When preparing to turn your research into reporting, consider your approach to:
Storytelling
Write to lived experience
Researchers are accustomed to writing to the literature: engaging with existing academic research and contributing to the scholarly conversation. However, storytelling looks to lived experience. Writing to lived experience involves connecting with the experiences and perspectives of the people you are studying.
Focus on practical interests
Experienced researchers often focus on theory. While theory provides a framework for understanding and interpreting social phenomena, you’ll want to reframe your work to practical interests. Focus on applying your anthropological knowledge to address real-world problems, for real-world people. Ask yourself: What is the information that you want to emphasize? To whom do you want to convey this message? More on how to “think editorially” here.
Frame your knowledge like a “thought leader”
Subject matter experts possess deep domain specific knowledge and often conduct their own research. These would be who journalists approach for quotes and to give interviews. Thought leaders, on the other hand, often draw on existing research and synthesize ideas in accessible and engaging ways. Framing your knowledge as a “thought leader” allows you to pull from other subject matter experts’ work, just as a journalist would.
Know your goal
Your goal is not just to share your research, but to ensure that it resonates with people from all walks of life. Understand why the story you want to tell is worth telling and think about how to convey that value to your audience. What are the best ways to communicate your research? Start to think about logistics: How do you want your work to reach people? (e.g., podcast, Op-ed, feature story…). Make sure the story you tell is relevant to something your audience cares about in this moment (or in an upcoming moment, since different publications have varying lead times). Ask yourself: Why is this message important to share in this way, especially now?
Details
Present data thoughtfully
Anthropologists work with all sorts of data. It’s not that an editor or general audience won’t be interested in the data, but it’s crucial to share data in way that make them relevant to the intended audience. Here are three ways:
- Share only the most relevant data.
- Phase in the information to avoid overwhelming the audience.
- Present data in the most interesting ways possible. Add context. Remember your audience. Especially when it comes to numbers. Present your data, and then put it in the big picture for your readers. E.x., how many football fields or olympic-size swimming pools is that?