If you prepare yourself well for a media interview, there is a much better chance that your story will be told the way you want. Here are some tips, condensed from Chapter 23 of Explaining Research:
Work with your public information officer to produce a summary or news release on your findings.
Understand your interview “Bill of Rights,” including who the reporter is, the story’s focus, and the interview ground rules.
Decide on the spokesperson for your research group.
Develop and practice key messages: a concise summary of your findings, their practical implications (the "so-what"), how they fit into your field, their caveats and limitations, and what may be misunderstood.
Develop, test, and practice pithy quotes, anecdotes, and analogies
Quantify your concepts at a lay-level, e.g. how small an object is compared to the period at the end of this sentence or a human hair.
Decide who else in your field the reporter should talk to.
Prepare the reporter by sending background materials.
Send the reporter an e-mail after the interview, emphasizing points that may not have been clear and formally giving credit. Copy all relevant parties.
