This paper will be of particular interest to both the broader geoscience community and the media. It explores how press releases influence the framing, narratives, and actors represented in subsequent newspaper articles, using ocean plastic pollution as a case study. The authors shed light on the critical role press releases - and, by extension, research institutions - play in shaping how ocean plastic research is communicated to the public. These findings, along with others presented in the paper, offer valuable insights to help inform and guide future geoscience research communication.