NASW Annual Workshops
Saturday, October 17, 2009 at University of Texas at Austin
Cost and Registration Information
With diverse topics and dynamic speakers, NASW’s Annual Workshops are a highlight of the year for professional science writers. Registration for the workshops is $150 before Sept. 1 and $175 after, until registration closes on October 1. Current NASW student members may register for $75. Some event volunteer positions are available for students in exchange for free registration. Three types of travel fellowships are available. Convenient online registration lets you to register for NASW Workshops at the same time as all the week’s special and free events including the New Horizons in Science® Reception hosted by the University of Texas at Austin.
If you need a roommate or just want to chat with other attendees, check out our social network links at right.
“Thriving in a Time of Change” with Dan Gillmor
- A collaborative, daylong game in which science writers brainstorm to create a map of our future
Join us to kick off the workshops with
The Annual NASW Science Cabaret on Friday evening
Cocktails begin at 6PM
A showcase of performers who use their artistic skills to communicate scientific themes – much the way science writers do, but with more music
Brought to you by M.C. Robin Marantz Henig, NASW Board Member and Contributing Writer, The New York Times Magazine
Act 1: Brian Malow, science comedy
Brian Malow, who lives in San Francisco, has brought his stand-up science comedy to The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS), Tech TV, Discovery, and A&E. He is on the advisory board of the San Diego Science Festival and is a contributing editor of The Journal of Irreproducible Results. Brian’s photographs of insects have been published in Natural History, The Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification, and BugGuide.net, and he posts them on his web site Insect Paparazzi (http://www.butseriously.com/bugs.htm). His latest venture is making humorous science videos for the web site of Time magazine, http://time.com.
Brian was featured at NASW’s inaugural Science Cabaret in 2006, and has also performed for groups such as the American Chemical Society, the National Institute of Standards and Technology), the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Koshland Museum of the National Academy of Sciences. You can read his blog at sciencecomedian.com/blog.
Act 2: Jacqui Sutton & Paul Raeburn, science jazz
This act features two of NASW’s own: NASW member Jacqui Sutton, a freelance writer for WebMD, who has been singing jazz since the early 80s, and former NASW president Paul Raeburn, who was a professional jazz pianist before he turned to science writing.
Jacqui, who lives in Houston with her husband, fiction writer Edward Porter, has a wide range of singing experience, including performing as the opening act for Whoopie Goldberg and Bobby McFerrin. Two years ago, she appeared in New York in a musical theatre adaption of Mark Twain’s “Innocents Abroad.” Her writing life has kept her busy, too, and last year her article “Juvenile Injustice?”, exploring the intersection of science and the law, won the Golden Gavel Award from the Wisconsin Bar Association.
Paul, author of the memoir Acquainted With the Night, is a freelance writer in New York City. He stories have appeared recently in The Huffington Post, The New York Times Magazine, Scientific American, Technology Review, and Psychology Today. A former science editor at Business Week and the Associated Press, Paul is working on his next book, Are Fathers Necessary? And he writes about the topic at his blog “Fathers and Families,” http://fathersandfamilies.blogspot.com/
Jacqui and Paul will perform songs from the classic television show “Schoolhouse Rock,” as well as science-themed songs by composer David Haines.
Act 3: Good Chemistry, science acrobatics
Kerry Donny-Clark and Melanie Clements are an acrobatic duo known as Good Chemistry. They have performed on the streets and in the parks of New York City for two years – all the while holding down day jobs, Kerry as a graduate student in biology at New York University (from which she earned a PhD just this past summer), and Melanie as a software engineer at Google. In their new act, Acroscience, they twist and turn their bodies into the shape of molecules that are important in biology and biochemistry.
MORNING PLENARY SESSION
Thriving in a Time of Change
with Dan Gillmor, director of the Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship at Arizona State University. A former newspaper columnist -and first daily newspaper blogger- for the San Jose Mercury News and Detroit Free Press, Dan was an early adopter of entrepreneurial journalism. He had a high-profile failure at Bayosphere, a hyper-local website, but went on to co-found, invest in and/or advise a number of other startups including Dopplr.com, a travel information site. He’s author of We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People (2004) and working on a new book, Mediactive, scheduled for publication in early 2010.
