National Association of Science Writers
Annual Meeting Workshops
Philadelphia, Penn.
Feb. 11-17, 1998

Full Schedule

IMPORTANT SCHEDULE CHANGES: Due to President Clinton's 12:30 pm Friday speech in the Marriott Grand Ballroom, Thursday's NASW workshops have been moved to Rooms 202A and 202B at the Convention Center (next door to the Marriott), and one session in the Friday PIO workshops has been cancelled.

Updated 10 February 1998 by Carol Cruzan Morton. Note: This is a working plan; the schedule is subject to change.

Special Preconference Workshop
Wednesday, Feb. 11

NASW Day at the Multimedia Races
Academy of Natural Sciences
1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway (at Logan Circle at intersection of Race St., 19th St., and the Parkway)

Directions & Transportation: Within walking distance of the convention center (10 blocks to the northwest) and AAAS hotels (3-13 blocks); other transportation options include taxi and bus service called PATCO or "Philly Phlash" (but we are not sure of the schedule).

Organizer: Jane Ellen Stevens, videojournalist, New York Times Television
Co-organizer: Carol Cruzan Morton, independent science journalist

In the last year, the new medium of journalistic storytelling -- multimedia on the World Wide Web -- continues to bound along at a fast pace. Even the Pulitzer Prize committee has taken a first step toward recognizing online journalism, allowing newspapers to submit entries for the public-service-prize based on work published in 1998 on a single CD-ROM.

Although still in its infancy, multimedia storytelling combines text, video, audio, graphics, and animation. Current representations are not yet a seamless amalgamation of these media into one, but that's the goal. However, no one quite knows what multimedia is going to look like, or how it will fit into the mix of traditional media. On this day, we'll explore its latest permutations and hear from the people who are making up the new medium as they go along.

We'll also focus on the array of new jobs in multimedia and how these new media types -- writers, editors, producers and videojournalists -- do their work. And we'll address an issue that's just reared its head in the last year: Some universities and science institutions are able and willing to deliver their information directly to their publics via their Web sites. As more universities tell their own stories without having to convince a reporter from the media to cover a topic, what will happen to the traditional science journalist?

Noon - 1 pm
Registration for NASW workshops
No-host lunch available at Au Bon Pain at Academy

1 - 2:30 pm
Workshop One: Who's Hot

The gurus of today's hottest science and technology multimedia Web sites explain how they choose and produce their stories, the changes they anticipate in the next few years, and what types of people they want to hire. They'll demonstrate how they choose and produce their stories, what stories work in this medium, and which don't.

3 - 4 pm
Workshop Two: Think Storytelling, Think Multi-Skill, Think 3-D

What does being employed in multimedia mean? Are there still writers? If so, what kinds of writing do they do? What do editors do? What do producers do? People who make their living in multimedia tell their tales, from independent multimedia producers to editors to videojournalists, and speculate on the mix of job opportunities and skills needed in the new medium.

4 - 5 pm
Workshop Three: Are Science Journalists a Vanishing Breed?

Multimedia on the Web lets instititutions bypass science journalists to present their message directly to their publics. How are they doing this? In this environment, who needs science journalists? What will the role of science journalism be? What stories can institutions themselves tell? What stories will science journalists tell? If the goal is an informed public, who tells the public what's being left out of a story?

5 pm
Reception, hosted by the Academy of Natural Sciences

Thursday, February 12
*NOTE New Rooms: Convention Center Rooms 202A and 202B

7 - 8 am
Registration for NASW workshops

8:15 - 9:45 am
Plenary Session: Science writing ethics
Convention Center Rooms 202A and 202B

9:45 - 10:00 am
Break (ballroom conversion)

10:00 - 11:30 am
Convention Center Room 202A
Forging strong writer-editor relationships (or is the phrase "warm and fuzzy" absurd in our business?)

