Communicating with the News Media

Some common scenarios

At some point in your graduate studies, you may have the opportunity to interact with journalists who are interested in covering your work. Sometimes reporters or editors will find you on their own, having networked through their contacts in academic departments or elsewhere as they seek particular kinds of expertise. Other times, you may receive a call from UW News & Information, in which a public information officer seeks your help to answer a reporter’s questions. In some cases, you may actually seek media attention yourself. Two examples when you might want media coverage:

to assist in recruiting research project participants from the general public;
if you have research findings that are significant and are about to be published.

If you receive a call directly from a reporter, feel free to call News & Information and consult one of the public information specialists. They have many years of training and can help guide you through what may be new and unfamiliar territory, beginning with an assessment about whether you are the right person to answer the reporter’s questions.

About reporters

Reporters come in all shapes and sizes. Some have extensive backgrounds in the subject they cover; others will know very little. You should assume that the reporter knows very little about the subject. Remember, you are not speaking to the reporter but to the reporter’s audience— his or her readers, viewers or listeners, which usually represents a broad mix of the general public. Here are some other recommendations:

When a reporter calls, make sure you know which medium and media outlet he/she represents. If it’s not one with which you are familiar, you may want to call the news office to see what they know.
Find out what general areas the reporter wants to know about and the questions he/she intends to ask. It’s perfectly OK to tell the reporter that you are not the right person to talk about that subject and refer him or her back to the news office.
If you decide to talk to the reporter, you need not respond immediately. Ask the reporter what his/her deadline is—then be certain to call before the deadline. Deadlines are sacred to reporters and essential to news cycles.

Preparing to be interviewed

Take some time to think about the key points you want the reporter and the audience to know about the subject. For TV or radio, you will need to be very succinct. You will probably not have the opportunity to make more than two key points or observations that will end up in the final cut.

You can be a bit more expansive with a print reporter, but being concise, organized and to the point still matters.

As you prepare, ask yourself these questions:

What are the most important points about, and/or findings from, my research?
How might those findings further human knowledge (for example, do they contradict what has passed for conventional wisdom) or affect people in their daily lives?
What makes this research timely?
How can I best illustrate my findings with examples?

Try to simplify your statements. Statements that are heavily qualified or highly technical tend to be omitted from stories or the qualifications are minimized—nuance is very hard to convey.

Remember, everything you say is “on the record” and can end up in the final story. Do not guess, speculate, or make any statements or comments that would make you wince if they were in the public domain.

Your campus news office is available to help at any time in the process, including providing tips for working with television reporters, how to help you reach the general public when you need participation in a project, or what to do when you are involved in a potential media crisis.

by Bob Roseth, retired director, UW News & Information

Collaborating and Co-Authoring

Finding opportunities to collaborate and publish

Many scholars enjoy co-authoring because doing so affords an opportunity to develop new ideas, extend our methodological toolkit, and share the workload. The first step in finding opportunities to co-publish is to let your faculty mentors know that you are available to help if they ever get such invitations. Faculty sometimes receive unsolicited invitations to write an article or contribute a book chapter. Since faculty often plan long-term writing agendas, they may decline an unexpected invitation. They may be more likely to accept such an invitation if they know they can share the research and writing tasks with a co-author.

If you hear of such an opportunity, or see a call for papers that you would like to answer, you may also pitch a co-authorship opportunity to other students or faculty. Whether or not they accept your invitation will depend on how thoroughly you’ve considered the workload, authorship credits, and of course, the intellectual fit.

Many forms of collaborations

Collaborative work with faculty can take many forms: payment in the form of a stipend without additional acknowledgement; a thank-you in the acknowledgments of a book or an article; a footnote in the relevant section of the published work; gradations of co-authorship; or independent access to the data or field notes.

Across the humanities and social sciences, an author is someone who makes a substantive creative contribution to a project. A research assistant makes a minor creative contribution or a mechanical contribution such as collecting data or organizing archives.

For the most part, being paid as a research assistant does not eliminate the obligation to acknowledge the contribution of a minor or mechanical contribution. The benefit of collaborating is that all parties acquire new experience and skills, and have the creative opportunity to generate and test new ideas.

Discussing the workload

There are several good tools that facilitate co-authorship, such as Endnote, Word’s “track changes” tool, and of course, e-mail. Your discussion of workload should not only include the details of which parts of an article you will author, but the process for editing drafts, for backing up drafts and data, for keeping notes on major edits, and for resolving intellectual differences. But co-authoring doesn’t stop there—you should also talk through the likely division of labor for submitting to journals, corresponding with editors, handling revisions and resubmissions, and reviewing page proofs.

