The relationship between the media and academia will be discussed at a lecture at the University of Glasgow on Thursday as part of the prestigious Stevenson and Adam Smith Research Foundation lecture series which this year is on the theme of ‘Citizenship and the Role of the Media’.

Professor John Curtice from the University of Strathclyde will be delivering the free, public lecture, entitled ‘The Media and Academia: a dangerous mix’ at 7pm on Thursday 7 February in the Sir Charles Wilson building, University Avenue, Glasgow.

John Curtice is Professor of Politics at the University of Strathclyde and Deputy Director of the Centre for Research into Elections and Social Trends (CREST) at Oxford University . A respected broadcaster and writer on polling and elections Professor Curtice uses a commercial metaphor for the relationship between academics and the media - terms of trade. It is, he argues, an 'interactive' exchange. Academics must not assert superiority; they do not necessarily know or understand more. "You cannot just say our truth is more important than theirs. You need to understand, even sympathise with the journalists' news values.

"Getting involved in the media is often regarded with suspicion by academics themselves. They fear their  message will be oversimplified if not distorted, while those who become 'media tarts' are seduced into commenting on topics about which they have no particular expertise at all. However, the dangers simplification and distortion are are hardly unknown to the academic world. Academics are paid from the public purse and society might thus reasonably expect to have access to the knowledge they have acquired. And involvement with the media can actually help hone academically valuable skills. The biggest danger for academics in getting involved with the media is not that they will be diverted from their proper professional role -  but rather that they will suffer from exaggerated expectations about what involvement can achieve."

His working aphorism is that "what you tell me is confidential but what I tell you is not". Everyone can ask for advice: everyone who asks gets the same advice - politician or journalist.

The next lectures in the series are:

21 February - Professor Philip Schlesinger (University of Glasgow) on "Can Scotland have a communication policy?"

6 March - The Rt Hon Charles Kennedy, MP on "Dogs and Lamp-posts: Reflections on the relationship between politicians and the Media."

Free and open to the public, each hour long lecture starts at 7pm in the Sir Charles Wilson building, University Avenue, Glasgow.

Further information:
Martin Shannon, Media Relations Officer
Tel: 0141 330 8593 Email: m.shannon@admin.gla.ac.uk

First published: 4 February 2008

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