NASW Spring 2005 Annual Meeting (archived)

Schedule for Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Wednesday is a packed day of workshops and networking. We'll wrap it up with the annual business meeting and then reconvene at the National Academy of Sciences for the 2005 NASW Awards Banquet.

Location

Please note: The Cafritz is on the 3rd floor of the Marvin Center. The building reads Marvin Center on the outside and is located at 800 21st St between H and I streets.

Schedule

7:30-8:30 Check-In and Continental Breakfast

Meeting for those Participating in Internship Fair (Contact Terry Devitt)

8:30-10:30 Plenary Session

Framing Science: Has Politics Taken Over the Direction of Scientific Research?

10:30-11:00 Morning Break

11-12:15 SESSION I

A1) Framing science news: What Academic Research Says About What You Write
A2) Is Science or Censorship Tipping the Scales? Oceans in the Balance
A3) Beyond Science Journalism
A4) The Art of the Interview

12:30-1:45 Network Luncheon

2:00-3:15 SESSION II

B1) Science Lobbying: Watch Out for Special and Conflicting Interests
B2) Writing For The Long Haul: Tackling Big Projects from Idea to Print
B3) Don't Survive, Thrive: Business and Financial Planning for Writers
B4) Evidence: The Necessary Root of Journalism

3:15-3:30 Afternoon Break

3:15-4:45 Meeting for those Participating in Mentoring Program (Contact Jeff Grabmeier)

3:30-4:45 SESSION III

C1) What's Wrong (and What's Right) with Science
C2) Getting the Study — And The Story — Straight: Statistics for Science Writers
C3) The Future of Information Online
C4) Science, Politics, and Stem Cells: Where is the News Headed?

5:00-6:30 Business Meeting (all NASW members are invited)

7:00 Cocktails begin at the National Academy of Sciences

Closest Metro Stop: Foggy Bottom
2100 C St (enter on C St)
VALID PHOTO ID REQUIRED

7:45-10:00 Awards Program and Buffet

Session Details

8:30-10:30 Plenary Session

Framing Science: Has Politics Taken Over the Direction of Scientific Research?

An overwhelming amount of scientific research in the United States has long engaged in an intricate dance with politics. Now, however, political views are forcing more drastic changes than ever in the work federally funded scientists can — and cannot — do, observers charge. Has the presidential science advisor's role changed? To what extent is politics manipulating the direction of scientific research these days? And how is the current political climate affecting journalists, PIOs, and other science writers?

Organizer: Laura van Dam, NASW President-Elect and Freelance Editor/Writer

Moderator: Joanne Silberner, Health-Policy Correspondent, National Public Radio

Speakers:

Rita Colwell, Distinguished Professor Emerita, University of Maryland and Former Director, National Science Foundation
John H. Marburger III, Director, United States Office of Science and Technology Policy
Congressman Henry Waxman (invited), Ranking Minority Member, House Government Reform Committee; Member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce

11-12:15 SESSION I

A1) Framing Science News: What Academic Research Says About What You Write

As a writer you hope that your stories affect readers. But how does the way in which you write your story influence readers' perceptions? This panel will give you the latest findings about how a story's "frame" influences readers. The speakers will particularly address one case, that of framing the discussion of genetically modified food.

Organizer/Moderator: Mary L. Nucci, Rutgers University School of Communication, Information and Library Studies

Speakers:

Bruce Lewenstein, Associate Professor of Science Communication, Cornell University
Matthew Nisbet, Assistant Professor, School of Communication, Ohio State University
Dietram Scheufele, Professor, School of Journalism & Mass Communication and Communications Technology Research Cluster, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Carol Rogers, Lecturer and Editor, Science Communication, Philip Merrill College of Journalism

A2) Is Science or Censorship Tipping the Scales? Oceans in the Balance

A tremendous amount of recent scientific findings reveals that the oceans are in trouble. About 90 percent of the big fish are gone. Bacteria-laden beaches are closed. Political skirmishes surface as populations of salmon and other rare species continue to fall. More marine stories are highlighted in the news because scientists are speaking out, including those on two national commissions with prescriptions to heal unhealthy oceans. Are researchers improperly crossing the line between science and policy, or simply exercising their social responsibility? Do they jeopardize their credibility? Should they try to influence political debate? A panel of outstanding marine scientists, policy-makers, and journalists wrestle with these questions and try to reel in some answers.

