Power Pitch 2015

Power Pitch 2015

Time:
Saturday, October 10th, 3:15 pm to 4:30 pm
Location:
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, President's Ballroom C
Speaker(s):
Jennifer Bleyer
  Senior editor, Psychology Today
Alex Blumberg
  CEO, Gimlet Media
Erika Engelhaupt
  Online science editor, National Geographic
Chrissie Giles
  Commissioning editor, Mosaic
Lisa Grossman
  Physical sciences news editor, New Scientist
Fred Guterl
  Executive editor, Scientific American
Laura Helmuth
  Science and health editor, Slate
Mary Hoff
  Editor in chief, Ensia
Whitney Joiner
  Senior features editor, Marie Claire
Elizabeth Lopatto
  Science editor, The Verge
Amanda Mascarelli
  Managing editor, SAPIENS
April Reese
  Associate editor, Discover magazine
Adam Rogers
  Articles editor, Wired
Maria Streshinsky
  Deputy editor, Mother Jones
Noelle Swan
  National news & science editor, The Christian Science Monitor
John Travis
  Managing news editor, Science
Mitch Waldrop
  Features editor, Nature
Denise Wills
  Senior editor, the Atlantic
Moderator(s):
Douglas Fox
  Freelance writer
Sandeep Ravindran
  Freelance science writer
Organizer(s):
Douglas Fox
  Freelance writer
Sandeep Ravindran
  Freelance science writer

Welcome to Power Pitch 2015, where you'll have the opportunity to sit across the table from the editor of your dreams and pitch story ideas, one on one. Each slot lasts 7 minutes – plenty of time for several well-honed pitches. Each editor can meet with up to 8 writers, so space is limited.
This year, we are doing advance sign-ups for the first time. Signup will occur via email, in advance of the meeting, not onsite.

Please follow the directions below exactly and then plan to show up early at this session In order to serve as many people as possible during our limited time, we will begin one-on-one meetings immediately, after a 2-minute introduction. Late arrivals cannot be guaranteed their slots.

Signup Opens: September 16, 2015 at 1:00 pm Eastern time
Signup Closes: September 24, 2015 at 11:59pm Eastern time

Advance Signup Instructions:

Please read carefully and attend to all details.

To sign up, email Powerpitch2015@gmail.com between September 16, 2015, 1:00pm Eastern Time and September 24, 11:59pm Eastern Time, with the email subject line: “Power Pitch 2015”, followed by your full name. Please note that emails received outside the signup period (either before it begins or after it ends) will not be accepted and will be deleted.

In the body of the email, please list up to 12 editors in descending order of preference. (It should look like this: “1. Jane Doe, 2. Jonathan Doe,” etc, with #1 being the editor you’d most like to meet with). We also encourage you to include your contact phone number if possible (cellular preferred).

Email early for a better chance of getting your top preferences.

We’ll do our best to accommodate your choices, but keep in mind that some editors may fill up very quickly – hence, the suggestion that you list up to 12 editors. In order to maximize the number of people who benefit from Power Pitch 2015, we will initially limit each person to 2 editor slots. However, depending on how many editor slots remain unfilled, we may choose to assign additional slots above that limit. Any of these additional slots will be assigned based on the original preference list that you emailed during signup.

Check the speaker bios listed above for any pitching instructions from editors – instructions will be uploaded and updated as they become
available.

You don’t have to be registered for ScienceWriters2015 at the time you sign up for Power Pitch; HOWEVER, you MUST be fully registered for the meeting by the time signup closes on September 24. Anyone who is not registered for ScienceWriters2015 by September 24 will be excluded from editor assignments. There are NO late or onsite registrations for ScienceWriters2015 available.

We will notify you of your editor assignments by September 30, giving you ample time to prepare your ideas.

Listen on Twitter for updates: #powerpitch2015

Meeting schedule

Friday, Oct. 9

11:00 am to 5:00 pm

NASW Board meeting
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Aquarium room (closed meeting)

12:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Check-in
Main lobby, Hyatt Regency Cambridge

1:00 pm to 5:00 pm

$ How to make awesome science video: A hands-on workshop
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Thomas Paine room
$ Nonfiction book proposals: A hands-on workshop
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Charles View Ballroom

6:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Check-in
MIT Walker Memorial, 142 Memorial Drive (Buses depart from Hyatt)
F Knight Science Journalism welcome reception
MIT Walker Memorial, 142 Memorial Drive (Buses depart from Hyatt)

9:00 pm to 10:30 pm

W Diversity Mixer
Hyatt Cambridge Regency, Paul Revere Room
Saturday, Oct. 10

7:30 am to 8:00 am

W Meet and greet for newcomers/students
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Crispus Attucks room

7:30 am to 8:45 am

W Continental Breakfast
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, President's Ballroom

7:30 am to 5:30 pm

Check-in
Main lobby, Hyatt Regency Cambridge

8:00 am to 8:45 am

NASW membership meeting
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, President's Ballroom

9:00 am to 10:15 am

W Ethics in today's science writing landscape: A community conversation
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, President's Ballroom

9:00 am to 5:00 pm

10:15 am to 10:45 am

W Break
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, President's Ballroom Prefunction

10:45 am to 12:00 pm

W DIY publishing — Does it yield?
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Charles View Ballroom (top floor of hotel)
W What every editor needs to know
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, William Dawes room

12:00 pm to 1:30 pm

W Lunch
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, President's Ballroom

