“As a top conference centre we take our responsibilities seriously when it comes to promoting the Austrian capital as a location for science and research,” noted Hofburg Vienna Managing Director Renate Danler. As an accomplished networker she recently brought together leading figures from the world of science and respected editors from various Austrian daily newspapers to compare notes and identify new ways of integrating the media into the conference and meetings industry.
In his analysis Gerfield Sperl from Austrian broadsheet Der Standard pinpointed the fundamental issue: that universities and research institutions operate out of the public eye and that not enough journalists are taking on the mantle of “translators” for science. Die Presse expressed its desire for scientists to bear media accessibility in mind when preparing their communications, issuing an appeal for them to focus on key details to ensure that science and research are given the media coverage they deserve. Susanne Mauthner-Weber from Kurier reminded those present that people respond to stories, reaffirming that the key message of any report must always be clear to the reader. Martin Kugler from Die Presse revealed the filters he applies when it comes to dealing with the daily deluge of information in his inbox: actuality, relevance and benefit to the reader.
Various print and television journalists confirmed that there was intense competition among the various desks for column inches and airtime. Günther Mayr from Austrian national broadcaster ORF shed more light on the subject using the 17-minute Zeit im Bild (ZIB) news show as an example – the longest feature topics are limited to around one minute, and with this in mind he recommended covering all the key points in 15, 30 or 45-second statements. Multimedia approaches, a directory of experts for journalists to contact regarding given areas of science and a higher profile for female experts all featured on the journalists’ wish lists. Scientists, editors and the Hofburg Vienna team are working together to raise Vienna’s profile amongst the international scientific community.
The Hofburg Vienna experts are always on hand to help event organisers schedule and execute their on-site press activities. A dedicated entry in the event calendar, coverage on the website news window and Facebook feature posts are just some of the free customer service add-ons available to organisers. Regular press releases sent out by the conference centre keep journalists in the picture about all the latest conference acquisitions and calendar highlights.
The Hofburg Vienna is already looking forward to the upcoming June and July highlights, which include the CTBT Science and Technology Conference (17-21 June), the WHO European Ministerial Conference on Nutrition and Noncommunicable Diseases in the Context of Health 2020 (4-7 July), theWerbeplanung.at Summit (11-12 July) and the Congress Sexually Transmitted Infections and AIDS World Congress (14-17 July). A major international medical conference for around 900 delegates recently confirmed that it will be coming to the Hofburg Vienna in 2015.
