2004 NASW WORKSHOPS IN SEATTLE

Plan now to attend the NASW 2004 Workshops in Seattle. The NASW Workshop Committee, staff, and dozens of your colleagues have put together a line-up that takes advantage of the Pacific Northwest’s leadership in health, biotechnology, the environment, and international scientific cooperation. The workshops also feature ample opportunity to network and discuss the art and craft of science writing.

The action starts on Wed., Feb. 11. Participate in a half-day field trip to the University of Washington and the Institute for Systems Biology for an excursion on advances in biological science. Or choose a half- or full-day field trip to NOAA and Sea Grant to visit marine science sites in and around Seattle.

On Thurs., Feb. 12, the NASW annual workshops take place in downtown Seattle. Highlights include:

“Science in the New World Order/Disorder” (Plenary Session)—While in recent years science journalists have covered many stories concerning conflict in the world, there’s much more they will handle in the future. Terrorism and war can relate to virtually all scientific fields. What stories should we be ready to report and write on? What have we missed so far? How can we report both fully and responsibly to our audiences during this period, despite attempts at quelling a free press?

Panelists: Christopher Chyba, co-director of Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation and a national security staff member of the White House during the 1990s; R. James Cook, plant pathologist, Washington State University who worked on the National Research Council agricultural bioterrorism committee; and Barbara Seiders, Biodefense Program Manager at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, a DOE research facility.

Breakout Sessions (“pro” and “rookie” tracks):

  • Science for Sale: How to Cover Conflicts of Interest
  • University Magazines and Web Sites: Raising Science Awareness
  • First Steps for Science Writers: Building a Career
  • Science Literacy and Democracy
  • Politicization of Science: The Use and Misuse of Scientific Facts in the Media
  • Pictures and Words: Collaborating with Artists
  • Beyond the Beat: How Freelances Diversify
  • Bill Gates’ Global Health Experiment
  • Reporting Science: Do Science Writers Always Get It Right?
  • How to Deal: Negotiating a Better Contract
  • European Science Sources
  • Science, Security & Privacy: How Increased Security Concerns Affect Science Journalism

The NASW Workshops take place at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center, the same location as the AAAS meeting that follows (Feb. 12-16). For complete NASW workshop program information and online registration, visit nasw.org/mem-maint/workshops/nasw_2004. For details on the AAAS annual meeting, press registration, hotel, and travel information visit www.aaas.org/meetings.

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