During AGU meetings, the Media Relations team invites scientists and public information/press officers to collaborate to promote newsworthy, exciting research to the press corps and the public. We work with PIOs to put on press conferences, roundtable Q&A sessions, and media availabilities, and we work with a limited number of scientists on promoting their findings via press releases, social media, and other press outreach.
When in doubt, reach out! We’re always happy to chat with PIOs and scientists about the best ways to promote new findings. Email us at [email protected].
For press officers/public information officers
AGU24’s press event pitch form is open through October 4 for PIOs
Press conferences, which may be organized by one or more institutions, should present breaking news coming from one or more studies or missions. We note that finding a single study that merits a press conference is rare. Roundtables are in a Q&A format, moderated by either AGU staff or a public information officer. Roundtables are more informal and have just a few slides, with a focus on lively discussion rather than a lecture-style presentation. We are happy to help coordinate and promote media availabilities with your scientists.
We encourage you to collaborate with press offices from other organizations. Please consider diversifying your speaker panels as much as possible, including professional experience level and home institution as well as personal identity.
For events at the Annual Meeting, feel free to reach out to us during the summer to float ideas and brainstorm. For events at other meetings, we plan about two months out. Email us to set up a time to discuss potential press events.
PIOs supporting scientists in connecting with the media and creating coverage of the meeting are invited to attend AGU meetings with complimentary registration.
For scientists
If you’re presenting new findings that you think are of interest to the public at AGU’s Annual Meeting or another AGU conference, we recommend first discussing the findings with your press officer. They can help you craft a pitch with a strong narrative and advise on the best paths for publicity. Please note that the bar for having a press event focused on a single study is very high: it should have immediate, real-world implications and be novel. (See page 3 of AGU’s guide for scientists working with the media for a discussion of spotting newsworthiness. In short: it should be timely, new, and interesting for a broad public audience.)
We’re always on the lookout for newsy research with compelling visuals (photos, videos) or sounds to promote on social media. Email us if you think your work fits the bill!
If your study has already been published in a journal and/or received press attention, we will probably have to pass. If your work will be coming out in an AGU journal around the time of the meeting and you think it’s newsworthy, please fill out our publicity form and note the timing — we may be able to schedule the paper to correspond to the meeting for maximum impact! For work coming out in other journals, our ability to coordinate a publication date varies.
You’re always welcome to email us at [email protected] to run an idea by us.