Carol Ezzell PHOTO by Jana Brenning, Scientific American

2003 ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES

by NASW Secretary Carol Ezzell

What’s money for, but to spend?

At the annual business meeting in Denver on February 15, the NASW board announced plans to dip into the $203,183 we have tucked away in savings, money market accounts, mutual funds, and certificates of deposit. According to the 2003 budget, approved by the board, the organization will draw off approximately $35,000 from its reserves in the coming year. The money will be put to good use, according to NASW Treasurer Robert Lee Hotz: issuing a new edition of the popular (and money-making) book A Field Guide for Science Writers, paying for a special 50th anniversary edition of ScienceWriters, and improving the workshops and symposia offered in 2004.

The annual meeting got off to bang when Beryl Lieff Benderly was announced as the second recipient of the Diane McGurgan Service Award (the first recipient being Diane herself, last year). Benderly was honored for months of work that culminated with NASW’s membership in the Author’s Coalition, a group that disburses royalty fees collected in Europe to writers’ organizations in the United States. Benderly was so “plotzed” to receive the $500 award, she was uncharacteristically speechless (for a few seconds, anyway). The award was created, and is funded for the first five years, through a donation by longtime NASW member Louis Lerner.

The Author’s Coalition could be a significant source of new money for NASW. Members amended the NASW constitution last year to emphasize that we are an organization of authors-a small, but important change that makes us eligible to share in the pool of royalties that the coalition distributes. Those monies arise from copyright royalty payments made by Europeans who photocopy or otherwise duplicate works by U.S. authors who would be difficult to track down and pay individually. Joining the coalition entitles NASW to a share of the royalties expected to total in the tens of thousands of dollars per year.

The funds come with a catch, however: they must be used for projects that directly benefit published authors (whose works generated the royalties to begin with). The board is now compiling a host of ideas for member services and programs that might be possible with the coalition money.

Workshops coordinators Brian Lavendel and Kimberly Wilson reported that this year’s workshops in Denver drew nearly 300 paid attendees, an audience comparable to the well-attended 2002 program in Boston. Organizing the workshop around a theme-climate change-appeared to be a real draw. This year’s workshops brought in roughly $30,000, but cost $46,000, a shortfall paid for out of the NASW treasury. Laura van Dam, NASW vice president and chair of next year’s planning committee, said the Seattle workshops will also be organized around a central theme. She encouraged members to send in their ideas. The 2004 workshops are projected to cost $49,000, with approximately $10,000 underwritten by NASW. NASW will also team up with the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing this year in a pilot project to offer a half-day of workshops at this fall’s CASW annual meeting in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

The second edition of A Field Guide for Science Writers will take another $15,000 from this year’s budget, reported NASW President Deborah Blum. Besides providing a much-needed resource for teaching science writing, the book has also been a good source of revenue for NASW. This past year--five years out from the first edition--the book generated about $2,000 in royalties. But the 1997 edition needs updating, which will be shepherded by original coeditors Blum and Mary Knudson.

ScienceWriters editor Lynne Friedmann told the meeting that she has big plans for the 50th anniversary issue. The board allocated funds in this year’s budget to cover the costs of producing a special issue. In other ScienceWriters news, Friedmann thanked Jim Cornell for launching a new column on international science writing and welcomed Jeff Grabmeier of Ohio State University as the new editor of the Our Gang column. The newsletter also has a newly established editorial board that will consist of the three immediate past NASW presidents: Paul Raeburn, Joe Palca, and Richard Harris.

In other news reported at the meeting

Online/Web Site Committee. Lee Hotz and Bob Finn recounted the NASW Web site switch from Stanford to the Investigative Reporters and Editors/National Institute of Computer-Assisted Reporting. The nearly seamless move occurred in November. The committee is also working on redesigning and freshening the NASW Web site format: NASW member Emma Hitt will be submitting a proposed redesign. As part of the redesign, the committee will be exploring new education and freelance resources that could be made available through the Web site. In addition, the committee will serve as a discussion group for listserv etiquette and ethics.

Education Committee. Board member Mariette Di Christina Gerosa reported that the onsite mentoring program that she and Kelli Whitlock have run for the past several years has paired more than 200 “mentees” with mentors during NASW/AAAS annual meetings. More than a year ago, the program introduced an online component, with FAQs, “Ask A Mentor,” and online science writing critiques. This past year, committee members developed an online resource for educators, which will be on the Web site soon. The committee is now looking to develop a mid-career mentoring program and to develop a list of people who would be willing to talk at various schools about science writing as a career. Whitlock reported that the committee is also compiling resources (including a new listserv called nasw-teach) for members who teach science writing classes, and that it continues to run an internship fair during the AAAS meeting where prospective interns and editors seeking interns can meet.

Freelance Committee. Board member Kathryn Brown reported this committee plans to overhaul the freelance content on the NASW Web site and to institute a pay-rate database that would list various outlets that use freelances and what they have paid recently.

Membership Committee. Vice President Laura van Dam reported that the new committee chairs will be board members Carol Cruzan Morton and Nancy Shute. NASW membership is now 2,405, with about 250 student members. Van Dam said the committee, which has traditionally existed to vet new member applications, is expanding its role to better respond to members’ concerns in a timely manner and to explore ways to increase diversity among science writers. It will also address ideas for new membership benefits.

Policy/FOIA Committee. Deb Blum told the meeting that this new committee, which will be chaired by NASW member David Lindley, was formed specifically to explore medical insurance options for freelances. It will report back to the board in about three months.

New business

Former NASW President Paul Raeburn is chairing an ethics committee to define ethical policies for NASW as an organization, including those governing the acceptance of ads on the Web site.
Jim Cornell urged NASW to consider joining the World Federation of Science Journalists, a group that is now forming. He also alerted members to the upcoming EuroScience 2004, in Stockholm, and the Fourth World Conference of Science Journalists, in Montreal.

Ginger Pinholster, director of the AAAS Office of Public Programs, addressed several concerns raised by NASW members attending this year’s annual meeting. She promised full technical papers--not just lay language summaries--will be available at future meetings, dispelled the rumor that AAAS plans to exclude PIOs from the press room next year, and affirmed the eligibility requirements for who is entitled to press registration have not changed.

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