Navigating Science Communication Missteps

The Planet, the Satellite, the Star

While preparing for my calls this week, I decided to revisit a favorite question that interviewers often ask about work failures, and I recalled a funny story.

Six years ago, I was working as a PR manager at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, dealing with international media. Honestly, it’s hard to believe that there was a time when a journalist from German Nature came to visit us. My colleagues and I were thrilled with a feature in MIT Technology Review (even though they really critiqued us), and we used to send Christmas cards to journalists all over the world.

Anyway, a piece of news about the Moon stirred the entire scientific community—signs of past life were discovered on the Moon!

Immediately, we received a request for a comment from a journalist, almost from The Washington Post. At that point, not only the scientists but I was quite stirred as well. Naturally, deadlines were tight, everything was urgent, and we had to provide a comment quickly.

I swiftly found a scientist whom I thought would give the perfect remark, and I was incredibly excited about it. I sent him a detailed email explaining that we needed a response fast, emphasizing the urgency of the topic.

To which he replied: "Varvara, I would love to help, but I’m a planetary scientist, and the Moon is a satellite…"