"Explore the Deep: Inspiring and Informing People
Through Public Engagement in Deep-Ocean Research"
CORROBORATING EVIDENCE OF IMPACT - MEDIA ENGAGEMENT
(1) EVIDENCE OF "REACH" OF IMPACT FROM MEDIA ENGAGEMENT
Summary of media coverage
In total, we produced 12 press releases at key research milestones during the REF period, and
team members gave >100 direct media interviews that featured in print, online, and broadcast
coverage. Examples of these range from Radio 4's Today programme and Christmas Day
Woman's Hour, to The Guardian and Washington Post, and Channel 4 News and The
Discovery Channel.
Items listed below only show coverage since Jan 2008 involving direct interviews with team
members, and exclude thousands of further "follow-on" articles and broadcasts by other
outlets, generated from press releases or original media coverage.
For outlets other than public-service media, audience numbers represent commercially
sensitive information that most are reluctant to provide; audience numbers are shown,
however, where journalists or producers were willing to provide them.
Print & online coverage of research:
Wellington Weekly News, 10 Jul 2013, p 5
The Guardian online, 5 July 2013
BBC News Online, 18 May 2013
Woman magazine, Trinidad Express, 29 Mar 2013
Yahoo! News, 19 Mar 2013 (syndicated worldwide)
Southern Daily Echo, 18 Mar 2013
Associated Press, 27 Feb 2013 (syndicated worldwide)
The Guardian online, 25 Feb 2013
BBC News Online, 21 Feb 2013
REDES magazine, Spain, Jun 2012
The Ecologist, 21 Feb 2012
Caymanian Compass, 12 Jan 2012
Macleans magazine, Canada, 11 Jan 2012
Southern Daily Echo, 10 Jan 2012, p 4
scientias.nl, 11 Jan 2012
New Scientist online, 10 Jan 2012
BBC News Online, 10 Jan 2012
MSNBC.com / OurAmazingPlanet.com, 10 Jan 2012
ScienceNews, 10 Jan 2012
LiveScience.com, 10 Jan 2012 (syndicated worldwide)
Discovery News, 10 Jan 2012
Nature News Blog, 04 Jan 2012
National Geographic News, 04 Jan 2012
Washington Post, 03 Jan 2012 (syndicated in US, e.g. Chicago Daily Herald)
The Guardian, 29 Dec 2011, p 18
The Times, 29 Dec 2011, p 17
Southern Daily Echo, 29 Dec 2011, p 3
BBC News Online, 28 Dec 2011 (>750 000 views; data source: BBC science journalist
Rebecca Morelle, rebecca.morelle@bbc.co.uk)
National Geographic News, 08 Aug 2011
The Guardian, 21 Jul 2011
Popular Mechanics, 12 Jul 2011
NewScientist.com, 05 Jul 2011
New Scientist, 02 Jul 2011, p 8
Trinidad Express, 29 Jan 2011
CNN.com, 13 Apr 2010
Associated Press, 13 Apr 2010 (syndicated worldwide; >1.5 million views on Yahoo! News
alone; data source: AP science journalist Raphael Satter, RSatter@ap.org)
NationalGeographic.com, 12 Apr 2010
BBC News Online, 11 Apr 2010
NewScientist.com, 11 Apr 2010
Daily Mail online, 11 Apr 2010
The Times, 11 Apr 2010, p 19
Caymanian Compass, 31 Mar 2010
The Daily Telegraph, 8 Oct 2009
The Times, 7 Oct 2009, p 4
The Daily Telegraph, 12 May 2009
Caymanian Compass, 12 Jan 2009
Caymanian Compass, 12 Aug 2008
Daily Mail online, 12 Aug 2008
Metro, 12 Aug 2008, p 3
Southern Daily Echo, 11 Aug 2008, p 3
BBC News Online, 09 Aug 2008
Radio / podcasting coverage of research:
The Story, US National Public Radio, 14 August 2013
World At One, BBC Radio 4, 29 May 2013 (live)
Today programme, BBC Radio 4, 21 Feb 2013 (7-8 million listeners; data source: BBC
Science Editor David Shukman, david.shukman@bbc.co.uk)
Womans Hour, BBC Radio 4, 25 December 2012 (interviews with female team members
working at sea on Christmas Day)
The Pod Delusion podcast, 03 Aug 2012
Naked Oceans podcast, 11 Apr 2012
Drivetime, BBC Radio Solent, 26 Mar 2012 (live)
