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The Leopold Leadership interactive training events are proving to be a highly successful way to establish meaningful relationships with the top tier science journalists. Journalists are often frustrated by the distance from the ivory tower to the real world. They struggle to bridge this gap on a daily basis and therefore they recognize the value of "helping" top environmental scientists become better communicators. Thus, while journalists may be jaded or unapproachable about being "pitched" on a story, they are almost always enthusiastic about participating in a communications training session for scientists. They also welcome the opportunity to learn more about the science, scout new stories and get to know the scientists on a personal level. Long after the training sessions, the journalists carry on their connections with the scientists, and the coverage keeps on rolling.
Nancy Baron, COMPASS
Trainer, Media module
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 Training
Communications and Outreach
How do you communicate complex scientific information in a sound-bite world? The goal of the Communications and Outreach module is to help academic environmental scientists become familiar with the diverse types of media and to provide skills to make interactions with various media outlets more effective. Working with professional print and broadcast journalists as trainers, Fellows improve their ability to deliver messages to non-technical audiences. Specific hands-on trainings include: - Assessing the 'story value' of the science
- Focusing and simplifying the message
- Managing media interactions
- Packaging and pitching article ideas
- Writing op-ed pieces and letters to the editor
- Developing sound bites for various media
- Conducting on-camera interviews
- Taking advantage of the Internet
- TV and film quality video
- Publishing books
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