The Australian Science Media Centre (AusSMC) is involved in a range of projects aimed at promoting the coverage of science news in Australia and improving diversity in the expert voices we see in the media. Below is a summary of some of our current projects.
Scimex.org is a collaboration between the AusSMC and the Science Media Centre of New Zealand. It is a breaking science news portal, featuring news content from a wide range of sources, including universities, research institutions, scientific journals and scientific conferences.
The portal delivers research news directly to the inboxes of registered journalists, enabling them to access research papers, media releases, conference and event details, expert recommendations and multimedia from the site's password protected area. Members of the public can also access media releases and links to the latest in science via the website.
The Indigenous Media Mentoring Program (IMMP) provides Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scientists with tailored training and mentoring to support their engagement with the media. The program provides practical hands-on media experience with media partner NITV-SBS, mentoring from Indigenous researchers, media trainers and Indigenous journalists, and the creation of an expert profile on AusSMC’s science news portal, Scimex.
The competitively selected program incorporates discussion of the issues Indigenous experts can experience when working in the media and provides strategies to manage these, allowing Indigenous scientists to position themselves as role models to promote STEM. The program is supported by CSL and the CSIRO.
Check out the latest update
The AusSMC is a major partner in the Superstars of STEM program run by Science and Technology Australia. The initiative aims to smash gender assumptions about who can work in science, technology, engineering, and maths. Open to women and non-binary people, the AusSMC runs the media skills component of the program.
This involves hosting workshops across the country in collaboration with media companies that include newsroom visits, presentations and Q&A sessions from experienced science journalists, interview practice and feedback on how to present their area of expertise to the media to best connect with audiences and attract news coverage.
Read more about the program here
The AusSMC has developed media skills training workshops specifically tailored to women and non-binary people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities. The workshops, a combination of online and in-person sessions, aspire to increase diversity in the Australian media while giving participants the skills and confidence to engage proactively with journalists.
Workshops also include advice on how to keep safe online and tips from CALD experts with media experience on how to manage the unique challenges CALD women in STEM can face when developing a public profile. This training is also run for both men and women researchers from CALD backgrounds.
The Collaborative Journalism Project brings scientists and other experts together with journalists in newsrooms to create new in-depth content on important topics for Australian society. The project supports accurate, evidence-based journalism and creates exclusive and in-depth content that can have currency for longer than daily news.
The project also helps journalists and media organisations develop skills and knowledge in important areas of science or issues that can inform their future reporting on the topic and builds stronger relationship between experts and journalists.
In 2020-21, a collaborative Journalism pilot program funded by the Judith Neilson Institute lead to collaboration with four newsrooms.
In 2023-24, a further five collaborative Journalism projects have been possible thanks to a META Public Interest Journalism Fund administered by the Walkley Foundation.
For further information on this latest project, click here.
The AusSMC offers media training workshops for researchers looking to improve their interactions with the media or those wondering where to start. Researcher training sessions include an introduction to the media, general tips for being interviewed by a journalist and training on communicating scientific knowledge in a way that can be engaging and clear for audiences without scientific knowledge.
The AusSMC also has a free online media training website at sciencemediasavvy.org
Contact the AusSMC for more information
The AusSMC has developed a series of resources to help scientists both prepare for and respond to online trolling and abuse. The resources, which have been developed thanks to the support of Springer Nature, Flinders University, The University of Sydney and CSIRO, include step-by-step guides to help academics protect themselves from online abuse and advice on what to do if they find themselves being attacked online.
The resources are available to AusSMC supporters at our online media training site sciencemediasavvy.org
Contact the AusSMC for more information
The AusSMC offers newsroom training sessions for journalists looking to improve their coverage of science, health, environment and technology stories. Journalist training sessions include an introduction to covering peer-reviewed research; how the embargo system works, how to judge the credibility of research and how to spot and manage media releases that are over-hyping science news.