Even though many of these tasks seem far in the future and hypothetical — contingent on acceptance — they are a significant part of the work of publishing and it is best to talk through the hypothetical scenarios. The more you clarify the workload and timeline before the writing starts, the more likely you are to have a successful collaboration. Moreover, writing may not even be the most difficult task for authors: conceptualizing the problem, designing the research project, and collecting data are major tasks that need to be made even before writing begins.

Negotiating authorship credit

We are in an unusual profession in that faculty actively work to make students into colleagues. So many project leaders will err on the side of generosity in negotiating an authorship credit, and there are several possible permutations:

Listing authors in alphabetical order, which in the social sciences and humanities can indicate equal contributions (if specified in the footnotes);
Listing authors in the order of substantive contributions made;
Randomizing the order of authors across multiple papers based on the same project;
In increasingly rare cases, subdividing authorship, which takes the form of “A with B” or “A and B.”

Journals may also have their own guidelines for how to acknowledge each other’s contribution in a footnote, endnote, or other front matter.

It is best to establish early on—as part of the workload conversation—what the duties and obligations for these credits will be for your particular piece. However, the initially agreed-upon authorship order can change based on the actual contributions realized at the end of the paper.

Personal negotiations

It is best to have face-to-face conversations about the terms of this important relationship, so avoid using e-mail. Unlike writing a paper for a class, collaborating and co-authoring is a long-term personal commitment to being available and amenable to an extended process. This longer-term working relationship means meeting deadlines (and being flexible with them), deferring to your collaborators in the areas in which they have more expertise, and picking up responsibilities when necessary. Ultimately, it can mean celebrating and sharing the reward of successfully publishing and contributing to the advancement of knowledge.

by Philip N. Howard, professor, Communication

Academic Job Offer and Salary Negotiations

Some graduate students may fear the negotiation process because they have little or no experience negotiating a job offer. Here are tips for negotiating a starting package that can maximize your personal and professional satisfaction as a future faculty member.

Collect information

Ask faculty in your department what they think would be a fair package.
Research average faculty salaries online by state and institution.
Check the websites of professional associations in your field for academic salary information.

Always negotiate

When you’re offered a position, the balance of power shifts in your favor. As a result, you will likely never be in a better position to get what you want.
Departments expect you to negotiate.
Do not assume anything. Ask questions.

Maintain a positive attitude

The way you negotiate sets the stage for future interactions with your colleagues. Strive for a win-win situation. The hiring committee and your supervisor want you to be happy with your starting package.
Be professional, courteous, appreciative, ethical — and firm.
Be willing to compromise and accept “no” as an answer.

Frame your requests appropriately

Frame your requests in terms of what you need to be optimally successful and productive at the institution.
Focus on the value you will bring to the department.

Think broadly

Always ask for a higher salary! Your starting salary has a big impact on your overall lifetime earnings because raises are calculated from your base (starting) salary.
Evaluate other aspects of an offer so you know what you’re getting yourself into: relocation expenses, confer- ence money, office space, lab equipment, job responsi- bilities, student and staff support, healthcare, retirement, family benefits, etc.
Try not to get so excited about having a job offer that you forget to think about the future.

Prioritize

Pick your battles—prioritize what’s important to you and then only negotiate the things about which you feel strongly.
Ask yourself “What do I need to be happy, be produc- tive—and get tenure?”
Distinguish between what is absolutely necessary for you and what would be nice to have, but extra.

Get it in writing

When you receive the official offer letter, make sure it agrees with what was discussed during the negotiation process.
If the letter contains inaccurate information or is missing vital items, ask for an updated letter.
If you agree to the terms, sign the letter, make a copy of it, and promptly return the original.
Do not consider yourself hired until you and your employer have both signed a written document.

Resources

Golde, C. (2001). Be honorable and strategic. Science Careers.

Heiberger, M. M., & Vick, J. M. (2001). The academic job search handbook. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Reis, R. (1999). The right start-up package for beginning science professors. The Chronicle of Higher Education.

by Briana K. Randall, associate director, UW Career Center

A Dozen Sentences that Should Appear in Your Academic Job Application Letter

When you apply for an academic job, your cover letter helps a hiring committee interpret your curriculum vitae and conveys your excitement about and dedication to your work.

Your mission is to land an academic job. The immediate goal is to use the cover letter to get you on two shortlists — the shortlist of a dozen people who will be invited to submit more writing samples and have references checked, followed by the shortlist of three or four people who will be invited to visit the hiring department.

