Scientists Urged to Work Closely with Media

Scientists have been urged to work closely with the media to promote their work to the society.

The call was made by Professor Emmanuel Dandaura, the Executive Director Institute of Strategic and Development Communication, Nasarawa University Keffi Nigeria.

He was on Thursday giving a keynote speech at the Annual Media Convention at Makerere University.

Dandaura says that the media and Science share different values like curiosity, objectivity, truth and innovation among others. He also said that both media and Science serve the community and therefore they should work together to publicise research and innovations that arise from science.

Cue in: "Media is to..."

Cue out: "...amount to nothing

Dandaura recommends that scientists appreciate the mode of work of journalists and Media as a whole. He emphasised the need for scientists to have a dedicated budget to Communication to ensure that their work and innovations are known to the wider public that they serve.

He says that Scientists should use local media to promote their innovations rather than hiring foreign firms that may not understand the local environment.

//Cue in: "One of the.."

Cue out: "...the African Environment"/

Dandaura also urged the public to take interest in Science Communication because the public invests in science research through government funding of Research.

Cue in: "And that means.."

Cue out: "...their stakeholders"

Dr Barbra Zawedde Mugwanya Senior Knowledge Management Officer at the National Agricultural Research Authority in her presentation noted that there is still conflict between scientists and journalists.

She says that while journalists and the media generally contribute a lot to the commission of science, media and journalists also distort information.

The challenge she identifies is failure for media to correctly simplify scientific terms leading to misrepresentation of facts by using jargons that do not communicate the intended meaning.

//Cue in: "Some of them..."

Cue out: "...is becoming a challenge"//

The Annual Media Convention has since 1998 been organised by Makerere University Department of Journalism and Communication.

It is intended to provide an opportunity for participants to share and gather experience for improving and advancing journalism and communication with a critical focus on the role traditional and social media platforms play in disseminating scientific information in society.

This year's convention has been organised under the theme "Communicating Science in the social media age; Sharing technical information from researchers to the Public".