Organizer/Moderator: Nancy Baron, Ocean Science Outreach Director, SeaWeb/COMPASS

Opening Remarks: Senator John McCain (invited), Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee

Speakers:

Jane Lubchenco, Distinguished Professor of Zoology, Oregon State University, and Member of the Pew Ocean Commission
Andrew Rosenberg, University of New Hampshire and Member of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy
Ken Weiss, Oceans Reporter, Los Angeles Times

A3) Beyond Science Journalism

With new national initiatives to improve science literacy, opportunities for science writers now reach well beyond traditional science journalism and PIO work. Children's books, museum exhibits, and web interactives offer non-traditional avenues for science writers. This panel will explore a variety of new venues and the rewards of these jobs.

Organizers:

Emily Carlson, Science Writer, National Institutes of Health
Greta Zenner, Science Editor, Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Moderator: Arthur B. Ellis, Chemistry Division Director, National Science Foundation

Speakers:

Barry Aprison, Director of Science and Technology, Chicago Museum of Science and Industry
Evelyn Kelly, Children's literature author, President, Kelly Communications
Margaret Wertheim, Freelance Science Writer

A4) The Art of the Interview

Different types of science writing each have their own reporting needs. At the heart of good reporting is the interview. In this workshop experienced science writers will discuss interviewing strategies and tactics that can help you get the material you need for hard news, explanatory, investigative and narrative science stories.

Organizer and Moderator: Dan Ferber, Freelance; Contributing Correspondent, Science.

Speakers:

Dan Ferber, Freelance; Contributing Correspondent, Science.
Rebecca Skloot, Freelance; author of a forthcoming narrative nonfiction book that has involved significant reporting, Vice President, National Book Critics Circle
Michael Rosenwald, Reporter, Washington Post; Finalist, 2004 National Magazine Award for feature writing

2:00-3:15 SESSION II

B1) Science Lobbying: Watch Out for Special and Conflicting Interests

Peek inside the politics of the science business by learning what actually happens between lobbyists and politicos behind doors and at private gatherings. How does pressing the flesh translate into more dollars for research, a changing of perceptions, or otherwise influencing rulings and other decisions? Professional lobbyists, a congressman, and sharp observers will discuss the nuts and bolts of a usually hidden business.

Organizers:

William Sweet, Senior News Editor, IEEE Spectrum
Brian Vastag, Correspondent, Journal of the American Medical Association

Moderator: Robert Park, Director Public Information, American Physical Society, author of What's New, and observer of Washington politics

Speakers:

Francis Slakey, Associate Director of Public Affairs, American Physical Society
Julius Hobson, Director, Division of Congressional Affairs, American Medical Association
Daniel S. Greenberg, Contributing Editor, Lancet, author of Science, Money and Poltics (2001), and founding editor and past publisher of Science & Government Report

B2) Writing For The Long Haul: Tackling Big Projects from Idea to Print

Long writing projects such as books (and some magazine stories and television programs) can take years, and often feel impossible. Where do you find an idea? How do you sell it? How do you organize all that research material into something of vital interest? And how do you focus on one project for so long without losing your mind, momentum, or passion—or going bankrupt? Four writers will speak about working successfully over the long haul.

Organizers:

Rebecca Skloot, Freelance writer and Contributing Editor, Popular Science
David Lawrence, Freelance writer and author of Upheaval from the Abyss: Ocean Floor Mapping and the Earth Science Revolution

Moderator: David Lawrence, Freelance

Speakers:

Michael Waldholz, Author of Curing Cancer and Genome, Pulitzer Prize winner, and Health & Science Senior Special Writer/News Editor, Wall Street Journal
Rebecca Goldstein, MacArthur fellow and author of Incompleteness: The Proof and Paradox of Kurt Godel
Rebecca Skloot, Freelance; author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, forthcoming from Crown; contributor, The New York Times Magazine, Popular Science, and New York magazine
Lynne Lamberg, co-author of The Body Clock Guide to Better Health: How to Use Your Body's Natural Clock to Fight Illness and Achieve Maximum Health

B3) Don't Survive, Thrive: Business and Financial Planning for Writers

Freelancers often bounce from project to project, taking what's offered and just barely making ends meet. Common-sense business and financial planning can transform such an arrangement, making your life much brighter. In this session an investment expert and a successful freelance show how planning can boost your income and financial stability — while writing the types of stories you want — and how you can use your income to achieve financial security and attain long-term goals.

