NASW Science in Society

October 27-28, 2006
Tremont Grand Meeting Facility
at the
Tremont Plaza Hotel
Baltimore, MD

Archived reports on selected sessions

Program

TRACK 1. Science is a Story:

TRACK 2. The Electronic Gutenberg:

TRACK 3. Doing the Media Two-Step:

TRACK 4. Getting it Right:

A1) Press Room Confidential: How to Cover a Scientific Meeting

Covering a scientific meeting is a core task for many science writers — and one of the more daunting. How do you find news in an abstract book the size of a Manhattan phone book? When do you drop plans to report a story you just spotted? Should you tape sessions? How can freelancers cover travel expenses? A panel of award winning writers will tell all, including pre-conference preparation tips, such as interviewing key scientists ahead of time. Attendees will learn how to mine press conferences, symposia, plenary sessions, and posters to find the best stories and network while you're at it.

Handout no. 1
Handout no. 2

Organizer and Moderator: Jeanne Erdmann, freelance

A2) Copyright in the Internet Age: Online Rights and Wrongs

In the age of print, copyright was fairly simple. Digital technologies have introduced a host of issues that writers need to understand in order to protect their work and their incomes and prevent problems. What rights exist online? How can writers make the most of the rights they own? What constitutes fair use in cyberspace? What is at stake for writers in the landmark Google suit? Nationally recognized copyright expert Paul Aiken, an attorney and executive director of the Authors Guild, will explain and answer questions

Organizer: Beryl Lieff Benderly, freelance

A3) PIO Basics: What Nobody Ever Thinks to Tell You

Few people study to be PIOs. Most new PIOs find themselves lacking some skills they need. Lucky PIO neophytes have experienced co-workers, but they are usually not science writers. What is the Science Writer/PIOs job? What is it not? What skills other than science writing do you need? This is a workshop session for new PIOs or those who are curious about the job. We'll cover the basics -what to write, how to find it, where to send it, and how; risk management - whom should I know, what should I do, and how; and what's new - podcasting, the Internet, and so on.

Organizer and Moderator: A'ndrea Elyse Messer

A4) Clinical Trials Boot Camp (part 1)

Experts in clinical trail design, statistical interpretation, and human subject protections will give tips on what constitutes a well designed trial and statistical do's and don'ts, along with things you should watch for that might signal stretching the real significance of a finding and, for when things go wrong. You'll also find ideas about how to judge whether the patients knew what they were getting into and were treated properly. Experts will be joined by a senior journal editor for a discussion of how journals choose what is worthy to print and how they look at academic-industry relationships. Format: This boot camp will be two, back-to-back sessions. Each session will have two 20-minute talks from the experts and plenty of time for discussion.

Organizer: Don Gibbons, associate dean for public affairs, Harvard Medical School

Organizer: Margaret McDonald, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, University of Pittsburgh

B1) Roy Peter Clark: "Fifty Writing Tools, From the Sub-Atomic to the Metaphysical"

Roy Peter Clark, founding director of the National Writers Workshop, is perhaps the nation's premiere newspaper writing coach. For three decades, he has pioneered the effort to help journalists master the craft of clear, colorful and compelling prose. Clark will help attendees craft a writing blueprint. To read more click here.

Organizer and Moderator: Robert Lee Hotz, science writer, the Los Angeles Times

B2) Navigating the New Media

Does the thought of orbiting the blog-o-sphere make you feel like a dinosaur? Or are you a First Adopter? Either way, science writers must embrace new technology or risk seeing their careers go extinct. A panel of tech-savvy science writers and bloggers will help you find the best blog search engines and source and write a good blog. You'll learn how to make your blog the go-to place. You'll learn what other technologies lurk on the horizon to draw in readers and the skills that may be necessary for science writers to develop in the future.