The connection between writer and editor extends far beyond copy quality and financial matters. For both sides, figuring out how to work well with the other is critical. A panel of editors--and at least one freelance writer--will explore how to avoid common problems in this "marriage" and to foster a healthy, respectful relationship. Participants:

10:00 - 11:30 am
Convention Center Room 202B
Reporting on cloning: should there ever be another ewe?

Is cloning really news - except in the minds of editors and science fiction junkies? How does one cover - and keep in perspective - a high profile science, which is changing rapidly and which poses enormous ethical issues? Do we really understand what cloning is? What its future is? How should reporters handle - and advise their newspapers to handle - this issue? Tips, war stories, and some solid background education.

11:30-Noon
Lunch (box lunch provided with workshop fee)

Noon - 1:15 pm
Convention Center Room 202A
The business of freelancing

Freelance writing isn't just an art--it's a business. You're the sole person responsible for choosing assignments, juggling deadlines, and keeping track of taxes. How can you make the finance side of freelancing easier? At this workshop, three writers share solutions. Julian Block is a New York tax attorney, finance columnist who hosts "Tax Talk," an online forum by Prodigy, Inc., and author of the annual guide,"Julian Block's Tax Avoidance Secrets." Ingrid Wickelgren, also from New York, recently made the jump from staff jobs to freelancing, including a contributing correspondent slot at Science. Robin Marantz Henig, a veteran freelancer from Takoma Park, Md., has written hundreds of articles and several books. Her most recent is "The People's Health: A Memoir of Public Health and Its Evolution at Harvard."

Noon - 1:15 pm
Convention Center Room 202B
Beefing up the science beat

Tips for staff editors and reporters for getting the news space and work time to for science stories. How can you help increase science coverage at your newspaper, magazine, television or radio station? Leading journalists from radio, television, major newspaper, major newsmagazine share their secrets on shepherding science through internal politics, past competing stories, and onto the front page or evening news.

1:15 - 1:30 pm
Break

1:30 - 2:45 pm
Convention Center Room 202A
Reporting on uncertainty

There are certain stories which can have a major impact on peoples lives yet about which it is hard to pin down specific facts. El Nino is one example. The possible crisis involving the year 2000 computer problem is another. Global warming may be a third. There seems to be broad consensus that there could be dire consequences from any of the above, but it is not certain when and where (or possible even if) the effects are going to be felt. What this panel will discuss research and ethical issues around covering these and similar topics? How does one determine expert opinion on these subjects? When does one write about them, know ing the story could create possibly undue panic or concern among readers? Are there ethical issues around not writing about a subject?

1:30 - 2:45 pm
Convention Center Room 202B
Computer assisted reporting workshop

Since the late 1980s, computer-assisted reporting has helped reporters on many beats do far-reaching research through on-line databases, gather large numbers of records from government agencies, analyze those records and use that analysis to launch stories from a higher level and with deeper context than possible before. These computer-assisted reporting techniques can unearth new stories and provide a new way of covering the science beat.

3 - 5 pm
AAAS Press Conferences

5:15 - 6:30 pm
Convention Center Room 202A
Freelancers: new freelance niches

Want to spice up your freelance portfolio? Consider a new niche. Trade books. Research reports. Web sites. Meet 5 people who hire freelancers for these venues. Top editors and directors tell you what kinds of writers they want, what jobs they offer, and how their markets are evolving. Then it's your turn. During Q&A, get answers to all your job questions.

5:15 - 6:30 pm
Convention Center Room 202B
Late breaking news session: Reporting from Kyoto

Two months ago, science and environmental writers from around the world converged on Kyoto, where the United Nations was considering a treaty to limit carbon dioxide and other emissions that could lead to global warming. The nations of the world were asked to take strong action on the basis of scientific findings that remain incomplete. It is one of the most complicated and politicized stories science writers have been asked to cover.

Richard Harris will give us a brief report from Kyoto before joining Curt Suplee and Paul Raeburn in a discussion of the coverage.

Special Public Information Officer Workshops
Friday, Feb. 13
All workshops in Marriott Hotel Room 403

NOTE: Because of President Clinton's 12:30 pm talk in the Marriott Grand Ballroom, the times of some sessions have been changed, and one session has been cancelled.

