NCSWHAT

NCSWA Newsletter, January 2005

Editor: Jane Stevens, jsteven@mmjourno.com

Wish I Were a Fly on the Wall
There once was a fly on the wall
I wonder why didn't it fall
Because its feet stuck
Or was it just luck
Or does gravity miss things so small?
-- Robert D. Cowan

NEWS UPDATES

DECEMBER HOLIDAY DINNER JOURNEYS TO THE SEA OF CORTEZ

About 115 NCSWAns and guests -- the highest dinner turnout in years -- enjoyed an exquisite dim sum feast at Yank Sing, in San Francisco’s Rincon Center, and a delightful talk by science writer Jon Christensen at the annual holiday dinner on December 14.

The presence of numerous reporters from that week's American Geophysical Union meeting, as well as many science journalism students, made for a festive evening of greeting old friends and making new contacts. MC Mary Miller doled out coveted door prizes from the Exploratorium, including a glow-in-the-dark t-shirt of the periodic table of the elements and the terrific video "Powers of Ten," which zooms from the nanoworld to the cosmic limits.

Christensen, who holds a fellowship in history at Stanford and writes for the New York Times science section, kept the audience in thrall with his tale of a Spring 2004 project that retraced the famed 1940 expedition by John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts through the Sea of Cortez. The crew surveyed the same intertidal sites during its two-month journey, and documented dramatic changes in the faunal and floral communities. Christensen's gentle speaking manner was delightful, and his anecdotes -- ranging from the exact quantity of beer onboard to an eerie bank of fog that enveloped the ship for days -- were vivid. His description of Steinbeck's decline after the death of Ricketts was unexpected and touching. The clear audience favorite was a stunning video of enormous bat rays leaping out of the sea and slapping back into the water, like so many dolphins at play. Christensen will publish a book based on his daily log in Fall 2005 (Shearwater Books/Island Press).

MSRI NEUROBIOLOGICAL VISION WORKSHOP, Feb 7-11, 2005

As part of a 4-month series of programs on Image Analysis, the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (http://www.msri.org) in Berkeley will feature a week-long workshop on Neurobiological Vision from Feb. 7-11, 2005.

While jumping spiders use their eight-eyed visual systems to detect prey, discriminate objects, and navigate, most mammals can readily segment moving objects in a scene and estimate velocities to achieve complex visuo-motor tasks. Primates can readily infer the 3D surface structure of their world from two-dimensional images. The field of image analysis is one of the newest and most active sources of inspiration for applied mathematics, and involves investigating how these visual feats - all of which lie beyond the current abilities of modern machine-vision systems - are accomplished by neural circuits in the brain. This week will bring together experimentalists and theorists who are attempting to understand the neural mechanisms of visual perception. Contact NCSWA member Marianne Smith at 510/655.2247 for more details.

INNOVATION JOURNALISM CONFERENCE, April 4-6, 2005

The Second Innovation Journalism Conference will take place at Stanford University on April 4-6. The conference, started by the Innovation Journalism Fellowship Programme, a Swedish-U.S. initiative, investigates innovation journalism as a concept and community. Innovation journalism is journalism about innovation, not innovations in journalism. Innovation Journalism covers technical, business, legal and political aspects of innovations and innovation systems.

In industrial economies innovation is key. In democracies journalism is key. So in democratic industrial economies journalism dedicated to covering innovation should be key. Good innovation journalism enhances the public debate through better common knowledge and understanding of innovation issues, which is important for society.

The latest NCSWA workshop featured a panel on innovation journalism. For more information on the upcoming conference, contact David Nordfors, nordfors@stanford.edu.

FELLOWSHIPS

CALIFORNIA ENDOWMENT HEALTH JOURNALISM FELLOWSHIPS

Applications are now being accepted for the new, all-expenses-paid California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships, open to California reporters, editors, and producers from general circulation and ethnic media with a passion for health care news. Intensive workshop sessions feature some of the country’s most respected health and medical experts, as well as top journalists in the field. The fellowships will cover such basics as how to interpret a medical study. This program focuses on multicultural health, health disparities and health care justice. For more information, write to calendow@usc.edu, call 213-437-4419 or go to http://www.californiahealthjournalism.org.

