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Our Consultation Report was published in April 2002, and outlines the details of the Science Media Centre's creation. Although the idea of the SMC was first mooted in response to the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology Third Report on 'Science and Society' in 2000, it took more than a year to turn the SMC into a working reality. We took the broad vision of the SMC's Advisory Council as a starting point (see Report), before beginning a major consultation with key stakeholders to identify the day-to-day priorities of the new service. The consultation was carried out between December 2001 and February 2002 and included around 150 interviews (approximately one third were with scientists and the rest with media specialists). Most of these were conducted on a one-to-one basis in the SMC, but there were some group consultations – including a meeting of 30 members of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Medicine Public Relations Association (STEMPRA) hosted at the SMC and around 100 members at a meeting of the Higher Education External Relations Association (HEERA). The consultation was also informed by written material and attendance at events/seminars on the subject of science and the media. Each consultation meeting followed a similar pattern and aimed to establish: a) what the individual saw as the key problem in the relationship between science and the media and b) how they felt the SMC could contribute to improving this relationship, and thereby improve media coverage of science in the UK.
The consultation was strategic and prioritised certain key groups from the start. These were: a) members of the Advisory Council; b) scientists with experience of and an interest in the media; c) specialist science correspondents; d) non-specialist news correspondents; e) press officers and communications officers of universities and scientific institutions; f) politicians and policy makers with an interest in science. The SMC is aware that the consultation was comprehensive but not exhaustive and there were many people on our target list that we were unable to see. We continue to consult key stakeholders of the SMC, and incorporate their views as we fine-tune the role of the Centre.
This report is the product of our initial consultation. It seeks to show how the SMC service has emerged from a general consensus among key stakeholders as to where the real problem lies and how the SMC can best direct resources to make a positive contribution to media coverage of science. It is important to note that in the course of more than 150 interviews held over three months there emerged some passionately held minority views about the role of the SMC. These will be reflected in the paper but will not form part of the SMC’s mandate in the short term.
While the purpose of the consultation was to define the role and priorities of the SMC, it is hoped that this report may also be of general interest to those engaged in the wider debate about science and the media.
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