Organizers: Seema Kumar, Associate Director of Public Affairs, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, and Cheryl Greenhouse, Senior Public Relations Associate, Genzyme Corporation.

7:30 - 8:15 am
Registration for NASW workshops
Marriott Hotel Room 403

8:15 - 9:45 am
Plenary Session
Institutional cooperation: How PIOs can facilitate communication among institutions

When PIOs help each other manage information dissemination on a continuous basis as well as during crises, it often results in good PR for both institutions. Several PIOs will discuss how this strategy has been successful at their institutions.

Seema Kumar will talk about a national, two-day press seminar launched two years ago in the Boston area. The event, co-sponsored by two or more institutions in the Boston area, has been very successful and resulted in good PR for a number of institutions.

Judy Jackson will tell us about the variety of creative and efficient systems of communications she has established (including, of course, an electronic forum) for PIOs from a variety of institutions and agencies to communicate and share notes with colleagues.

A'ndrea Messer will talk about how collaborations ranging from simple referrals to using electronic forums like PIOnet can result in better communications and better institutional relations.

Susan Turner-Lowe will talk about the difficult job of collaborating with numerous PIOs at a time on major news stories and how to get systems in place to accomplish this task.

Discussion:

9:45 - 10 am
Break

10 - 11:30 am
University/corporate relations...who pays the piper? Who calls the tune?

This session will discuss what types of things university PR professionals need to understand when research is funded by a biotechnology or pharmaceutical corporation. Some topics for discussion include:

Bill Dunnett will give an overview of the corporate environment. He will discuss how the corporate communications function works in many public companies, how it is different from university PIOs, which audiences they work with, and what types of things are considered "news" for corporations.

Peter Feinstein will give an overview of investor relations. He will explain what the SEC is and what it's disclosure rules are. He will also discuss the communications objectives when working with securities analysts and the types of scientific news that can send the markets into a frenzy.

Betsy Rosenberg will talk about the nuts and bolts of the strategies that should be used when working with companies to release news about study results. When do I need permission from the company to release study results? Is it okay to publish information about research funded by a company in university publications? Should I send out materials under embargo? Why do companies use services such as PR Newswire and why should I care?

Earle Holland will offer the PIOs perspective.

Discussion:

11:30 am - 2 pm
Break

CANCELLED (SORRY!):
@&!@*##!...or Miss Manners' guide to dealing with difficult researchers
(Joann Rodgers, Deputy Director of Public Affairs, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions)

2 - 3:15 pm

The impact of public relations firms on the profession

This session will discuss how the practice of PR differs when a firm is involved in helping to promote your organization's research.

Marion Glick will set the stage by giving the audience some insight into the inner workings of a PR firm. She will give an overview of what it's like to work at a PR firm, what the priorities of the firm are, and how PR differs when you work for a firm.

Gail Porter will describe what types of things PIOs should be thinking about when they are about to hire a PR firm. Which projects should you hand over to a PR firm and which projects should you keep in house? What's the difference between a good firm and a bad one? What types of things should a PIO do to ensure that he or she gets the best work from a PR firm?

Bob Potter will discuss another alternative -- the use of independent consultants. What is the difference between a firm and a consultant? Which types of projects do you consider consultants for? What is the best way to manage a consultant? How do you find good consultants?

Discussion:

3:30 - 5 pm
Who needs the BBC?

The increasing globalization of almost every human endeavor, including scientific research and information dissemination, raises interesting issues about the proper response of U.S. PIOs to queries from overseas media. Indeed, one might legitimately ask if it is worth the time and effort to work with foreign science journalists, whose reputations are unknown, who write or broadcast in strange tongues, and whose final products may never be seen or heard? This panel is intended to describe who is the audience for science news outside the U.S, why it is important to American scientists, PIOs, university administrators, and what are some of the tangible paybacks of getting good press abroad.

 

Back to1998 NASW workshops general information

Back to NASW Home Page