Our guest on The Experts is an academic and a successful media commentator. He understood early that it wasn’t good enough to just write for journals and keep the opinion and position on matters strictly to the lecture theatre. It is critical for any expert that they make sure that they are known, are prepared to comment and be available. Three critical characteristics of a successful expert. The very first television appearance for this United States politics expert was with Derryn Hinch on his Sky News show. He nailed it!

Associate Professor Aiden Warren from RMIT got his start in media not because of the media team at RMIT. In fact, they had to contact him after he appeared on Melbourne talkback radio station 3AW. The media engagement was setup by his friend at Media Stable and they have been putting him forward to media ever since. Aiden walks through his experiences of engaging media and has many useful tips to help first timers to work with mainstream media.

The chat quickly turns to reluctance from academic experts to be more media savvy and get themselves known despite the obvious benefits that come with building your personal brand. Nic recalls a podcast chat with Dr Kathryn Shine of Curtin University and the steppingstone for female academics to put their hand up to represent their field of excellence or expertise. This is one big pep talk for more academics to be more accountable in mainstream media and start sharing their thoughts and opinions in media.

There is so much more academics and great theory driven educators can be doing in mainstream media. Following the advice and example of Aiden would be a good start for many in the education sector and don’t rely on the University media team. In the most they are ineffective, out-of-date and have very few valid media connections. It’s your personal brand so you want to be responsible for it.

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