The Takeaway, US Public Radio, 26 Mar 2012
Newshour, BBC World Service, 26 Mar 2012
BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast, 20 Mar 2012
Future Tense, ABC Radio National, Australia, 26 Feb 2012
BBC Radio Three Counties, 23 Feb 2012
Good Morning Wales, BBC Radio Wales, 23 Feb 2012 (live)
The Naked Scientists, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire / Essex / Norfolk / Northampton / Suffolk,
15 Jan 2012, & BBC Radio 5 Live, 16 Jan 2012
Voice of America news, 13 Jan 2012
World Tonight, BBC Radio 4, 28 Dec 2011
Up All Night, BBC Radio 5 Live, 28 Dec 2011
Drive, BBC Radio 5 Live, 28 Dec 2011
Drivetime, BBC Radio Solent, 28 Dec 2011 (live)
BBC Radio Scotland, 28 Dec 2011 (live)
BBC Radio Wales, 28 Dec 2011 (live)
BBC Radio Somerset, 28 Dec 2011
World Update, BBC World Service, 28 Dec 2011
BBC Radio Guernsey, 17 Mar 2011
Radio New Zealand, 24 May 2010
PRI's The World podcast, 18 Feb 2010
Today programme, BBC Radio 4, 16 Oct 2009
Analysis, BBC World Service, 20 Jul 2009 (live)
BBC WM, 20 Aug 2008 (live)
BBC Caribbean, 13 Aug 2008
Ocean FM, 12 Aug 2008 (live)
BBC Radio Solent, 11 Aug 2008
Original 106 FM, 11 Aug 2008
TV news coverage of research:
Daily Planet, Discovery Canada, 25 Apr 2013
Channel 4 News, 22 Mar 2013 (live)
Cayman27 TV news, 25 Feb 2013
Ten O'Clock News, BBC One, 21 Feb 2013 (live from sea)
Six O'Clock News, BBC One, 21 Feb 2013 (live from sea)
One O'Clock News, BBC One, 21 Feb 2013
BBC World, 21 Feb 2013 (>10 million viewers; data source: BBC Science Editor David
Shukman, david.shukman@bbc.co.uk)
BBC Breakfast, BBC One, 21 Feb 2013
Labryint TV, Holland, 7 Feb 2013
Channel 4 News, 26 Mar 2012
BBC News Channel, 28 Dec 2011 (live)
Six O'Clock News, BBC One, 28 Dec 2011
Country Tracks, BBC One, 8 Aug 2010
Channel 4 News, 3 Aug 2010 (live)
CNC3 News, Trinidad & Tobago, 25 Mar 2010
BBC News Channel, 29 Jul 2008
TV & RADIO DOCUMENTARIES significantly featuring our research:
Our World: Treasures of the Deep, BBC News Channel / BBC World, 28 June 2013
Discovery, BBC World Service, 20 May 2013 (audience >10 million; data source: BBC
Science Editor David Shukman, david.shukman@bbc.co.uk)
Alien Deep, National Geographic TV, Sep 2012 (broadcast in 170+ countries; data source:
Nat Geo producer Jen Shoemaker, jshoemak@ngs.org)
Costing the Earth programmes x 2, BBC Radio 4, 14 Apr 2010 & 25 May 2011 (~1.4 million
listeners; data source: BBC producer Alisdair Cross, alisdair.cross@bbc.co.uk)
Oceans: What Lies Beneath? BBC Radio 4 documentary series, 11 / 18 / 25 Mar 2009
(2) EVIDENCE OF "SIGNIFICANCE" OF IMPACT FROM MEDIA
ENGAGEMENT
(i) Follow-on coverage by other media outlets - EXAMPLE
"Follow-on" coverage (where further media outlets cover a story subsequent to its original
coverage by other outlets) is recognised as evidence of "significance of impact" for media
engagement. The following example illustrates the extensive follow-on coverage of our
research milestones, which has been consistent throughout the REF period.
Research milestone: discovery of the world's deepest known hydrothermal vents, during
fieldwork in April 2010
Press releases issued: 1
Coverage involving direct interviews with team members at sea: 7 articles
(see above for list)
Follow-on coverage by other outlets: >520 articles
(data source: Google News)
(ii) Social media shares of coverage among audiences - EXAMPLE
Sharing of links to coverage by audience demonstrates "significance of impact" in
interactions with the media; prompting of link-sharing behaviour among audiences is
evidence of "generating inspiration and curiosity about science".
