NASW news

Primary tabs

The National Association of Science Writers honored some of the year’s best science writing at its annual ScienceWriters Awards Night gala Oct. 18 at the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, OH. The Science in Society Journalism Awards, sponsored by the National Association of Science Writers, honored journalists in five categories: book, science reporting, long form, science reporting for a local or regional market, and commentary and opinion.

Starting a blog for a university or institution requires convincing the higher-ups and sometimes breaking away from the serious tone that is common among research publications. “Don’t think of it as a blog. Think of it as a really light, lean, and flexible web platform. When you pitch it, call it a really cheap way to disseminate information,” said Carol Clark, senior science communicator at Emory University and a panelist for Saturday’s session titled, “Blogging for institutions.”

After a good night’s rest following Friday’s conference kick-off, science writers from across the country gathered at the NASW business meeting Saturday morning for updates on the work the committees have been doing over the past year and their visions for the future.

New York Times reporter Elisabeth Rosenthal, a physician and newspaper correspondent for 20 years, is the recipient of the 2014 Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting. Rosenthal will receive a $3,000 award and certificate at a ceremony in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday, October 18, to be held during ScienceWriters2014, a meeting jointly organized by CASW and the National Association of Science Writers (NASW).

Denise Graveline writes about longstanding tension between the online encyclopedia and the public relations industry: "Communicators fret about not being able to make simple factual changes to Wikipedia pages about their companies or organizations, but that yen to make changes has led some to revise history, or at least try to do so." But she sees hope in a recent statement by 11 PR firms pledging "a commitment to follow Wikimedia's Terms of Use."