Thread by @solar_chase, A plea to experts: when a journalist reaches out to you about [...]

Jenny Chase

solar_chase

A plea to experts: when a journalist reaches out to you about your general field, even if they& #39;re asking things you don& #39;t know the precise answer to, ANSWER! And quickly! Even "we don& #39;t know for sure yet, it depends on whether x and y are true" is useful!

Don& #39;t put the email on a "to answer well when I have time" list. Because they need it now, and if you don& #39;t, someone ignorant but full of confidence may get quoted instead. Your expert uncertainty is a valuable input to public information!

Anyway this is me nagging my team members to not skip replying to journalist emails because they don& #39;t have *all* the answers. But it applies much more widely too.

Replies more useful than silence: " I have no idea", "I have never heard of that thing supposedly in my field so maybe it is not a *major* thing", "buggered if I know".

Anyway what& #39;s the worst that could happen? You get quoted expressing uncertainty or giving a background comment? You wrote a short email to no immediate personal gain?

Journalists are almost never out to misquote you, and here& #39;s a secret: most people don& #39;t read quotes carefully.

You might think the quote doesn& #39;t precisely express your subtle point, and wince to see it. But even so, it& #39;s usually fine and you have contributed to understanding.

Also don& #39;t feel you have to make a subtle point. Usually it& #39;s even more helpful to make an unsubtle point that is accurate and conveys the general consensus in your field, or the lack of consensus if that is the case.

Even if *you* think everyone knows this already.

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