Organizer:
Nancy Shute, contributing editor, U.S. News & World Report
WORKSHOP SESSIONS
You will NOT be required to choose specific sessions ahead of time.
Click a session title to see a complete description
SESSION A
- A1. Investigative Science Journalism
- A2. Power Pitch with Top Editors
- A3. Visual Science: Why Science Writers Should Embrace Cheap Video cameras, YouTube and Final Cut Pro
- A4. Mini-Law School for Science Writers
SESSION B
- B1. Pitching Science to Non-Science Magazines
- B2. Social Media for Beginners – How, Where & Why to Dive In
- B3. Visual Journalism for Science Writers
- B4. The Art of the Interview – Extreme Edition
SESSION C
- C1. Starting an Online Magazine
- C2. You are Not Just Writing – You are in a Business Venture: Entrepreneurial Skills for Science Writers
- C3. The Secret Life of Social Media: New Rules for Science Writers
- C4. Web Writing and Search Engine Optimization: If You’ve Got It, Flaunt It!
COLLABORATIVE DAYLONG GAME
Forecasting the Future of Science Writing
Imagine science writing a decade in the future. Paper is gone, ubiquitous e-paper wireless devices are always-connected, journalists and writers have open access not just to journals but to raw data and some working tools of science. What would this future mean for us? Help forecast the future in a game the whole meeting can play. Each turn takes as little as 30 seconds to play and will be done in the meeting’s public spaces. The game is designed to draw out the most creative, outlying ideas for possible futures of science writing. What is in your science writing future?
Throughout a day of the meeting, participants will fill out index cards with their game turns and stick them to the wall in a branching web of ideas, extending, rejecting, modifying, and discussing possible futures. Players can vote on the most creative future visions. The game evolution will be visible to all and a wrap-up will be posted after the event.
Organizer:
David Harris, editor-in-chief, symmetry magazine; deputy communications director, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Game Guides:
- Miriam Boon, U.S. editor, International Science Grid This Week
- Bob Nellis, senior communications consultant, Mayo Clinic
WORKSHOP SESSION DESCRIPTIONS
A1. Investigative Science Journalism
Do you have a hunch that a physics professor has been falsifying data? Did you receive a tip that a politician receives kickbacks from a renewable energy company? Or do you want to analyze a Food and Drug Administration database to find out which medical device makers have the worst track record? In today’s market, investigative journalism may be a tough sell to editors, but the truth is a good investigation does not necessarily take a huge budget — just doggedness and a little technical know-how. In this panel, journalists will explain their strategies for interviewing sources, gathering documents, and analyzing data. The panelists will also discuss how they make room for investigations and how non-profits like the Center for Public Integrity are helping to finance reporting of long-term projects.
Panelists won’t just talk about their own investigations, but they’ll give the audience take-home tips they can use, including tips on how to make public records requests and develop confidential sources.
Panelists:
- Rex Dalton, West Coast correspondent, Nature
- Michael Pell, Computer-Assisted-Reporting specialist, Center for Public Integrity
- Forrest Wilder, staff writer, The Texas Observer
Moderator:
Brian Vastag, freelance
Organizer:
Brendan Borrell, freelance
A2. Power Pitch with Top Editors
Have you ever wanted to sit across from the editor of your dreams and talk about story ideas? Then join NASWs first Power Pitch. It’s just like speed dating. Put on your best face and sell yourself and your stories to the editor sitting across the table from you. Each session lasts seven minutes. That’s plenty of time to pitch several, well-honed story ideas so come prepared to pitch and learn about top publications straight from the editors.
