Education Media Centre breaks new ground

Submitted by Jonathan Haslam on Tue, 31/03/2015 - 12:00am

The Education Media Centre, which was created by CEBE, has taken further steps to improve the quality of news reporting on the education with the launch of a series of free regional events for education researchers and press officers.

More than 40 education academics and press officers from universities in the North, including Sheffield, Durham and York, attended the first event on March 12th at Durham University. They were given insights into working with news media and how education research is covered in the news, and had the opportunity to explore issues including:

  • Why education researchers and journalists should engage with each other
  • How journalists find stories and the role of the press officer
  • What journalists need from education academics and what researchers need from the media
  • The opportunities offered by social media
  • How to feel more comfortable when dealing with journalists and •Steps to take to see education research covered more effectively in the media

Feedback from the Durham session showed how valuable these events are for academics who really want journalists to use their research evidence when reporting on educational issues.