LHC restart - 7 TeV media event - Experience from ALICE
Preparation for the media event
Invitation had gone out back in the autumn for an event on an unspecified date
Many meetings and exchanges between experiments and CERN Press Office
•
number of media we could accept in the Control Room
•
lists of ALICE members prepared to talk to the press
•
our plans for the day (see report during 25th EPPOG Meeting)
Media training - public, in small groups, one-to-one (Dec. 2009, Feb. 2010)
Internal meetings for organisation of the event
23 March 2010 First 7 TeV collisions were announced for the 30th March
(promised one week’s notice)
Media visits schedules (many versions) - everything was planned to the hour
7 TeV media event ALICE experience
Despina Hatzifotiadou
26th EPPOG Meeting 16 April 2010 Oslo
20 November 2009 LHC restart with circulating beam
6 December 2009 First 900 GeV collisions - stable beams
7 TeV media event ALICE experience
23 November 2009 First 900 GeV collisions
14 December 2009 First 2.36 TeV collisions
Did not quite make it to be an event - no photos
Despina Hatzifotiadou
26th EPPOG Meeting 16 April 2010 Oslo
Preparation for the live broadcast and webcast - 7 TeV collisions
From the CCC and the 4 experiments Control Rooms
Many interactions with CERN audiovisual team
Installed 3 cameras in ALICE CR + microphones + mixer + dedicated PC
Eventually had 3 people to control the cameras and “direct” the show
Received many versions of script by Paola Catapano, CERN scientific journalist,
who would “run the show” (interviews etc..) and by Jacques Fichet (more technical,
for the cameramen)
Following suggestion by Silvano de Gennaro agreed to participate in “Round the Ring” show
(each experiment every hour for ten minutes)
started looking for people mentally prepared to talk in front of the camera
7 TeV media event ALICE experience
Despina Hatzifotiadou
26th EPPOG Meeting 16 April 2010 Oslo
The day before
Everything was set to the last detail
First journalists were expected at 9:00
The programme of the broadcast was starting at 8:30 - 9:00 am
Suddenly we received news that LHC would try for collisions during the night
And could we accept media between 2:30 and 9 am ?
Various scenarios were developed concerning the visits and the broadcasting
Scenario C : collisions before 7 am (first possibility for arrival of journalists)
Scenario B : collisions after 7 am
Late afternoon/evening: rehearsal of broadcast/webcast with the audiovisual team
(Paola and Silvano in the CCC interviewing us in the ACR)
Late afternoon : scenario B was opted for, we were asked to be in the ACR at 6:00
Cameramen etc were also due at 6:00
Unclear how broadcast programme would be adapted..
7 TeV media event ALICE experience
Despina Hatzifotiadou
26th EPPOG Meeting 16 April 2010 Oslo
30 March morning
6:00 am In ALICE CR waiting for action
7:00 am Bus appears with the first batch of ~15 reporters
Everybody was welcome to enter the Control Room
Many stayed on to wait for the collisions to happen
More ALICE members appeared
More buses during the morning brought a total of 25
journalists, photographers and TV crews
Person from CERN Press Office always present
Many interactions between physicists and reporters
Interviews, visits to the exhibition at point 2, coffee..
Broadcast / webcast happening from 9 am on..
While waiting for collisions Paola, from the CCC, was
contacting one experiment after the other; several
people appeared on the show, commenting on
ALICE, the status of the experiment etc
7 TeV media event ALICE experience
Despina Hatzifotiadou
26th EPPOG Meeting 16 April 2010 Oslo
13:06 Beams collided
Control Room full of ALICE members
and journalists + TVs
first reconstructed events appeared on
the screens
Applause..
More Interviews..
Photographs..
Champagne…
7 TeV media event ALICE experience
Despina Hatzifotiadou
26th EPPOG Meeting 16 April 2010 Oslo
7 TeV media event ALICE experience
Despina Hatzifotiadou
26th EPPOG Meeting 16 April 2010 Oslo
In addition, during this memorable day….
Press Conference which was webcast
Event displays on:
http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/Public/en/Chapter1/news2010.html
http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/Collaboration/galleries/Pictures/pin-point-media7TeV.html
http://cdsweb.cern.ch/record/1255398
Photographs on CDS:
http://cdsweb.cern.ch/record/1255397
Animations on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ictBOjWcVAg
+ a couple of twits http://twitter.com/ALICEexperiment
Towards the end of the day
Thank you messages were exchanged between Press Office, Experiments Spokespersons,
Webcasting team, outreach coordinators ..
7 TeV media event ALICE experience
Despina Hatzifotiadou
26th EPPOG Meeting 16 April 2010 Oslo
7 TeV media event ALICE experience
Despina Hatzifotiadou
26th EPPOG Meeting 16 April 2010 Oslo
7 TeV media event ALICE experience
Despina Hatzifotiadou
26th EPPOG Meeting 16 April 2010 Oslo
ALICE Institutes feedback after the event..probably only a sample
Many Institutes organised an event on the 30th March, often jointly with other LHC experiment groups
A number of them had a special high quality webcast connection
Very positive comments on the quality of the webcast
Italy
Bologna : all LHC experiments - big screen- EVO with CERN - journalists - few min on RAI3 regional
Torino : broadcast on big screen - students followed
Trieste : broadcast on big screen + PCs - posters - answering questions- interview “Il Piccolo” (local)
Danemark
Niels Bohr Institute : open morning in collaboration with “Politiken” - broadcast on big screen, talks and expl.
3TVs, 2 radios, >1 interviews 75 tickets for the public
Germany
GSI : broadcast in main lecture hall - 10 people watched - interviews - local TV filmed
South Africa
iThemba LABS : big screen - ALICE members and other colleagues
France
Strasbourg: broadcast on big screen + PCs - 5 journalists /photographers - interview to local TV
UK
Birmingham: webcast on big screen for the public in Phys. Dept. - announcement by Univ. Press Office
interviews on Mexican, German, Italian, French, Greek, Swiss …TV (national and local)
interviews on local and national press
7 TeV media event ALICE experience
Despina Hatzifotiadou
26th EPPOG Meeting 16 April 2010 Oslo
Conclusions
The media event was a success
It was lucky that less media than expected came
We proved flexible and coped well with last minute change of plans
Timing was good
First two attempts gave everybody the chance to savour the anticipation and the excitement
Fortunately the third attempt was successful !
All were satisfied
Journalists enjoy talking to physicists
Physicists enjoy talking to journalists
For ALICE it has been a very positive experience
THANKS TO ALL WHO MADE IT HAPPEN
7 TeV media event ALICE experience
Despina Hatzifotiadou
26th EPPOG Meeting 16 April 2010 Oslo