The Dating Pool
David Corcoran, The New York Times Science Section
Tami Dennis, Los Angeles Times Health Section
Boonsri Dickinson, Discover
Mariette DiChristina, Scientific American and Scientific American Mind
Julie Liebach, Audubon
Adam Rogers, Wired
Mitchell Waldrop, Nature
Melissa Weber, Cure
Organizer:
Jeanne Erdmann, Freelance
A3. Why Science Writers Should Embrace Cheap Video Cameras, YouTube and Final Cut Pro
Science writers have been doing a lot of hand wringing in the past few years over the apparent demise of their profession. But within crisis lies opportunity. Digital storytelling tools offer the opportunity to convey science in rich, meaningful, and entertaining ways. We will screen and dissect several exemplary short-format science videos/slideshows. Then we will have a spirited discussion about whether NASW members should be channeling their considerable science communications skills into the medium of video.
Panelists:
Kevin Coughlin, editor, Morristowngreen.com
Craig Duff, director of Multimedia, Time.com
Brian Malow, Earth’s premier science comedian
Andrew Revkin, The New York Times and Dot Earth
Moderator:
Marc Airhart, science writer, University of Texas
Organizer:
Teresa Riordan, senior new media editor, Princeton University
A4. Mini-Law School for Science Writers
Part of Hands-on Tools for Science Writers
The worldwide web has challenged many of our assumptions about our professional legal footing. This session will review fair use, copyright law, contracts for staffers and freelancers and libel law, especially as it applies to the online world. There will be handouts and an opportunity to purchase, at a reduced price, the book Internet Law: A Field Guide.
Panelist:
Jonathan Hart, author, Internet Law: A Field Guide and attorney, Dow Lohnes PLLC
Moderator:
Peggy Girshman, executive editor, Online, Kaiser Health News
Organizer:
Peggy Girshman
B1. Pitching Science to Non-Science Magazines
Science and technology are now among the standard array of beats covered by, well, everyone—not just us nerds on the nerd beat at Nerd Weekly. General interest, national magazines know that their audiences are immersed in gadgets and consumer electronics, bombarded with messages about their health and the environment, and interested in policy issues that are at heart science issues. Magazines are desperate for rock-solid, engaging science coverage—and they’re willing to pay for it. We ought to give it to ‘em. Editors will talk about their guidelines and expectations, specifically what kind of science they run (and why), and what they’re looking for in a pitch.
Panelists:
James Gibney, Deputy Managing Editor, The Atlantic
Terence Samuel, editor, The Root
Jake Silverstein, senior editor, Texas Monthly
Chris Suellentrop, senior editor, The New York Times Magazine
Moderator:
Adam Rogers, senior editor, Wired
Organizer:
Adam Rogers
B2. Social Media for Beginners — How, Where & Why to Dive In
Part of Hands on Tools for Science Writers
In this hands-on session, beginners will become social media mavens, learning to use the most helpful online tools for science writers. Participants will build Twitter accounts, “follow” others on it and start “tweeting,” as it relates to their profession. We will discuss the research and networking value of online science communities and online commenting. And we’ll recommend some key Web 2.0 tools, such as RSS and trending sites. Lastly, we’ll explore news aggregators as they reveal one future for Web journalism. Participants will gain a strong sense of how to navigate what seems like an overwhelming amount of information.
Panelists:
- Robin Lloyd, online editor, Scientific American
- Christie Nicholson, freelance/contributing editor, Scientific American
Organizers:
Robin Lloyd and Christie Nicholson
B3. Visual Journalism for Science Writers
Part of Hands on Tools for Science Writers
Regardless of where you do your science writing in the coming year, your work is going to appear on the Web, a highly visual medium that combines the best of both print and television. To be a successful science journalist you have to be thinking about the visuals from the get-go — asking for them, searching for them, and sometimes creating them yourself. We’ll show you some easy-to-use, readily available tools that can add pop to any story and provide a few tips, then we’ll hold your hand while you dip a toe into these waters yourself.
This is a hands-on workshop in which we’ll break into small groups and build our own slideshows with audio narration. Attendees are encouraged to bring a laptop with wireless, and a microphone if available. We’ll be using free demo software from http://soundslides.com, which you can download in advance less than 30 days before the conference.
