How should academics handle communication with the media?
I've had one paper I wrote garner significant media attention, so while I'm not a practiced hand at it, some things I learned along the way:


Be able to convey the idea behind your paper simply. A brief, non-technically "What happened", and why this matters. Don't oversell, but if you provide good information, you have some more control over how it gets conveyed, instead of forcing a non-expert journalist to translate your work into words.
Keep it short. It's harder to misquote or provide out-of-context soundbites if you keep things short and to the point. Don't pontificate.
Make the caveats of your work clear, but don't over-hedge.
If it's clear they're trying to get you to say something in particular, decide if you're okay with saying it. If you are, just do it. If you aren't don't go anywhere near it. Don't dance around, or try to add qualifiers - just don't approach.
Be prepared for rage-inducing discussion of your work online after it hits the air. Learn to have a thick skin, or purposefully ignore it.
Remember that, in the grand scheme of things, even a fair amount of media attention is a flash in the pan, and the odd story that makes you wince is just that - a single story.


While I think you can help mitigate some of the problems around media coverage of your work with an active social media presence and a blog, it's only by engaging the audience. It's not going to let you "stand aside" from the media - no website or news paper is going to go "Oh, Dr. X has a blog. On second thought, lets not bother with the story..." If anything, an active social media presence will probably raise your profile among science communication types, and increase the odds of getting a bit of media attention.