1:30 pm to 2:45 pm

W Embracing the B word: Branding and social media
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Charles View Ballroom (top floor of hotel)
W Funds for all: How to win an NASW Idea Grant
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, William Dawes room
W Other stories: Exploring alternative narratives
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Paul Revere room
W Using art to communicate science
Hyatt Cambridge Regency, Thomas Paine room

2:45 pm to 3:15 pm

W Break
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, President's Ballroom Prefunction

3:15 pm to 4:30 pm

W Data journalism for every scale and skill level
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, President's Ballroom AB
W Four writers sat in a bar:  Humor and voice in science writing
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Paul Revere room
W PIOs: How to pitch a story (without being annoying)
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, President's Ballroom D
W Power Pitch 2015
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, President's Ballroom C

4:30 pm to 4:45 pm

W Break
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, President's Ballroom Prefunction

4:45 pm to 6:00 pm

W Fact-checking: How to get everything perfectly right always
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, President's Ballroom D
W Sex, death, and privacy: Reporting in the first person
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, William Dawes room
W Sexism, science-writing and solutions: Charting the future
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Paul Revere room
W The fair contract project
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Thomas Paine room

6:30 pm to 9:00 pm

F Awards reception
Hyatt Regency Cambridge, President's Ballroom
Sunday, Oct. 11

7:00 am to 8:15 am

F Continental breakfast
MIT Kresge Lobby (Buses depart from Hyatt)

7:30 am to 11:00 am

Check-in
MIT Kresge Lobby

8:15 am to 9:30 am

9:00 am to 5:00 pm

9:30 am to 10:30 am

F The tiny cell with a big gene "app store"
La Sala de Puerto Rico, MIT Student Center

10:30 am to 11:00 am

F Break
MIT Kresge Lobby

11:00 am to 12:00 pm

F Next in space: Spray-on microthrusters for miniature satellites
La Sala de Puerto Rico, MIT Student Center

12:00 pm to 2:00 pm

F Lunch With a Luminary I
Assigned Rooms at MIT Student Center and the Broad Institute; volunteer guides will direct. Pick up lunch first at Kresge Lobby
F MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center tour
MIT Building NW17, Room 218, 175 Albany St., Cambridge, MA (walking tour, 5 minute walk, departs from Kresge Lobby, pick up lunch first at Kresge)

2:00 pm to 3:00 pm

3:00 pm to 3:30 pm

F Break
MIT Kresge Lobby

3:30 pm to 4:30 pm

F Can computer science help physicists resolve the firewall paradox?
La Sala de Puerto Rico, MIT Student Center

4:30 pm to 5:30 pm

7:00 pm to 10:00 pm

F ScienceWriters party
The Boston Globe, 135 Morrissey Blvd., Boston (Buses depart from Hyatt at 6:40, 6:50, 7:00, 7:20, and 7:40 pm; one bus departs from Fairfield Inn at 6:40 pm)
Monday, Oct. 12

7:15 am to 8:30 am

F Continental breakfast
MIT Kresge Lobby (Buses depart from Hyatt)

8:30 am to 9:30 am

F Applying science to poverty
La Sala de Puerto Rico, MIT Student Center

9:30 am to 10:30 am

9:30 am to 12:00 pm

F Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences tour
29 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA; board bus at Kresge Lobby at 9:30 am for the 10-minute ride to the Harvard engineering campus.

10:30 am to 11:00 am

F Break
MIT Kresge Lobby

10:30 am to 2:00 pm

F Boston University Photonics Center tour
8 St. Mary's St., Boston, MA (board bus at Kresge Lobby at 10:30 am; 10-minute ride to Boston University)

11:00 am to 12:00 pm

F Air pollution and hurricanes: A connection?
La Sala de Puerto Rico, MIT Student Center

12:00 pm to 2:00 pm

F Lunch With a Luminary II
Assigned Rooms at MIT Student Center, Kresge, and MIT Building 4; volunteer guides will direct. Pick up lunch first at Kresge Lobby
F The ingredients for innovation in Kendall Square
La Sala de Puerto Rico, MIT Student Center. Organized by KSJ; participants register as part of Lunch With a Luminary; pick up lunch at Kresge Lobby.

2:00 pm to 3:00 pm

2:00 pm to 4:30 pm

F Boston University National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories tour
Board bus at Kresge Lobby at 2:00 pm for the 15-minute ride to BU's medical campus.

3:00 pm to 3:30 pm

F Break
MIT Kresge Lobby

3:00 pm to 5:00 pm

F LabCentral tour
700 Main St., Cambridge (walking tour, 10-minute walk, departs from Kresge Lobby)

3:30 pm to 5:30 pm

5:30 pm to 7:30 pm

F Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT tour
320 Charles Street, Cambridge (bus departs from Kresge Lobby)

5:30 pm to 8:00 pm

8:00 pm to 10:00 pm

$ Story Collider
Oberon Theater, 2 Arrow Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge. Attendees are responsible for their own travel to Harvard Square. Admission at the door by will-call based on purchase at registration.
Tuesday, Oct. 13

7:15 am to 5:00 pm

9:00 am to 11:30 am

F Biogen tour
225 Binney St., Cambridge (Bus departs from Hyatt Regency Cambridge)
F Dana-Farber Cancer Institute tour
450 Brookline Ave., Boston (Bus departs from Hyatt Regency Cambridge)
F Harvard Museums of Science & Culture tour
26 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA (Bus departs from Hyatt Regency Cambridge)
F Johnson & Johnson Innovation tour
255 Main St., Cambridge, MA (Bus departs from Hyatt Regency Cambridge)

9:30 am to 12:30 pm

F Draper Laboratory tour
555 Technology Square, Cambridge, MA (Bus departs from Hyatt Regency Cambridge)

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