Worldwide media seek out UB faculty experts

UB faculty experts are appearing in greater frequency across the news media landscape.

Whether it’s TV, news websites or radio and podcasts, they’re offering timely analysis on issues ranging from the pandemic and politics to social justice and space debris.

From January through the end of September, experts have appeared in 9,935 news stories, according to data collected by University Communications. That exceeds the total number of expert placements in all of 2020, as well as 2019.

The increase is due to a variety of factors.

Among them is the persistent need for authoritative insight related to COVID-19. Health sciences faculty members regularly provide guidance in regional news outlets, such as The Buffalo News, WGRZ-TV and WBFO-FM, as well as national publications such as The Washington Post, The New York Times and PBS NewsHour, which visited the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences earlier this year and reported on the growth of applications the school has received since the pandemic began.

But it’s not only health sciences. Faculty members from across UB are applying their expertise to the pandemic and sharing that knowledge through the news media.

Communications researchers are commenting on misinformation. School of Management professors are discussing how the workplace is evolving. Social workers are explaining how the pandemic has exposed long-standing problems in our communities.

Another factor driving expert placements has been politics.

From the January attack on the U.S. Capitol to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation and the Buffalo mayoral race, experts in political science, law, urban planning and other fields have played a key role explaining the nuances and implications of these headline-grabbing events.

Faculty experts are also appearing on national television. For example, Peter Rogerson and John Crassidis appeared separately on CBS Sunday Morning earlier this year.

“I do this for the university,” says Crassidis, who discussed space debris with CBS correspondent David Pogue. “Appearing in the news media helps build the reputation of UB, and it helps makes the public — everyone from government officials and business leaders to prospective students and their parents — more aware of the work we do.”

News media from around the world contact the University Communications media relations team daily, seeking to speak to UB faculty members. Oftentimes reporters and editors request interviews with researchers featured on UB’s faculty experts website, which is carefully curated by University Communications.

“We’re very appreciative of faculty who make time to share their insights and expertise on topics of great significance,” says John DellaContrada, vice president for university communications. “They provide an important public service while also demonstrating UB’s leadership in a wide range of academic disciplines.”

University Communications collects news stories about UB each weekday and emails them to the university community. To receive this service, email ub-news@buffalo.edu and use the subject line UB-intheNews-List Subscription Request.

University Communications also offers media training to UB faculty and administrators. For more information, email ub-news@buffalo.edu.