As an example, data below show tracking of social media shares for just four online media
articles covering the publication of our research paper about the ecology of Antarctic deepsea vents (data shown at 12 Jul 2013):
Media article: 'Lost World' of Sea Creatures Discovered Near Antarctica
(Fox News, 4 January 2012, http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/01/04/lost-world-seacreatures-discovered-near-antarctica/)
901 Facebook likes
309 Tweets
72 Google+ recommends
712 Stumbleupon.com shares
Media article: "Lost World" Yeti Crab Swarm
(National Geographic News, 4 January 2012,
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/01/pictures/120104-lost-world-antarcticayeti-crabs-science-octopus/)
8500 Facebook likes
457 Tweets
112 Google+ recommends
Media article: Yeti Crabs, Ghost Octopi Found at 1st Antarctic Deep-Sea Vents
(Scientific American, 3 January 2012,
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=yeti-crabs-ghost-octopus)
443 Facebook likes
Media article: When You Think “Hydrothermal Vents”, You Shouldn’t Think “Tube Worms”
(Scientific American, 4 January 2012, http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/artfulamoeba/2012/01/04/deep-sea-explorers-stumble-on-antarctic-lost-world/)
461 Stumbleupon.com shares
Total social media shares by audiences of these four articles alone: 11 967
(iii) Feedback comments recorded from audiences - EXAMPLE
As an example, below are comments from readers of just one article about our research,
which show evidence of the specific impacts of "generating inspiration and curiosity about
science" and "raising public awareness of our research insights".
Media article: Whale Skeleton Found On Sea Floor In Antarctica, Along With Several New
Marine Species
(by Sara Gates, Huffington Post, 20 March 2013;
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/20/whale-skeleton-antarctica-deep-seaspecies_n_2903088.html )
Highball, 02:32 AM on 03/21/2013:
"Cool. The world is a vastly more strange place than we understand it to be."
Topkatnc, 08:24 PM on 03/20/2013:
"It's amazing to see finds like this."
Word2ThaWize, 06:55 PM on 03/20/2013:
"VERY cool! Our own world here on earth has yet to be fully investigated."
15Vortex, 06:26 PM on 03/20/2013:
"Lovely photos, now even more questions about the murkey depths of our own planet; thanks
for a great story."
Bolkonsky, 03:53 PM on 03/20/2013:
"Wow. Just the notion of - 'whale fall' - so amazing."
Jen Celli, 02:02 PM on 03/20/2013:
"A very cool story. Nice to know we can still make new discoveries on our blue marble."
Godiva, 12:32 PM on 03/20/2013:
"This is so exciting. How I wish I would have gone into oceanography like my cousin."
(iv) Testimonials from science journalists and producers
Testimonials below from science journalists and producers demonstrate the "significance of
impact" of our media interactions for public engagement, by highlighting the outcomes
achieved and the quality of our interaction.
Testimonial from: Dr Rebecca Morelle (rebecca.morelle@bbc.co.uk)
Science Reporter, BBC World Service
Via email, 30/05/2013
The remarkable discoveries from Dr Jon Copley's expedition to the SW Indian Ocean made a
real impact at BBC News. We covered the story for the BBC News website
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16267625) - it received about 750,000 hits
and was the third most read story on the whole of the site that day. The accompanying video
was also in the top 10 "most watched". The story was also followed up for television that day
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16349972), running on the bulletins, the
BBC News Channel and BBC World TV - and was picked up by other news outlets around
the world.
I am always impressed by Dr Copley and his team's attitude to the media and to
public engagement. They go out of their way to make sure the public can find out about the
exciting and important work they are doing - and as you can see from the statistics, there is a
real appetite out there for finding out about this area of research.
---Testimonial from: Dr David Shukman (david.shukman@bbc.co.uk)
Science Editor, BBC News
Via email, 04/06/2013
BBC NEWS ON BOARD THE RRS JAMES COOK, FEBRUARY 2013:
A NOTE ON COVERAGE BY DAVID SHUKMAN, SCIENCE EDITOR, BBC NEWS
For BBC News, assigning a team to join the RRS James Cook during its investigation of the
Cayman Trough was a major commitment but one which paid off spectacularly in terms of
reaching massive audiences. I have always been keen to convey the excitement and
challenges of research as it happens, and being able to broadcast live from the ship was the
best way to achieve that. Dr Jon Copley and his colleagues, together with the ship’s crew,
helped us plan a short but highly productive visit which allowed us to cover the discovery of
the world’s deepest hydrothermal vents for a very wide range of programmes.
Feedback from the newsroom and from audiences was extremely positive. One senior
editor described our live shot, broadcast on the flagship News at Ten, of the ROV’s cameras
beside a vent system, as one of the most riveting television moments for many years. This
was probably the first time any live TV had been attempted with images relayed from so deep
and of such a spectacular underwater feature.
Two days of filming on board gave us just about enough time to generate the material
(video, interviews, audio, stills etc) needed for a full day of coverage on all key BBC News
outlets to be broadcast and filed from the vessel itself.
