The 35th annual New Horizons in Science Briefing will take place in Roanoke, VA, Sunday, November 2-6, 1997. The four-day briefing, hosted by Virginia Tech, will bring together world-renowned scientists and many of the nation’s leading science reporters to examine new developments in a variety of scientific fields. If you have not yet received a notice directly from the CASW, or if you have any questions, call Diane McGurgan at 516-757-5664.
CASW is also offering traveling fellowships of up to $1,000 each to cover the cost of attending its sessions. The fellowships are intended primarily for newspapers, magazines, other publications and TV and radio stations that do not have a full-time science writer. Transportation, hotel and meal costs are covered. CASW will also assign, upon request, a veteran science writer to serve as a mentor.
If you are interested, submit four sets of: 1) a brief (500 words or less) letter of interest; 2) a resume with home and office telephone numbers; 3) three clips or broadcast transcripts on any topic; and 4) a nominating letter from a senior editor, news director or producer. The deadline for submitting applications is September 24, 1997. For more information, call Diane McGurgan at 516-757-5664. Send submissions to CASW New Horizons Fellowships, PO Box 404, Greenlawn, NY 11740. Fellowships are funded by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.
Get to Philly early. Don’t miss the NASW workshops at the AAAS meeting in Philadelphia February 12-18, 1998. So far, the agenda includes workshops on science writing ethics, covering the cloning controversy, working with new media, the business of freelancing, the 20th anniversary of the Asilomar Conference and what it has meant to the practice of science writing, new freelance niches for selling your work, international science reporting, computer-assisted journalism, how PIOs at research institutions can work together successfully, how PIOs can help their institutions do the right thing, plus a few others still on the drawing board. We expect a full day of workshops on Thursday for journalists and the general membership. For the first time, a full day (Friday) will be devoted to sessions designed for and by public-information professionals. Other NASW workshops will spill into Saturday, and the NASW program may begin as early as Wednesday.
A complete program of NASW activities, including the workshops as they develop, will be posted at http://nasw.org.
Got questions or suggestions? Call Paul Lowenberg at 206-543-2580 (e-mail: paullow@ u.washington.edu) or Carol Cruzan Morton at 617-924-6022 (e-mail:ccmorton@nasw.org).
A group of health journalists, mainly in the Midwest, are organizing what they hope will be a national association of health and medical reporters with the goal of raising the level of health journalism by sharing resources, sponsoring conferences and briefings, networking, and generally schmoozing. Membership is open to freelance and staff reporters., writers and producers for newspapers, magazines (general audience and trade) radio, TV, interactive media, etc., who cover medicine, health, ethics, health care finance, the health business, social policy and the like. “This will be a low-maintenance, no-bureaucracy organization run by health journalists for health journalists,” says co-organizer Mark Taylor, a reporter currently on leave from the Gary Post-Tribune on a Kaiser Fellowship. Interested? Contact Mark at (812)339-8128 or marklay@indiana.edu. —Submitted by Beryl Benderly.
NASW is getting an additional health insurance provider: Customer Service Solutions, Inc. of Detroit, Michigan, which has been handling the insurance for the National Writers Union, American Society of Journalists and Authors, and the Author’s Guild. CSS is an HMO, going by the name of US Healthcare on the eastern seaboard, and under a different name in the west. There also is an excellent dental program offered. They have offered to let NASW members in as an NWU affiliate for $40 per year.
We currently have SSA (Support Services Alliance) mainly for New York members. Finally, under the Council of Writers Organization umbrella we have Continental Casualty.
Anyone interested in the CSS service can let Diane know at PO Box 294, Greenlawn, NY 11740; tel: 516-757-5664. For information about SSA, call l-800-322-3920; for information about Continental Casualty insurance, call l-800-349-1039.