In the news, researchers are continuously consulted for their expertise. Janne Hopsu believes that universities in Finland could do much more to make researchers seen and heard.

‘Recently I was looking for a certain species of clam and the facts associated with its Finnish name. Only on the sixth call did I reach someone who could explain the matter,’ says Hopsu. ‘There is a limited amount of time for fact checking in the newsroom. I think the university should provide better channels for locating researchers. A quick and effective web search would be good.’

Many professors and researchers at the University of Helsinki are familiar to Hopsu. Still, he wants academics to be more courageous in publicising their views and findings to the public and the media.

‘There is rarely one, crystal clear truth to something. A well-informed view is essential in the news business, in addition to having the courage to speak,’ says Hopsu. ‘The Ministry of Defence and the Finnish National Defence University have achieved this much better. We often have military officers as commentators in news broadcasts.’

Researchers and experts are important to the media. The University is full of established professionals.

‘They have the ability to shed light on the basic facts which explain the wider issues and phenomena. Some researchers complain that the media distorts things or oversimplifies matters. Researchers should instead trust that they have the knowledge and ability to Present the story intelligibly to the reporter and the wider public, who are unfamiliar with it. In that way the researcher can make their knowledge and know-how more public. No one can force them to do this, of course, but for research that is supported by taxpayers’ money it might be seen as a legitimate part of the researchers’ and professors’ role,’ says Hopsu.