Our story featured in the following ways during February 21st:
•
Online text story on the BBC News website
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21520404)
•
Prerecorded radio interview with Dr Copley for the R4 Today programme (audience
numbering 7-8 million) and World Service Radio (tens of millions)
•
News report for R4 and World Service radio news bulletins
•
Precorded interview with Dr Copley for BBC1 Breakfast News (1 million) and BBC
World News (tens of millions)
•
Live broadcasts for BBC1 News at One, BBC News Channel (3 times) and BBC
World News (3 times)
•
Special report for BBC1 News at Six and News at Ten with live "top and tail"
presentation from the ship
•
Follow-up blog post the next day
Then the following month, we made use of further material shot on board on the subject of
the prospects, and rights and wrongs, of deep-sea mining. This produced another full day of
coverage. Once again, we had items on the Today programme, Breakfast News and all
morning outlets, with main reports for the News bulletins at Six and Ten, with special online
features and virtual reality graphics. This meant that we aired the important but sensitive
issue of deep-sea mining, and raised the pros and cons in a balanced and fair way for the
benefit of audiences. The Huffington Post, among other outlets, followed up the story with a
Google Hangout.
Last month, our best material was pulled together to make a 30-minute radio
documentary for the World Service programme Discovery
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p018bp4n/Discovery_Deep_Sea_Vents/),
and a 30-minute TV version, Treasures of the Deep, will air on BBC World and the BBC
News Channel in July.
Overall, this was one of the best examples I have ever known of cooperation from
scientists and support staff. The planning was challenging and time-consuming for all
concerned. And the costs to the BBC were relatively high. But the payoff for us, in terms of
fulfilling our remit of making science engaging for a wider audience, was exceptionally high.
For Dr Copley and his team, and for the ship’s captain and crew, our presence no
doubt added complications to an already challenging cruise. Their support, patience and
flexibility played a huge part in making our trip such a success. Dr Copley in particular
deserves praise also for using language in his interviews that resonated widely and conveyed
a combination of passion and expertise. The world of science should treasure clear-voiced
ambassadors like him.
The assignment went down incredibly well with the editors who took the risk of
funding and backing us. On our return, they simply asked, “Where’s the next one?”
---Testimonial from: Jennifer Shoemaker (jshoemak@ngs.org)
Series Producer, Alien Deep, National Geographic TV
Via email, 12/06/2013
The National Oceanography Centre Southampton played an integral role in helping us make
the 5-part National Geographic Television series Alien Deep a great success. The team
provided excellent access to their research and footage, and provided access to ships both in
Antarctica and in the North Atlantic. NOCS' research was featured most prominently in an
episode about deep sea life and the origins and distribution of life on Earth. On the Celtic
Explorer with the Marine Institute and NOCS, we filmed the story of hydrothermal vents at
45 North - an area that ships have passed over for hundreds of years but whose depths
humans had never explored. It yielded fantastic footage of the huge hydrothermal chimneys.
In addition, footage filmed aboard the James Cook in Antarctica was some of the most
intriguing deep-sea life imagery in the program. The "Hoff" crabs were fascinating to watch
and helped us convey the message that we are only just beginning to unravel the mystery of
how deep-sea life has colonized our planet.
Alien Deep aired in all of National Geographic Channel's and National Geographic
Channel International's major markets. Based at the National Geographic Society
headquarters in Washington, D.C., the National Geographic Channels US are a joint venture
between National Geographic and Fox Networks. The Channels contribute to the National
Geographic Society’s commitment to exploration, conservation and education with smart,
innovative programming and profits that directly support its mission. Launched in January
2001, National Geographic Channel (NGC) celebrated its fifth anniversary with the debut of
NGC HD. In 2010, the wildlife and natural history cable channel Nat Geo WILD was
launched, and in 2011, the Spanish-language network Nat Geo Mundo was unveiled. The
Channels have carriage with all of the nation’s major cable, telco and satellite television
providers, with NGC currently available in 85 million U.S. homes. Globally, National
Geographic Channel is available in more than 440 million homes in 171 countries and 38
languages. For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com.
In addition to NGCI, the series was picked up internationally as follows:
CANAL + CYFROWY SA (Poland)
ITI NEOVISION SP ZOO (Poland)
FTV PRIMA, SPOL. S R.O. (Czech Republic)
SKY ITALIA SRL (Italy)
THAI PUBLIC BROADCASTING SERVICE (Thailand)
SOCIETE RADIO-CANADA (Canada)
ONTARIO EDUCATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS AUTHORITY (Canada)
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