welcome to the nonlinear library, where we use text-to-speech software to convert the best writing from the rationalist and ea communities into audio. this is: What to know before talking with journalists about EA, published by sky on the effective altruism forum. Write a Review Journalists regularly contact individuals, groups, and organizations who are involved in the effective altruism space. At first glance, opportunities to speak with journalists may seem like a good way to spread information about important work and ideas. However, we have found that they can also be a good way to create misunderstandings or negative impressions of EA or of particular projects. Because evaluating and engaging in successful media engagements requires specialized skills and knowledge, it’s important to seek advice or resources, proceed carefully, and be prepared. Quick takeaway: when you are contacted by the media, we think it’s important that you connect with resources and advisors so you can make informed decisions. Many large organizations have full-time staff who do media advising, but we know most community members won’t have access to such resources. CEA does not have full-time media staff but we do have some experience assisting people with media questions. We would like to offer you information and resources for deciding if or how to participate in media opportunities. If you receive media inquiries, feel free to email your questions to media@centreea.org. You can also refer others to this post or to our full guide: Advice for responding to journalists. EA and journalism CEA regularly hears about journalists who are interested in interviewing people about EA. So far this year, we’ve heard from ten groups or individuals who were considering whether or how to participate in a media piece. Here are some examples: A producer of a popular podcast emails someone with questions about EA for an upcoming story and states that they have a pressing deadline. The community member wants to respond professionally and feels pressured to do so quickly. They’re not sure what best practices to follow to make the decision about participating or not. A journalist attends a local EA group event, perhaps without the group knowing in advance. Now attendees need to decide on the spot if they want to participate in a story, when they likely arrived expecting a casual social event. Some attendees at the event may be people who work in government or other sensitive fields where they are expected to maintain a neutral public image. They may not know their employer’s policies around media, or their employer may have an expectation that employees not participate in media engagements related to their work without pre-approval. They may wonder if they need to leave the event. Attendees may speak casually without realizing they could be quoted, and may misunderstand what it means to speak “off the record.” If the journalist is unfamiliar with EA, they may come away with misunderstandings, depending on the direction the conversation happens to take. A journalist approaches several EA organizations, local groups, and individuals with invitations to be interviewed for a story or documentary they’re working on. Now each of these people and groups must make a decision about whether to participate, often without having much time to research important considerations: What is the journalist’s understanding of EA? Have they covered it before? What approach did they take in the past? Who else is being interviewed or who else might be a good resource for this particular kind of story? Is the potential interview related to one’s area of expertise or outside of it? What will happen if the request for an interview is declined? Will the piece go forward in a less informed way, or will it not be produced at all? Many large organizations have media professionals who specialize in preparing and training staff or researching questions like the ones above. CEA thinks that kind of ...