Writing for the Public

 Writing for general audiences—readers of The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Chronicle of Higher Education and other serious outlets for journalism, say—is fun, energizing and, sometimes, profitable. It allows scholars to connect their research to current events (are you a scholar of Islam? There is an audience for your expertise!), culture (how might Adele’s decision not to stream relate to similar changes in the distribution of art historically?) science (your study of the changing habitats of bats is of interest to environmentalists) and more. But academia does not always provide incentive for or assistance with writing op-eds or researched articles in the ‘popular press,’ leaving faculty and staff at a loss as to how to get their ideas more widely disseminated and read  by non-specialists.