Including media commentary

[tapioca_sunrise]

Hello,

 

I'm applying for Political Science MA programs.

 

I've provided commentary on several news outlets (BBC, Al Jazeera etc) regarding things specific to my research interests and I'm curious if it's appropriate to include this in a a statement. Realistically I would like to only include a line or two about it, but what do you guys think? Should I include this? If so, how?

[PeakPerformance]

I'm not really sure what you mean by "provided commentary": this could range from being contacted by the source for your views on account of your expertise in the area or your posting comments on an article posted on a website. If the source solicited your commentary on account of your expertise/knowledge of the issues, then I would definitely mention this in your SOP.

[TakeruK]

For what it's worth, this is something I do see on CVs in my field sometimes. Usually, they appear on CVs of postdocs and professors as things like "interview segment with BBC on X". I agree with the above that you should only include cases where you were solicited for your commentary due to your expertise (i.e. not just one of those "let's talk to random people on the street" type interviews) and you should not include unsolicited materials (e.g. letters to the editor).

 

I think you can definitely include them if you want, but I am not 100% certain how useful they would be. For postdocs and untenured faculty, having them on the CV is helpful because it demonstrates that they have earned the respect and reputation as being an expert in that field (in theory, either the researcher is active enough so that news outlets know who they are, or the researcher is well known enough that when news outlets ask a university for an expert, the researcher's name is suggested). This type of earned reputation/expertise is important for making hiring/tenure decisions. At the prospective grad student level, it's unlikely that we have this kind of clout in our fields yet (although there certainly are exceptions!) but also this type of information about an applicant isn't really something that is helpful to a graduate admissions committee, in my opinion. Again, if you have an exceptional media expert reputation then it would definitely help--just that for a typical prospective graduate student, I don't see this making a huge difference in your admission decision.

[tapioca_sunrise]

I'm not really sure what you mean by "provided commentary": this could range from being contacted by the source for your views on account of your expertise in the area or your posting comments on an article posted on a website. If the source solicited your commentary on account of your expertise/knowledge of the issues, then I would definitely mention this in your SOP.

 

My research interests concern extremism and ethnic conflict. I was contacted by producers of these programs to speak directly with hosts on air. Example: I spoke on BBC radio for ~8 minutes with the host of a program about a terrorist organization (after a specific event) and provided detailed information about tactics and ideology, and offered analysis regarding the future of the organization in question. 

[tapioca_sunrise]

For what it's worth, this is something I do see on CVs in my field sometimes. Usually, they appear on CVs of postdocs and professors as things like "interview segment with BBC on X". I agree with the above that you should only include cases where you were solicited for your commentary due to your expertise (i.e. not just one of those "let's talk to random people on the street" type interviews) and you should not include unsolicited materials (e.g. letters to the editor).

 

I think you can definitely include them if you want, but I am not 100% certain how useful they would be. For postdocs and untenured faculty, having them on the CV is helpful because it demonstrates that they have earned the respect and reputation as being an expert in that field (in theory, either the researcher is active enough so that news outlets know who they are, or the researcher is well known enough that when news outlets ask a university for an expert, the researcher's name is suggested). This type of earned reputation/expertise is important for making hiring/tenure decisions. At the prospective grad student level, it's unlikely that we have this kind of clout in our fields yet (although there certainly are exceptions!) but also this type of information about an applicant isn't really something that is helpful to a graduate admissions committee, in my opinion. Again, if you have an exceptional media expert reputation then it would definitely help--just that for a typical prospective graduate student, I don't see this making a huge difference in your admission decision.

 

It was solicited and my letter writers have told me that it would be a good idea to include it in my SOP... I just don't know how to appropriately and professionally fit it in to an SOP without sounding too pompous in an "oh, and by the way" sort of way.