Silk purses into sows' ears? Can academics and journalists find a way to communicate?

More and more, public perceptions need to be managed - and university researchers need the media to prove the value of their work and increase their chances of getting research funding. The media is a way for researchers to tell the world what they are doing. Most universities now have a media office, including databases so that journalists can quickly `find an expert' in any field, and regularly issue information to the media about academic and research achievements.

But do journalists really want to hear what university academics have to say? And do academics understand what the media needs to know? Is `university language' the kiss of death? Are academics willing to compromise content for comprehension?

In this look at the push and shove between `dumbing down' and ivory tower sensibilities, UniSA staff who regularly talk to the media gave us their views.

Michele Nardelli is the manager of the news and media team at the University of South Australia and works with both academia and the media daily. `I know for a fact that the media do want to hear the academic point of view. They are crying out for experts not aligned with a commercial or political cause. They crave a supposedly unbiased view and they lap up new research,' she says. `That being a given, they want to be able to deliver that information in a way that relates to Joe and Jenny Average. That doesn't mean dumbing it down! It means being expressive, using examples, dressing it up so that it is something people can recognise.'

Ms Nardelli argues that researchers need to learn to adjust their speech to fit in with what the media are looking for. `The media operates in a succinct environment and that is what they need from academia: succinct, meaningful, interesting information. If the aim of research is to better people's lives, to understand the human condition, to be healthier, to improve then part of the researchers' end goal must be to communicate that information in ways that people understand.'