Panelists:
- Karl Leif Bates, director of Research Communications, Duke University
- Lee Clippard, communications director, The University of Texas at Austin College of Natural Sciences
- John Pavlus, Freelance writer and video producer, http://johnpavlus.com, http://www.smallmammal.com
Organizers:
Karl Leif Bates and Lee Clippard
B4. The Art of the Interview – Extreme Edition
Interviews are a means for getting information, expert opinion, and color to tell a science story. This workshop will feature panelists who conduct interviews under very different circumstances and toward very different ends. What are the tricks of podcasters and webcasters who don’t have the luxury of paraphrasing? How does the interview dynamic change when a writer lives with his sources for weeks? What questions draw out the telling detail necessary for a narrative feature? Panelists’ advice will provide new tools for workshop participants and new ways of thinking about the art of interview.
Panelists:
- Douglas Fox, Science & Environmental journalist, freelance
- Robert Frederick, podcaster and journalist, Science magazine and Freelance
- Robin Marantz Henig, contributing writer, The New York Times Magazine
- Rosie Mestel, deputy editor, Science and Health, Los Angeles Times
- Mary Miller, writer, producer, and webhost, The Exploratorium
Moderator:
Jill U. Adams, science journalist, freelance
Organizer:
Jill U. Adams
C1. Starting an Online Magazine
Spend some time with the online pros. Find out how their e-zines got started, how the venture has developed, and if it has developed as they thought it would. Learn how they are making it profitable (…or are at least getting to help pay for itself), which methods are successful at attracting viewers, and get a heads-up on any pitfalls they have encountered. Bring your questions!
Panelists:
Glennda Chui, deputy editor, symmetry magazine, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Hugh Powell, editor, All About Birds and the online magazine Living Bird, Cornell University
Tom Seigfried, editor, Science News
Moderator:
Glennda Chui
Organizer:
Leslie Mertz
C2. You are Not Just Writing – You are in a Business Venture: Entrepreneurial Skills for Science Writers
You can write, can’t you? So freelancing should be no problem. Unfortunately, writing well is just the beginning. The freelancer is the office manager, bookkeeper, marketing director, janitor, and CEO of a small business. And then you have to fit in time to write. Here are a few questions we discuss: Can I make a good living as a freelance writer? How does planning fit in? Are Linked In, Twitter, and Facebook tools or distractions? How do I decide what to write about and, once I decide, will someone pay me to do it? Bring your own questions along.
Panelists:
- Alan Brown, freelance
- Emily Gertz, freelance
- Maryn McKenna, freelance
Moderator:
Steve Miller, freelance
Organizer:
Steve Miller
C3. The Secret Life of Social Media: New Rules for Science Writers
What you think you know about social media is probably wrong. This session will discuss how these tools actually operate, often at odds with promoted functions. Based on data collected and analyzed by panelists and online science publications, we will discuss Digg, reddit, StumbleUpon, Slashdot, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media tools (with background materials for the uninitiated).
The session will include observations of best-practices for social media in science communication and journalism, as well as recommendations on how these tools fit into the working lives of science writers and journalists, on the levels of publications, organizations, and individual writers.
Panelists:
- David Harris, editor-in-chief, symmetry magazine; deputy communications director, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
- Robin Lloyd, online editor, Scientific American
- Alexis Madrigal, staff writer, Wired.com; visiting scholar, UC Berkeley Office for the History of Science and Technology
Moderator:
Cristine Russell, freelance writer, president, Council for the Advancement of Science Writing
Organizers:
David Harris, Robin Lloyd, Christine Russell
C4. Web Writing and Search Engine Optimization: If You’ve Got It, Flaunt It
Part of Hands on Tools for Science Writers
Your subject’s terrific. Your site looks great. Why’s it just sitting there, with no visitors?
Get a fast-paced look at best practices for oomphing up your site:
- Great content means great web writing. It means knowing how to communicate with readers. How to entice them, and get them involved with your site and your material. It’s about getting, and keeping, that “virtual conversation” going with your reader.
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization) means maximizing your site’s visibility to search engines, via your site content and your coding. It’s more complex than stuffing keywords into your <title> tag!
Panelists:
Merry Bruns, owner, ScienceSites Communication
Donna Wilkins, president, Charity Dynamics
Organizer:
Merry Bruns
