Stempra members connected with colleagues old and new at a recent Stempra Scotland and North of England meeting.
Reaction from among the event’s 50 attendees at the University of Glasgow event has been overwhelmingly positive, showing that they valued the exchange of ideas, suggestions for best practice and fresh perspectives on challenges.
The day began with a Meet the Journalists session, with Graham Fraser from BBC Scotland, Laura Piper from STV, and Neil Pooran from PA Media. It was chaired by Corin Campbell of the University of Edinburgh and Ross Barker from the University of Glasgow.
The panel emphasised that stories with human interest at their core, and good quality story pitches delivered through a personal, trusted connection, remain vitally important against a backdrop of fast-moving media channels and the rise of AI.
Panellist emphasised the importance of relationships between press officers and journalists, and the trust between them. This supports sharing of confidential stories ahead of publication, helping journalists to plan.
All agreed that strong pictures will support a good narrative as digital media overtakes TV – although broadcasters prefer to capture their own footage, with Laura and Graham adding that they would not use AI-generated images.
A session on evaluation of communications, chaired by Kasia Kokowska of the University of Glasgow and Stempra Committee, featured Claire Blithell, Freelance Science Communications Consultant; David Schley, of the Academy for the Mathematical Sciences; and Steph Bridgeman, Media Analyst and Measurement Specialist and AMEC board of directors member.
The panel used examples to illustrate varying approaches to evaluation. Steph highlighted the approach of outputs leading to quantifiable outcomes, and the value of anecdotes as impact, illustrating that evaluation doesn’t always have to be about numbers.
Claire highlighted the value of an evaluation strategy as part of a comms strategy, and understanding the value of different outlets for your target audience – and being able to recognise what impact looks like in terms of tangible change.
All underscored the value of having clear objectives for evaluation purposesand said that institutional and comms objectives should be aligned, with bigger institutions having clear, consistent comms objectives.
A final session on the value of comms was chaired by Laura Tyler of the University of Glasgow. On the panel were Hazel Lambert of the University of Edinburgh, Jen Middleton of Newcastle University, Katrina Nevin-Ridley of Queen Mary University of London, and Megan Welford of Edinburgh Innovations.
The panellists each shared their perspectives on effective ways to add value to an organisation, for example by building relationships with leaders, ensuring communications is part of the leadership agenda, anticipating how to make best use of comms, and offering expertise in shaping effective narratives.
A wide-ranging Q&A covered topics including navigating the AI landscape, influencing skills, making best use of resources, and working with partner organisations.
The day concluded with a vote of thanks, and the presentation of highly prized Tunnock’s biscuits to Steph Sinclair of World Cancer Research, winner of our networking bingo.
Participants rated all the sessions strongly, with suggestions that future events might include interactive sessions, discussions on the use of AI in comms, or a spotlight on comms in the charity sector.