Here are some of the highlights of the NASW board discussions and activities in the last few months. In a saucy flouting of journalistic best practices, these are in no particular order.
SCIENCE IN SOCIETY MEETING
Preparation for the 2007 Science in Society meeting is humming along. The Workshops Committee, under the leadership of Mariette DiChristina, is wrapping up their selections from a pool of interesting session submissions. Over the course of the next few months, selected organizers will be busy gathering speakers and orchestrating excellent professional development sessions designed to appeal the varied aspects of NASW membership. Program information will be available, and registration opens, online August 1. The meeting will be in Spokane, Washington, in mid-October and there are already some promising field trips on the Horizon. Bears, anyone? We've discussed the best way to let the members know about what happened at the NASW workshops. As with last year, we're hoping that some of the "fellows" who we've invited to come will write up various workshops to share with the members online. We have ruled out the idea of podcasts, or edited audio, as we've decided that is a lot of work and many people don't have the time to listen, despite great intentions. A written summary seems more useable by the members.
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR'S FIRST MONTHS
Associate Executive Director Tinsley Davis, has enjoyed her first few months on the job. In addition to organizing the 2007 Science in Society meeting, she is working on a series of projects, including a detailed how-to guide for new officers and board members and computerization of NASW finances. She filed a lovely report on the 5th World Conference of Science Journalists, April 16-20, 2007 in Melbourne, Australia. She reports that the conference drew more than 600 science writers to Melbourne. Many of these writers traveled from developing countries, funded by fellowships generated by the World Federation of Science Journalists , the conference itself, or other sources. Discussions throughout the sessions focused on support of associations in developing regions.
Jammed with sessions, she said, the conference presented the perennial problem of several interesting ones being offered at the same time. Perhaps the most personally useful session was the two-part session on "Building and maintaining science associations." Leaders from several associations gave brief introductions on the size, structure, and activities of their associations before moving on to discussions of typical issues that face associations.
Approximately 15-20 NASW members, including former NASW president and international liaison Deborah Blum, NASW Board Member Robin Marantz Henig and three Laura van Dam Travel Fellows attended.
The WFSJ board chose London as host for the next world conference, slated for 2009.
Deborah was elected to the WFSJ Board and also elected Chair of the Program Committee. The other board members are from the UK, Argentina, Egypt, Nigeria, and China. The Arab Science Journalists Association and NASW have entered what WFSJ calls a "twinning project" to learn from each other. The NASW board is now discussing exactly how this twinning project would work, specifically the travel of several ASJA leaders from the Middle East to the 2007 Science in Society meeting.
PROTECTING REPORTERS' ACCESS
We had a flurry of activity in the last few weeks about the Options for the Control of Influenza VI conference, in Toronto June 17-23. The chair and the vice-chair are from the CDC, but the conference is "privately" organized. The conference was going to charge $675 for press registration, deny access to the scientific sessions and abstracts book to the press. With a strongly worded letter and a barrage of phone calls, the meeting has dropped the fee. We are still working on getting abstracts and access.
AUTHORS COALITION
Beryl Benderly, as our Authors Coalition liaison, thanks all members who filled out the Coalition Genre survey for helping assure that we get the maximum payments for the coming year.
MARKET DATABASE
The Freelance Committee (aka Freecom) reports that they've been even more busy and productive than usual, because the committee just launched the NASW markets and rates database. This is the place to check out the science-writing experiences of your fellow members -- and, most important, describe your own. It's the best way to find out what publications and other potential clients are buying, what they're paying, and how they are to work with. A subcommittee headed by Richard Robinson pulled the database together from scratch in just a few weeks. It opened for business only a month ago and already has well over 100 entries. Join them! In order to be useful to everybody, the database needs your input. Find it, and FAQs, at . The NASW Markets and Rates Database is descriptive, but not a very imaginative name for a bunch of writers. So Freecom also launched a contest to come up with a jazzy title --winner to get a year's free membership in NASW.
LISTSERV POLICIES
After getting comments from the board, the officers and the Internet committee are putting the final touches to a revision of the listserv policies prepared by the listserv subcommittee chaired by Richard Robinson, which they hope to be able to post within a few weeks.
DUES OVERDUE
Finally, the tireless Diane McGurgan has been burning the midnight oil trying to collect dues from those who have failed to send them in. We have decided that several dunning messages should suffice and have started terminating memberships from those who have not paid. Check your accounts -- if you haven't paid, you are risking losing valuable benefits. It was either this or we turn you over to the Social Workers (their dues: $190/year).
Peggy Girshman Secretary National Association of Science Writers
.png)
