[ASA] Details for Media Queries

[Michael Brown]

Dear ASA members,

I know some members of the Astronomical Society of Australia are keen to engage with the media, but don’t get as many opportunities as they would wish. As the Media & Outreach Coordinator for the Astronomical Society of Australia, I often get media queries and am asked to find a suitable astronomers to provide expert commentary in a timely manner. At the moment I am selecting astronomers on an ad hoc basis, based on their expertise and previous media experience, but I want to improve on this.

I am compiling a list of astronomers who are interested in engaging with the media. The details I need are:

Name 
Institution
Email
Work Phone
Mobile Phone
Twitter Details
Areas of Expertise
Preferred media (Print, Online, Radio, TV, All)

You can provide as many or as few details as you wish, but journalists are often looking for a rapid response (1-2 hours) so providing as many contact details as possible is useful. Yes, this does duplicate some of the lists provided at university websites, but since I do receive media queries some duplication seems reasonable. 

This list will be maintained by me and the chair of EPOC Chapter (Rob Hollow), and will not be made public. However, relevant details will be forwarded to journalists when they are seeking people to interview.

Best regards,

Michael.