News and press releases on scientific publications

The Communications and Public Relations Office (Comms Office) keeps journalists informed about research and other activities at KI that may be of general interest. We achieve this by publishing and distributing news articles and press releases, as well as sharing news items on social media.

Our aim in sending out press releases and news tips is to reach the public and specific patient or professional groups via journalists and media outlets. In these instances, the Comms Office focuses on the public interest and evaluates the potential for each news item to be picked up and reported by external news media – what we refer to as news value.

For news that we believe has less chance of making an impact through press releases and news tips, there are alternative ways to reach out. The Comms Office uses social media and our Swedish popular science magazine, podcast and newsletter for this purpose. Researchers can also share research news independently or in collaboration with communicators at their department. For example, all departments can publish news articles on KI's external news site.

Tips about communication can be found on the altmetrics page

Evaluate the newsworthiness of your study

Before reaching out to the Comms Office, please assess the newsworthiness of the study yourself: 

  • Does the study present original results?
  • Is the study accepted by a highly ranked scientific journal but not yet published?
  • Has the study been conducted at Karolinska Institutet?
  • Are the findings accessible and relevant and to the public, patients, or a specific professional group?
  • Is your news likely to interest national/international media such as Svenska Dagbladet, Dagens Medicin, Vetenskapsradion, or Reuters?

If you answered yes to these questions, please contact the Comms Office via the Press Office's email address (see additional information below). In their evaluation, the news editors also consider the strategic value for KI. This might include current societal debates, university management priorities, or publication in high-impact journals such as Science, Nature, and New England Journal of Medicine. Good image material can often enhance the news evaluation. Factors that might negatively impact the evaluation include prior publication on a preprint server or the risk 

Figure for prioritisation support

A quadrant diagram with two axes. Left to right: "Strategic importance for the entire KI" to "Importance for individuals at KI". Top to bottom: High to low public interest. The squares are prioritized 1-4.
Prioritisation support for news releases about scientific articles, where level 1 is what news editors at the Comms Office should prioritise for major news packages. Levels 2 and 3 often, but not always, offer more limited news packages, and for level 4, researchers communicate themselves with some support from a communicator and/or online guides.

How to contact us about research news

Get in touch with the Comms Office as soon as your scientific article has been accepted by a journal (whether preliminary or definitive). Don’t wait until you have a publication date, or the article is available in PubMed.

Here’s what to do:

  1. Email pressinfo@ki.se and write two or three sentences about what the study shows and which journal it will be published in.
  2. If the Comms Office's news editors determine that there is news value, they may ask you to complete a longer form for news/press releases.
  3. If so, fill in the form, attach the scientific article (embargo respected), and await the news editors' assessment. You can also fill in the longer form directly. The Comms Office will then get back to you with suggestions for communication activities.

Good to know

Researchers at KI produce over 7000 scientific articles per year. The competition for our assistance with a press release or news article is fierce. Sometimes the Comms Office will offer other alternatives, such as simpler news tips via email or posts on social media. If there is no major communication effort from the Comms Office this time, you can instead use our guidelines on how to share information about your study/research, for example via social media.

The news editors need at least two weeks to prepare a news package and, if necessary, coordinate with partner organisations. The sooner you contact us after the journal's acceptance notice, the better.

If you expect the article to be published immediately after acceptance, you may need to contact us even before the formal notice from the journal. Another reason to contact us in good time is that the news editors often provide journalists with advance information a few days before the article is published, under a so-called embargo agreement.

Fixing images

Good images and illustrations can increase media interest. Portrait images that the media can use for free (press images) should always be attached to press releases and news tips. If you take your own photos, for example with your mobile phone, they should be in JPG format and have a file size of at least a few hundred KB (or a resolution of about 300 dpi) to ensure sufficient quality. 

An alternative to taking your own photos is to order them from KI's in-house photo agency, Bildmakarna, which can invoice internally. Some department communicators can also assist with taking portrait images. Occasionally, the Comms Office orders and pays for press images, but this is not done regularly.

Writing and distributing

Press releases are news articles that include contact details for spokespersons, often accompanied by logos, images, and other materials. These are widely distributed to journalists and media outlets via regular email and various web publishing tools. News tips are shorter texts with contact details, sent to a targeted group of journalists.

News articles and press releases from KI are usually based on the popular science material provided by the contacting researcher (see the form). The text is processed by KI's news editors and structured to make it interesting and understandable to the public. Sometimes, freelance writers are contracted by the Comms Office for this work. 

The journal's embargo (confidentiality) is respected, and the researcher always has the opportunity to review and correct any factual errors before publication or dissemination. In principle, all news texts are translated so that they are available in both Swedish and English.

All press releases are published on the KI news website on ki.se. Often, the news is also shared on one of KI's social media accounts – so if you want to tag a specific account, please inform us in advance.

Information about funding and any corporate interests should be clearly stated in KI's news articles and press releases.

Regarding your contact details

Note that the Communications and Public Relations Office often saves spokespersons' contact details in its internal phone book. Email pressinfo@ki.se if you want to check your contact details, change, or remove them.

Roles, responsibilities and working efficiently

For best results, news production should be based on collaboration, where both parties respect each other's roles and time.

  • It is the news editor's responsibility to make the news text as understandable, well-written, and interestingly presented as possible.
  • It is the researcher's responsibility to ensure that the facts are correct and that the news text corresponds to the results presented in the scientific article.

Let one (1) of the article authors be responsible for contact with the writer/news editor. As the contact person, you are expected to provide the Comms Office with materials at least two working weeks before the planned publication of the scientific paper, unless otherwise agreed. If the materials are submitted too late, we may have to prioritise other news. Please also note that contracted freelance writers charge by the hour, so try to be as efficient and concise as possible when working together.

In most news articles and press releases, it is sufficient for one spokesperson/article author to be quoted. In longer news articles, there may sometimes be room for two spokespersons, but not more. The article authors should jointly decide who will be the spokesperson before contacting the Comms Office. Doctoral students cannot solely be responsible for contacts with the Comms Office or the media but should always have the support of a supervisor or group leader.

The journalist's role

Journalists have a different role than communication officers at KI and may ask other and more critical questions about the study's methods and results. It is their job and something that should be respected.

If you are a spokesperson, it is important that you are reachable when the news story is released, so that journalists have the opportunity to ask questions. Also, update your profile page on ki.se (via KI RIMS) before dissemination so that the profile page contains current information about your title, research area, and contact details.

Tips and advice for interviews

Contact

The press office

Phone:+46 (0)8-524 860 77 | Email: pressinfo@ki.se 

Opening hours: The press office is staffed 09:00-17:00 CET on weekdays. The press office is closed during major holidays, such as Christmas, Easter and Midsummer, and opening hour may be limited during the Swedish summer vacation period.