Note: This page was first created in August, 2014, when the Initiative was formally launched. It has been updated to reflect major changes in the implementation of the Initative as a direct result of funding shortfalls. Please consider making a charitable donation to the Initiative today so the LSA can continue the important work we started in 2014.

The LSA News Stories Initiative is an ongoing project intended to increase the quality of linguistics coverage by the popular news media.

Originally proposed by the Linguistics Department at the University of Maryland, and subsequently refined by the LSA's Public Relations Committee (PRC), the Initiative seeks to highlight recent findings of linguistics research for a mass audience. The first year of the Initiative is supported by the generous contributions of the academic linguistics programs listed below, including some departments that have made multi-year financial commitments to the LSA.

This critical support for the Initiative has made it possible for the LSA to add its first new staff position in at least six years, the Director of Communications. This position was formerly held by Brice Russ, a public relations professional with advanced training in linguistics. While the position was filled, the Director of Communications worked directly with the PRC, the LSA Public Policy Committee and other interested LSA members to promote the benefits of linguistics research to key stakeholders, including: policy-makers, scientific colleagues, educational administrators, the news media, and the broader public. 

The LSA welcomes additional financial contributions in support of the Initiative from foundations, corporations, linguistics departments and individual donors. The Initiative also welcomes suggestions for linguistics research and related activities that are newsworthy. As part of its ongoing outreach program, LSA efforts to publicize linguistics research have led to news stories featured in the science section of the NY Times, the BBC, NPR, the Guardian, and many other prominent media outlets. An interim report on early outcomes of the News Stories Initiative is available.

Please send any suggestions about potential news stories for promotion/dissemination to the LSA.

News and Media Relations Resources for Linguists

• Linguistics and the News Media: An LSA Guide for Linguists
• Academia and storytelling are not incompatible (LSE - The Impact Blog)
• Advice for writing pop linguistics articles (All Things Linguistic)
• How To Talk To Journalists (Pete Warden)

Founding Institutional Donors to the News Stories Initiative (as of August, 2014)

• Department of Linguistics, University of Maryland   
  -- (a five-year annual pledge of $5000 was offered as a challenge to other departments, beginning in 2014)
• Department of Linguistics, University of Michigan 
  (provided a large foundational donation early in the planning process)
• Department of Linguistics, Indiana University
• Department of Linguistics, Ohio State University
• Department of Linguistics, Stanford University
• Linguistics Program, College of Liberal Arts, Purdue University
• Linguistics Program, English Department, Oklahoma State University

Additional Institutional Donors (as of August, 2016)

• Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of Technolgy
• Department of Linguistics, The University at Buffalo

Thank you to these generous donors for making the LSA News Stories Initiative possible.

The Linguistic Society is a non-profit organization exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The LSA Federal Identification Number is 74-6043371. As a non-profit organization, the LSA may qualify for corporate donation-matching programs. Prospective donors may review a copy of the LSA's most recent federal tax return (Form 990) here (PDF).