In an increasingly fragmented, fast-paced media environment, we’re bombarded by thousands of messages each day.
Misinformation about science, health and technology spreads at lightning speed, and it’s often impossible to separate the facts from the false narratives that confuse critical issues.
That’s where the AusSMC comes in.
AusSMC is Australia’s powerful antidote to misinformation, bridging the gap between expert knowledge and public understanding.
We are the only organisation in the country that connects journalists with the best scientists and researchers in Australia. We give them direct access to the people and information they need to deliver clear, accurate, evidence-based stories that help Australians make decisions on health, climate, technology and other vital issues that impact their lives.
Your gift today will help combat the spread of false information and give more journalists access to expert scientific guidance and quality research.
Please, donate now to become part of a powerful movement that’s helping to create a stronger, smarter, and more well-informed nation where knowledge overpowers confusion and science is both trusted and valued.
All donations made to the Australian Science Media Centre of $2 or more are now tax deductible.
We will automatically send you a tax receipt for your donation.
Please get in touch with us if you would like more information about becoming an AusSMC Affiliate, Gold or Foundation Partner.
Alternatively, you can donate via direct deposit. Please email donate@smc.org.au or call (08) 7120 8664 for details on how to donate via direct deposit.
By supporting the AusSMC, you are supporting a host of important projects including:
Scimex.org is a breaking science news portal for Australia, NZ and the Pacific, featuring news content from a wide range of sources, including universities, research institutions, scientific journals and scientific conferences.
The portal provides registered journalists with access to research papers, multimedia, media releases, and expertise to enhance their coverage of science and key issues where evidence is needed to inform debate. Members of the public can also access the latest in science via the website
The Indigenous Media Mentoring Program (IMMP) provides Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scientists with free tailored training and mentoring to support their engagement with the media. The program provides practical hands-on media experience with media partner NITV-SBS, mentoring from Indigenous researchers, media trainers and Indigenous journalists, and the creation of an expert profile on AusSMC’s science news portal, Scimex.
The competitively selected program incorporates discussion of the issues Indigenous experts can experience when working in the media and provides strategies to manage these, allowing Indigenous scientists to inform communities and the wider public and position themselves as role models in STEM. The program is supported by CSL and the CSIRO.
The AusSMC is a major partner in the Superstars of STEM program run by Science and Technology Australia. The initiative aims to smash gender assumptions about who can work in science, technology, engineering, and maths. Open to women and non-binary people, the AusSMC runs the media skills component of the program.
This involves hosting workshops across the country in collaboration with media companies that include newsroom visits, presentations and Q&A sessions from experienced science journalists, interview practice and feedback on how to present their area of expertise to the media to best connect with audiences.
Read more about the program here
The AusSMC has developed media skills training workshops specifically tailored to women and non-binary people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities. The workshops, a combination of online and in-person sessions, aspire to increase diversity in the Australian media while giving participants the skills and confidence to engage proactively with journalists.
Workshops also include advice on how to keep safe online and tips from CALD experts with media experience on how to manage the unique challenges CALD women in STEM can face when developing a public profile. This training is also run for both men and women researchers from CALD backgrounds.
The Collaborative Journalism Project brings scientists and other experts together with journalists in newsrooms to create new in-depth content on important topics for Australian society. The project supports accurate, evidence-based journalism and creates exclusive and in-depth content that can have currency for longer than daily news.
The project also helps journalists and media organisations develop skills and knowledge in important areas of science or issues that can inform their future reporting on the topic and builds stronger relationship between experts and journalists.
In 2023-24, five collaborative Journalism projects were funded through a META Public Interest Journalism Fund administered by the Walkley Foundation. In June 2024, the program won an Inspiring Project in Science Communication award from the Australian Science Communicators.
For further information on this latest project, click here.
The AusSMC offers media training workshops for researchers to help them improve their interactions with the media and the public. Researcher training sessions include an introduction to the media, general tips for being interviewed by a journalist and training on communicating scientific knowledge in a way that can be engaging and clear for audiences without scientific knowledge.
The AusSMC also has a free online media training website at sciencemediasavvy.org
Contact the AusSMC for more information
The AusSMC has developed a series of resources to help scientists and researchers both prepare for and respond to online trolling and abuse. The resources, which have been developed thanks to the support of Springer Nature, Flinders University, The University of Sydney and CSIRO, include step-by-step guides to help academics protect themselves from online abuse an and advice on what to do if they find themselves being attacked online and advice on what to do if they find themselves being attacked online.
The resources are available to AusSMC supporters at our online media training site sciencemediasavvy.org
Contact the AusSMC for more information
The AusSMC offers newsroom training sessions for journalists looking to improve their coverage of science, health, environment and technology stories. Journalist training sessions include an introduction to covering peer-reviewed research; how the embargo system works, how to judge the credibility of research and how to spot and manage media releases that are over-hyping science news.