre provides specific opportunities for science-based media releases via Scimex to which national and international journalists and professional bloggers can subscribe.

Researcher-driven promotion of research findings

The internet allows ample opportunities for researchers to spread the news of their research efforts and outcomes themselves. Various online social media platforms have proven to be effective in the dissemination of research coverage in lay language and/or links to the official publication of their work.

Notre Dame has guidelines and policies in place to safeguard acceptable and professional use of social media for research publication purposes and to protect the image and reputation of the University in this context:

For more information, contact the Marketing and Communications Office (OMC) or the Research Office at Notre Dame.

Fresh Science

Fresh Science is a national competition for early career researchers to share their research stories and outcomes with the wider community. The opportunity allows new researchers to gain experience in public speaking about their studies and discoveries, which often leads to further media interest and news coverage by professional science reporters. Fresh Science winners are awarded with media training by the experts and a chance to shine at a special event in their home state.

Three Minute Thesis (3MT®)

The 3MT® event is a competition of research presentation and promotion. It was originally organised by the University of Queensland and has now been adopted by many tertiary institutions across Australia and overseas. The competition provides an engaging opportunity for HDR students to develop their academic communication skills and experience. Participants face the challenge of explaining their research to the wider public in just three minutes with nothing else than one Power-Point slide at their disposal.

The popularity of the competition has grown enormously over the years and Notre Dame has held its first battle of the HDR students in 2017. Look out for new announcements of this exciting event starting with preliminary rounds on the Fremantle and Sydney campuses.

For more information on these competitions, please contact the HDR Education Coordinators in the Research Office.