Organizers:

Beryl Lieff Benderly, Freelance
Alan Brown, Freelance

Moderator: Beryl Lieff Benderly, Freelance

Speakers:

Dennis Butler, President, Centre Street Cambridge Corporation, Cambridge, MA
Alan Brown, Freelance

B4) Evidence: The Necessary Root of Journalism

Too many reporters seemed to have forgotten the basic rules of journalism. Even in the country's top newspapers, warped stories and outright lies in articles have shaped public policy in ruinous ways and betrayed readers and democracy itself. After years of aggressive reporting and writing, Laurie Garrett, a Pulitzer Prize-winning former science writer at Newsday, focuses on how journalism fundamentals could have prevented recent scandals and can lead to better, more muscular reporting.

Organizer: Carol Cruzan Morton, Freelance and Science Writer, Harvard Medical School

Moderator (Tentative): Carol Cruzan Morton

Speaker: Laurie Garrett, Senior Fellow for Global Health, Council on Foreign Relations; author of Betrayal of Trust, former NASW president

3:30-4:45 SESSION III

C1) What's Wrong (and What's Right) with Science

All too often, science stories seem formulaic: "Everyone believed A to be the case — but now we know B is the case. Here are the details, and guess what: future research is needed." This panel explores how to stretch beyond apparent limitations and write innovative science stories. How do science writers struggle with the elements of story-telling, such as finding characters and narrative arcs and giving perspective while staying honest to the underlying science?

Organizer: Ralph Brave, Freelance

Speakers:

Simon Singh, Author, Big Bang (2005), The Code Book (1999), and Fermat's Enigma (1998); Former BBC Producer and BAFTA Award Winner for the documentary film, "Fermat's Last Theorem"
Diana K. Sugg, Medical Reporter, Baltimore Sun, 2003 Pulitzer Prize winner
Jon Franklin, Philip Merrill Professor of Journalism, University of Maryland and author of Writing for Story

C2) Getting the Study — And The Story — Straight: Statistics for Science Writers

You know that a study is statistically significant if its p value is less than 0.05, but there's more to a study than its p values. In this session, you'll learn basic statistics that enable you to evaluate a study's design, examine its results, and scrutinize its conclusions. Find out what factors can bias studies and how to distinguish between statistical and clinical (real-world) significance. Then join in a discussion of the hottest studies, how to evaluate them, and how to communicate the results in your stories.

Organizers:

Peggy Girshman, Assistant Managing Editor, National Public Radio
Kate Travis, News Editor, Journal of the National Cancer Institute

Moderators: Peggy Girshman and Kate Travis

Speakers:

Martha Aliaga, Director of Programs for the American Statistical Association and co-author of Interactive Statistics
Lewis Cope, Former science writer, Minneapolis Star-Tribune; Co-author, News & Numbers: A Guide for Reporting Statistical Claims and Controversies in Health and Other Fields, 2nd Edition (2001)
Barnett S. Kramer, Associate Director for Disease Prevention at the National Institutes of Health and editor in chief of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute

C3) The Future of Information Online

In the past six months, the movement for open access to medical and scientific data has gained unprecedented support on Capitol Hill, at NIH, and at major medical journals. Key players in the open-access debate will discuss how differing visions of access would affect science writers and the public. Renowned Internet research mavens also will reveal their secrets for doing the best, fastest, and most reliable searching, now and in the future.

Organizer and Moderator: Nancy Shute, Senior Writer, US News & World Report

Speakers:

David Lipman, Director, National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine
Peter Suber, Open Access Project Director, Public Knowledge; Research Professor of Philosophy, Earlham College
Gary Price, Editor, "resourceshelf.com;" News editor, "Search Engine Watch"

C4) Science, Politics, and Stem Cells: Where is the News Headed?

The Bush administration's policy limiting stem cell research raised a host of questions about both stem-cell science and politics. In this session, leaders in the field explore the muddied waters of stem cell research: how well researchers understand stem cell biology, whether adult stem cells are an option, and what role the media has played in fueling debate. Can the experts envision a clear path beyond such perilous and highly politicized waters?

Moderator: Melissa Withers, Assistant Director, Communications and Public Affairs, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research

Participants:

M. William Lensch, Research Fellow, Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School and the Division of Hematology/Oncology, Children's Hospital Boston
Michael Manganiello, President of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research and Senior Vice President and Director of Government Relations for the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation
James L. Sherley, Associate Professor of Biological Engineering, MIT

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Last revised: March 19, 2006

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