Cover letters should include 12 pieces of information that hiring committees are seeking:

“I would like to be considered for the position of [title copied from job ad] in [exact department name from job ad] at the [exact institution name from job ad]. I am an advanced doctoral candidate in [your department].”
This opening should be short and can certainly vary. The odds are that you will submit for many jobs, be shortlisted for a few, and be offered one or two. In all the cutting and pasting, make sure these letters are correctly addressed to the chair of the search committee or the chair of the department.
“My doctoral project is a study of [cocktail party description]. Much of the research on this topic suggests that [characterize the literature as woefully inadequate]. But I [demonstrate, reveal, discover] that contrary to received wisdom, [your punch line].”
This is the key statement about your doctoral project. Demonstrate how you will contribute to an intellectual conversation that is larger than your project – but unable to advance without your findings. The next paragraph should detail your research with one sentence on each chapter in your manuscript.
“To complete this research I have spent [X years] doing [fieldwork / lab work / archival work / statistical analysis]. I have travelled to [these cities or libraries], interviewed [X number of experts], created [original datasets/original compositions/original artwork].”
This sentence should be followed by a paragraph with the story of your research process. Overwhelm the committee with the volume of artifacts you’ve studied, people you’ve talked to, time you have dedicated or places you’ve been.
“I have completed [X] of [Y] chapters of my dissertation, and I have included two substantive chapters as part of my writing sample.”
Many hiring committees expect their top candidates to be almost finished with the doctoral project, since the dissertation is a test of commitment to a research trajectory. Ideally, the review committee will be excited by your original research and beg you for more once you are on a short list. Your mentors should confirm this information in their letters.
“I have well-developed drafts of several other chapters, and expect to defend in [month, year]. OR Having defended in [month, year], I plan to [turn it into a book-length manuscript for a major scholarly press / select key chapters for publication in disciplinary journals].”
Your advisors will also confirm these things. Committees want to know that your defense will not take place while you are working on their coin. If any of your committee members are unwilling to commit to even a season of the year for your defense date, or you don’t have two substantive chapters to submit to the hiring committee, it’s too early for you to be on the academic job market.
“Although my primary area of research is [disciplinary keyword here], I have additional expertise in [another disciplinary keyword here] and am eager to teach in both areas. I have [taught/served as a teaching assistant] in courses about [A, B and C]. In the next few years, I hope to develop courses in [X and Y].”
Departments love hiring people who can teach several topics. Look up the courses offered in the department to which you are applying, and use their keywords. Although the hiring committee will take research fit as most important, teaching skills and interests will be taken seriously. Specify courses in which you served as a teaching assistant and those in which you were the instructor of record.
“For the most part, my approach to research is through [social science or humanistic method keyword here], and I would be interested in developing a methods class on this approach to research.”
Many departments struggle to find faculty who will teach methods classes, and signaling your interest likely will put you ahead. Job candidates are particularly valuable if they demonstrate how they cross methodological boundaries, appreciate diverse approaches to inquiry, and can contribute to advancing knowledge with different analytical frames.
“Although I have been focused on my graduate research for several years, I have been actively involved in conversations with [scholars in the department you are applying to, or scholars at other universities/professional associations/conferences/other disciplines].”
This can be the one paragraph about service, highlighting conferences you’ve attended, workshops you’ve organized, and other ways you’ve supported your discipline. If you are applying for work in a department that is different from the one that trained you, demonstrate how you already have affinities for the new discipline, such as showing that you are familiar with faculty interests.
“In the next few years, I hope to be able to investigate [reasonably related problems or questions].”
Address your research trajectory over the next five years. The department will be investing in the person they hire, so the hiring committee will look for the direction your research will take. Communicate future research possibilities eloquently; don’t leave the committee to assume you will be doing more of the same.
“I am interested in this post for a variety of reasons: [something about the character of the department/university/community/city].”
The committee will be happy that you know something about the place you want to work. This may be particularly true for colleges and universities with distinct liberal arts traditions or unique community programs, or are not located in major urban areas. A committee might not interview you if the members believe you would not seriously consider a job offer.
“Because of my graduate training, my doctoral research, and my teaching [experience/interests], I am uniquely qualified for this job.”
Within a few sentences address your general focus and course work, and point to your experience teaching in the domains mentioned in the job description. Write a brief statement on why you are uniquely qualified for the job.
“In the next few months, I will be attending the [conference A] and [conference B]. If you or your colleagues are also planning to attend, I would be happy to meet for an informal conversation.”
Many departments make their first short list phone interviews or informal conference visits. Alert the committee if you are giving a paper so they can see you in action.

