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At a time marked by increasing media polarization, with left- and right-leaning news agencies using their pulpits to advance partisan agendas and social media amplifying this fragmentation by providing a platform for unvetted opinions, it is increasingly challenging for the public to navigate the cacophony of misinformation. In this context, the role of academics becomes paramount.
Academics are trained to reason, question and explore. Our innate curiosity leads us to ask questions and search for answers. Such thinking makes us ideally positioned to contribute to public dialogues on numerous societal issues that would benefit from our knowledge, insights and expertise.
Academics can reach the public via numerous platforms. One such approach is public writing, which is very different than writing for our professional colleagues and peers in academic journals, proceedings, monographs or books. The audience for public writings, like opinion essays and op-eds, is literally everyone, with highly varied backgrounds, educations and interests. This can make public writing a daunting task for many academics. But it does not have to be that way.
Academics are trained to write; it is an integral part of our profession. Writing for the public requires a pivot away from the jargon in our fields and using terms that can be understood by everyone. It also requires brevity—most public writings fall between 600 to 900 words. These things take some practice but are certainly achievable by anyone interested in growing their public voice.
Expanding your reach. Publishing a well-written essay may lead to hundreds of thousands of reads, far more than most academics can expect with their academic writings. Because most media outlets are online or have an online presence, this creates a wide and diverse array of potential readers and influence.
Given such reach, other media outlets may contact you for appearances on radio or television programs. Journalists may also wish to write their own pieces, seeking your expert insights and commentary for their own articles, often motivated by your public writings. This can create a stream of public communication that gives your writings reach that have no defined boundary. All such activities create a brand for your expertise, much like your academic work creates your reputation with academic peers.
Why participate? Some academics may ask, why do it? Why delve into an environment that may be poisonous and toxic? Such writings, and the ensuing media attention, all take time and effort. And competition for publication is like what academics must deal with as part of the peer review process at academic journals. Historically, all institutions have not valued such efforts, and many do not reward faculty for their efforts and this service. Fortunately, this is changing, as public engagement research is gaining traction in academic circles.
Furthermore, engaging the public need not be a vocation, in the formal sense. It can become a passion to share knowledge and insights, all for the greater good. It is a form of public service, allowing you to reach a wide footprint of people. Your writings have the potential to do much public good, influencing public opinion, shaping policy and combating misinformation and disinformation that have negative impacts in society.
Where to start? The best place is within your domain of expertise, staying in your lane. This is where you have the most knowledge and insights to share. When issues arise that lend themselves to your expertise, seize the opportunity to use your understanding of the issue to contribute to the public discussion. Your credentials place you in a unique position to bring insights that most people cannot offer, while having significant societal benefits.
Journalists are constantly seeking experts, often from academia, to gain information and insights that they personally lack when writing stories and articles. When academics shift some of their attention to public writing, they serve as their own domain experts, adding a level of credibility that journalists rarely personally possess.
As you become more comfortable with your public voice, you may incrementally widen your lane, though never so far as to delve into areas in which you lack expertise, effectively losing credibility. This does not mean that your lane should be so narrow that there are few issues that you can speak about. Each person much find their own comfort level in how far to move from their core expertise while maintaining the necessary credentials to add positively to the public discussion.
Having a public voice is not for everyone. Some academic fields lend themselves more naturally to such efforts. Yet each of us has a responsibility to at least ask whether we can have a public voice, even if it is over a narrow range of topics. Between traditional media and social media, academics have an opportunity to make a difference and add value in society. At a time when confidence in higher education is near record lows, public voices can serve to counter such sentiments and give the public the opportunity to see firsthand what academia can offer them. Indeed, raising our public voice, both individually and collectively, is a critical step forward to establish not only our personal public brand but also provide value for academia as a source of insights for the greater good.
