Working Session: Communicating about Human Biotechnologies and Biopolitics

Presenter: 
gmaranto
jmoses
lberliner
eaird
Moderator: 
slindee
Day: 
Wednesday 28 July 2010
Start Time: 
1:00pm
End Time: 
2:30pm
Session Year: 
2010
Location: 
Cronise Room
Short Description: 

Many participants in the Tarrytown Meetings work directly with one form of communications media or another – “old” print & broadcast media, online media (blogs and other e-publications; new social media); social networks; film and video; writing and publishing. All of us follow the way human biotech and biopolitics is covered and addressed. This working session discussed our own experiences with “framing” and “messaging” via a variety of media, and how we might improve our communications with both general and particular audiences.

How can our concerns be “framed” or “messaged” effectively for different types of media and different “beats”? What’s worked well and not so well in terms of our own efforts? Based on our experiences and observations, how do we assess the various regions of the media landscape, including our own newsletters, blogs, etc? How can we grapple with misleading authoritiative  statements from scientists, with media tendencies to polarize rather than present nuance, with the crisis in journalism that exacerbates these and other problems? What projects / efforts might address the challenges and gaps we identify?

Full Description: 

Many participants in the Tarrytown Meetings work directly with one form of communications media or another – “old” print & broadcast media, online media (blogs and other e-publications; new social media); social networks; film and video; writing and publishing. All of us follow the way human biotech and biopolitics is covered and addressed. This working session discussed our own experiences with “framing” and “messaging” via a variety of media, and how we might improve our communications with both general and particular audiences.

How can our concerns be “framed” or “messaged” effectively for different types of media and different “beats”? What’s worked well and not so well in terms of our own efforts? Based on our experiences and observations, how do we assess the various regions of the media landscape, including our own newsletters, blogs, etc? How can we grapple with hype from scientists, with media tendencies to polarize rather than present nuance, with the crisis in journalism that exacerbates these and other problems? What projects / efforts might address the challenges and gaps we identify?