Handout

Moderator: Tina Hesman Saey, medical science writer, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Organizer: Jeanne Erdmann, freelance

B3) Can You Publish it Yourself? The Lowdown on Self-Publishing

The present-day publishing industry is the pits. Is self-publishing still stigmatized as vanity publishing for amateurs, or is it a reasonable alternative for professional writers? How can you decide among the new choices: small print runs, self- marketing and distribution, founding your own publishing company, signing up with one of the hundreds of newly minted small publishers or a large online operation? What about print-on-demand, the Web, e-books, audio formats? Self-publishing can be satisfying and even lucrative. But is it for you? Our panelists have been there, done that. Let them walk you through their experiences and answer your questions.

Handout

Moderator: Tabitha M. Powledge, freelance

Organizer: Dennis Meredith, freelance

Organizer: Tabitha M. Powledge, freelance

B4) Clinical Trials Boot Camp (part 2)

Experts in clinical trail design, statistical interpretation, and human subject protections will give tips on what constitutes a well designed trial and statistical do's and don'ts, along with things you should watch for that might signal stretching the real significance of a finding and, for when things go wrong. You'll also find ideas about how to judge whether the patients knew what they were getting into and were treated properly. Experts will be joined by a senior journal editor for a discussion of how journals choose what is worthy to print and how they look at academic-industry relationships. Format: This boot camp will be two, back-to-back sessions. Each session will have two 20-minute talks from the experts and plenty of time for discussion.

Organizer: Don Gibbons, associate dean for public affairs, Harvard Medical School

Organizer: Margaret McDonald, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, University of Pittsburgh

C1) Pitch Slam

The Pitch Slam is back by popular demand: Learn how editors at top magazines develop story ideas in this interactive panel, where audience members get the chance to stand up and - in 60 seconds or less - pitch their ideas to a distinguished panel of editors. The panel will respond to each idea as they would in a story development meeting, offering anything from specific tips for honing it to (hopefully) an assignment to write it for a magazine. For those who pitch, it's a chance to get noticed by top editors. Meanwhile, all audience members will learn first-hand about the process of idea development and what each magazine looks for in a pitch.

Organizer and Moderator: Rebecca Skloot, freelance writer and contributing editor, Popular Science

C2) Podcasting 101 for Science Writers

"Read it aloud." While good advice, few science articles are written to be understood aloud. So how do you adapt your skills when you decide to "go audio"? Learn from both veteran radio journalists and successful science podcasters the basics needed for podcasting: interviewing and writing for radio, voicing, equipment, and marketing. Panelists also will step back to ask: Is podcasting worth it? As a bonus, the panel will evaluate the first minute-thirty of your podcast pilot (limit: 5 pilots, please bring it in as a *.wav file on a USB memory stick).

Moderator: Robert Frederick, science journalist, KWMU-FM, and freelance

Organizer: Robert Frederick, science journalist, KWMU-FM, and freelance

Organizer: Chelsea Wald, producer, AAAS' Science Update

C3) Book PR Boot Camp: Things Your Publisher Never Told You

You didn't get a parade? No book tour? No Larry King Live? This session will help novice, prospective, and seasoned authors learn to promote their books effectively -- and affordably. Speakers will cover:

• Promotions publishers will and won't do, how to get them to do more, what to expect to do on your own;
• New trends in book promotion, from cellphones to corporate book clubs;
• Using blogs, podcasts, radio tours and releases to promote your book.

Moderator: Julie Wakefield, freelance

Organizer: Denise Graveline, president, Don't Get Caught - Creative Communications Consulting

Organizer: Julie Wakefield, freelance, author of Halley's Quest: A Selfless Genius and His Troubled Paramore

C4) Global Warming Heats Up: How to Cover A Controversial Science Story

After years on the back burner, global warming became one of the hottest science stories of 2006, generating front-page newspaper series, magazine cover stories, television specials, and a major motion picture hosted by former Vice-President Al Gore. Hollywood has discovered global warming, but the subject is far from new: The science and politics of climate change have been controversial for nearly three decades. Speakers will look at how well the news media have covered this story and offer practical advice about how to generate less heat and more light on this and other complex science policy issues.

Organizer and Moderator: Cristine Russell, freelance and president, Council for the Advancement of Science Writing

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