These sentences are in roughly the order they should appear in for applications to jobs at research schools. Most of the content should be about research, followed by one or two paragraphs about teaching and perhaps one paragraph about service. If the job is mostly about teaching, expand the amount of space dedicated to that topic.

Shoot for two and a half pages of content: less than that and you might not seem like an advanced doctoral candidate well immersed in a project; more than that and committee members may stop reading. As you write, drop in the names of granting agencies that have supported you, or the journals that are publishing or reviewing your work. Ideally several faculty members will write letters on your behalf. If possible, at least one letter writer can come from a university other than yours. Hiring committees love reference letters on different university letterheads; it shows that you have social capital beyond your home department.

Address your letter to the person heading the search or the department head. A greeting such as “Dear Committee Members” shows you haven’t done enough research. Ask a friend proofread your document for grammar and spelling.

Finally, follow up with the department. Hiring committees do not always tell candidates whether they are on the short list. If you finish another dissertation chapter, or get an article published, a few weeks after submitting your letter, submit an update by e-mail and ask that this example be added to your file and where the committee is in the hiring process.

by Philip N. Howard, professor, Communication

Mayuree Binjolkar

DAAD: German Academic Exchange Service Fellowship

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is a publicly-funded independent organization of higher education institutions in Germany. Each year DAAD, its regional branch offices, its information centers, and DAAD professors around the globe provide information and financial support to more than 120,000 highly qualified students and faculty for international research and study. Visit the DAAD website for a full list of funded programs.

Research grants are awarded to highly qualified candidates who have completed a master’s degree or diploma, to those who have already completed a Ph.D., or to those wishing to earn a doctoral degree in Germany.

Those who have received an undergraduate degree of any discipline may apply for the DAAD Study Scholarship for a full master’s degree program at a German university, or for study at a German university as part of a post-graduate or master’s degree program completed in the home country.

Many study programs and research opportunities funded by DAAD do not require proficiency in the German language; applicants should indicate interest in developing proficiency in the language before and during time overseas.

Deadlines

UW campus priority status deadline: October 2, 2023
DAAD application deadline: November 3, 2023, 3 p.m. (Pacific)

Those applying for graduate study scholarships and regular research grants are eligible to be considered for UW’s single priority nomination. Note that, per DAAD guidelines, applicants for short-term research grants may not be considered for priority status.

Eligibility

Current UW graduate students or postdocs within two years of Ph.D. completion
Both U.S. citizens and international students are eligible to apply for DAAD awards; citizenship status may affect the types of awards for which students are eligible

View the DAAD FAQs for more information about eligibility.

Application process

Current graduate students who wish to be considered for the priority nomination should apply through the University of Washington. Both research and study applicants of all disciplines should find the appropriate program for which to apply through DAAD’s scholarship database. The program’s profile will indicate all required application materials.

Search the DAAD Scholarship Database View the DAAD Applicant Checklists

Apply for Priority Consideration:

Once you have identified your desired program opportunity from the scholarship database, open an application in the DAAD online portal.
Complete all components of your online application, but do not submit the application.
Generate a recommendation form in the portal and instruct your reference writer to email the completed letter to you, or directly to the Office of Fellowships & Awards (gradappt@uw.edu) if they wish for the letter to be confidential.
- NOTE: If your recommender prefers for your letter to be confidential, in addition to emailing the letter to Fellowships & Awards, they will also need to mail a hard copy to the DAAD before the final deadline: Regional Office New York, German Academic Exchange Service, 871 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017.
Email a PDF copy of your application summary and all supplemental materials (letter of motivation, research proposal, CV, etc.) to gradappt@uw.edu by the priority deadline.
After the campus committee review, you will receive feedback and have the option to revise your application materials before submitting your application in the DAAD portal by the national deadline.

Apply without Priority Consideration:

Once you have identified your desired program opportunity from the scholarship database, open an application in the DAAD online portal.
Generate a recommendation form in the online portal and instruct your reference writer to either provide the letter to you electronically or mail the signed and completed form to the DAAD: Regional Office New York, German Academic Exchange Service, 871 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017.
Complete all components of your online application and submit via the portal by the DAAD final deadline.

Questions?

Michelle Sutton in the Office of Fellowships & Awards can assist you with questions and application support.

Consider registering for Global Fellowships Prep for additional online tips and resources.

Return to List of Fellowships