As part of World Science Week in Auckland last week, Peter Griffin, Founder and Manager of the New Zealand Science Media Centre, and Fiona Fox, Founding Director of the UK Science Media Centre, shared their views and thoughts on the SMC model and the science media landscape.

The panel discussion, titled 'Handling media frenzies - negotiating minefields in science communications', was hosted by the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand (PRINZ) and the Science Communicators Association of New Zealand (SCANZ).

Peter Griffin offered five key points he thinks are critical to communicating science effectively in today's media environment:

• Openness is a good strategy: While it is tempting for organisations to go on lock-down if a controversial issue arises, openness and transparency almost always pay off in the long term.

• The vacuum will always be filled by someone: If science organisations choose not to engage on controversial issues, interest groups and advocates will step into the breach, and the quality of public discussion on the science may suffer as a result.

• Empower scientists to talk to the media: Offer guidelines, frameworks and training that allows scientists to speak to the media and share their expertise without creating conflicts with commercial interests.

• Preparation is vital: Always have a plan to deal with your 'worst case scenario'. Practise crisis communication drills so that you are ready to go when things turn pear-shaped.

• Complete the feedback loop: If things do go wrong with the media, don't hold a grudge, find out what went wrong. Talk with journalists, editors and scientists to understand where communication broke down and learn from such situations.

You can listen to the full audio from the event on the Science Media Centre website. 

The Science Media Centre is hosting a communications workshop for natural hazards researchers, scientists and engineers -- Disasters, media and the public.   

Communicating vital information to the public during disasters is an essential, but sometimes daunting, responsibility for scientists and engineers.

This workshop will cover a range of practical and research-based insights into effective science communication for different audiences, including media and members of the public.

REGISTER HERE 

Date: Friday, 10 October 2014
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m.
Location: Wellington - Royal Society of New Zealand
Fees: $120 (Natural Hazard Research Platform members qualify for 50% subsidy - please contact NHRP for more details)

This workshop has been organised with support from: Natural Hazards Research Platform; Joint Centre for Disaster Research (Massey/GNS); Science Media Centre; Massey University; Engaging Social Science (eSocSci); and the Royal Society of New Zealand.

You can see the full workshop programme here and  download a printable flyer here.

A new study comparing the outcomes of popular diets, such as Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers and the Atkins Diet among others, has not found any real difference in weight loss between them.

The research, published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, analysed the results of 48 clinical trials involving 7200 overweight and obese adults.

After six months, people on low-carbohydrate diets lost 8.6 more kilograms than those who were not on a diet, while those on low-fat diets lost 7.7 more kilos than those on no diet. After 12 months about one kilo of that difference was gone, and there was no difference between low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets.

"Our findings should be reassuring to clinicians and the public that there is no need for a one-size-fits-all approach to dieting because many different diets appear to offer considerable weight loss benefits," the authors wrote in the paper.

"This is important because many patients have difficulties adhering to strict diets that may be particularly associated with cravings or be culturally challenging (such as low-carbohydrate diets)."

When asked for his reaction to the study, Professor Tony Blakely from the Department of Public Health at the University of Otago, Wellington, told Stuff.co.nz that if dieters enforced the same amount of energy restriction, then they would lose the same amount of weight with any of the diets.

However, he cautions that while reducing energy intake is a good starting point for tackling obesity "...there are other considerations about what you're eating and its effect on different diseases: for example, its effect on cancers and cardiovascular disease."

Wondering where political parties sit on the science-related issues of the day? The Science Media Centre is on to it.

In the lead up to the September 20 election, the SMC has been quizzing the  political parties on their polices around some of the big scientific issues facing the country.

Keep an eye out next week for the launch of our Election 2014 SMC Q&A, covering topics such as science funding, the environment and genetic modification.  

In the meantime you can check out the questions and responses from the 2008 election and 2011 election.