Media friendly or media tart?

Now I’ve been back from maternity leave for a few weeks, it’s time to get into the swing of one of the best bits of my job – media work. I always prefer writing 800 words of lively prose for a general educated audience over writing a 5,000 word academic paper for a Journal, which will be read by a handful of people (at least half of whom know in advance they don’t agree with me) – even if the latter will do far more to advance my career.

Not being shy of media coverage myself, I read with some trepidation a good blog post taking issue with academics who try to get their name all over the press, whether or not they know what they’re talking about or have the data to back up their positions.

Which makes me all the more hesitant to admit that I’m pleased to have a piece on today’s Guardian website about my recent research into how donors choose charities. I MUST try to get these findings published in a journal soon. But for today I shall enjoy what I believe is technically known as ‘impact’, otherwise known as ‘something to show your family to prove you do have a proper job’.

Leave a Reply