National Association of Science Writers Information Access Summit

Calling all science journalists and federal agency public information officers:

We all want to share information about science with the public. But too often we end up in opposition, when journalists want more access to sources and information than PIOs are able to provide.

NASW is hosting an Information Access Summit to identify solutions. Inspired by previous successful dialogues, we aim to work together to increase science journalists' access to information and sources inside federal agencies. We will also explore how PIOs can develop and sustain open media policies at their agencies. At the conference, panels of veteran journalists and PIOs will share their needs, experiences, and constraints. Then we will have an open discussion. Ultimately we will draft a set of NASW-endorsed guidelines that both agencies and PIOs can refer to for support of open media policies at federal science agencies as well as state and local agencies, corporations, universities, and nonprofits.

All science journalists and PIOs are invited to attend. We would like to have a range of perspectives and experiences represented. This is, obviously, an experiment. But with an open and inclusive dialogue and commitment to collaboration, we believe we can make progress toward a more accessible government and better informed public.

Register for this workshop via the ScienceWriters2018 conference registration. You do not need to register for the conference to attend the summit.

Contact NASW information access committee chair Gabe Popkin at gpopkin@gmail.com with questions.

Cost: $15 (includes breakfast and lunch)

Schedule — Tuesday, October 16

8:30-9:15 a.m. Opening plenary. Speaker: Rick Weiss, SciLine/AAAS

9:30-10:45 a.m. Panel 1: Journalists' experiences. Confirmed speakers: Laura Helmuth, Washington Post; Corbin Hiar, E&E News; Zahra Hirji, Buzzfeed; Charles Seife, freelance/NYU. Moderator: Robin Marantz Henig, freelance.

11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Panel 2: PIOs' experiences. Confirmed speakers: Jared Adams, DARPA; Monica Allen, NOAA; Bob Jacobs, NASA; Renate Myles, NIH. Moderator: Ross Simons, Simons and Associates.

12:15-1 p.m. Lunch

1-2:45 p.m. Small-group discussion

3:15-5 p.m. Large-group discussion

Schedule — Wednesday, October 17

8:30 a.m.-12 p.m. A focused session to draft a set of NASW-endorsed guidelines that both agencies and PIOs can refer to for support of open media policies at federal science agencies as well as state and local agencies, corporations, universities, and nonprofits. Moderator: Ross Simons, Simons and Associates