Engaging with the media  

Our team is your essential partner in all media engagement at GNS. Whether you want to promote newsworthy research, share public information during emergency event response, or respond to topics of interest, the communications team is here to help you work effectively with the media.

We develop media releases and pitches, advise about risk, and provide coaching and spokesperson support to ensure you, and GNS, get the best out of every media opportunity.

There is some great guidance provided on our resources page – be sure to download and check out GNS and the media, and Spokepersons guidance.

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How to engage with us

For non-urgent media engagement, staff should talk to their communications partner. If you are unsure about the best person to contact, email communications@gns.cri.nz.

A Communications Duty Officer (CDO) is always available to support urgent media requests. This includes outside of business hours.

To contact the CDO, and for all urgent media queries:
Email media@gns.cri.nz (monitored inside business hours)
Call 021 574 541 (monitored between 7am and 9pm, and 24/7 during emergency response)
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Media training

Media training is required for anyone engaging with the media, speaking on behalf of GNS Science. Fronting media with confident, credible spokespeople is a primary means by which we build public trust in GNS Science. There are certain delegated spokespeople for different topics and purposes, and approvals processes to be aware of. For more information, have a read of our Media Policy.  

We get that not every great scientist is a natural spokesperson, but we can support you to be more comfortable and improve your delivery through our tiered programme of media training. We have also developed spokesperson guidance with handy tips – check that out on our resources page.

GNS Media 101 online learning programme – Available on Workday
In-house training for spokespeople – delivered by our skilled GNS communications team
Advanced training for primary spokespeople and staff with a media role in crisis response – outsourced provider
Bespoke training modules for planned, high-profile communications – outsourced provider
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Pitching our stories

When we have a story to tell and want media coverage we pitch our stories through a media release. There are multiple ways we do this depending on the sensitivity of the content, the audience we are looking for, and the opportunities for additional reach through alternative platforms and direct engagement.

If you have a story to tell, be sure to connect with our media-savvy communications team to make sure we get the best bang for our pitching buck.
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The GNS communications team is always just a meeting, phone call, or email away.
Not sure who to contact directly? Email us at communications@gns.cri.nz