METCALF INSTITUTE ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING FELLOWSHIPS, June 12, 2005 - April 7, 2006

The Metcalf Institute Environmental Reporting Fellowships are available to two minority journalists interested in learning basic science and reporting on the environment. A fellowship provides support to attend the Seventh Annual Workshop for Journalists (June 12-17, 2005), four weeks of independent study at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography with science faculty mentorship, and a $28,000 stipend for 37 weeks to work as a reporter with a journalism mentor at either NPR-member station, WBUR, Boston, or The Providence Journal, Providence, RI, covering environment and some general assignment news. The fellowship does not include compensation for travel. Applicants must have a minimum of two years’ journalism experience, U.S. citizenship, and may include science writers or reporters from any media. Applications must be postmarked by February 11, 2005. Information and application: http://www.gso.uri.edu/metcalf

THE METCALF INSTITUTE MARINE AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES FELLOWSHIP/SEVENTH ANNUAL WORKSHOP FOR JOURNALISTS, June 12, 2005 - June 17, 2005

This journalism fellowship program focuses on science in the coastal environment. An intensive, hands-on workshop gives reporters opportunities to work in the lab and field with scientists, graduate students, and policy experts, and attend lectures, debates and panel sessions given by leading writers and researchers. The workshop emphasizes data analysis, research methods, and the integration of science with public policy. Fellowships are available to print, broadcast and electronic journalists who are interested in marine and environmental science reporting. Fellowship award includes room, board and tuition (transportation not included). Applications must be postmarked by March 4, 2005. Information and application: http://www.gso.uri.edu/metcalf

NEWS ABOUT MEMBERS

The San Francisco Medical Society has selected NCSWAn Suzanne Bohan as the recipient of the 2005 "David Perlman Award for Excellence in Medical Journalism." Bohan, the Bay Area correspondent for the Sacramento Bee and former staff reporter for ANG Newspapers, was chosen for her set of articles examining the factors behind the increasing gridlock in emergency departments, and the consequences of the fraying of this invaluable public health safety net. The stories were published in January 2003 by ANG Newspapers. She’ll receive a check for $1,000 and a commemorative plaque at the medical society’s annual dinner on January 20 at the World Trade Club in San Francisco. NCSWAn David Perlman received the inaugural award in January 2000.

Robin Mejia’s first TV project aired on Sunday, Jan 9 on CNN. She co-produced "Reasonable Doubt" with CNN's Ken Shiffman. Here's a blurb from the press release: "While television shows like CSI make forensic science appear infallible, a joint investigation by the Center for Investigative Reporting and CNN reveals a far different story in the real world. A new CNN Presents documentary, “Reasonable Doubt: Can Crime Labs be Trusted?,” examines the lack of standards, quality controls and training at many of the nation’s forensic laboratories and looks at how those problems have contributed to a string of wrongful convictions across the country.

Joan Kureczka has a new website for her company: http://www.kureczka-martin.com

Jesse Fisher’s latest publication is: "Fluorite from the North Pennine Orefield, England" in Rocks & Minerals v. 79 n. 6 (Nov/Dec 2004), on http://www.ukminingventures.com.

David Orenstein graduated in December with a BA in physics from San Francisco State University. He is now seeking full-time or freelance writing work.

Liese Greensfelder is taking a year off from science writing to write a book about the story of her 20th year, when she lived alone in the mountains of Norway and ran a sheep farm using 19th century tools and techniques.

Bob Finn has been elected to a two-year term on the board of the National Association of Science Writers.

Charlie Petit left U.S. News & World Report to join the ranks of science freelancers. The magazine is shifting away from staff writing, he says, and de-emphasizing science. As traditional print news organizations begin another round of shrinking, science has been also been given the boot at the Dallas Morning News, which fired Tom Siegfried, and Newsday, where Earl Lane took a buyout offer. “Beyond the shock,” says Charlie, “prospects are exciting, actually. I'm lining up a few freelance gigs and will have something in National Geographic in June. I've always wanted to avoid the hustle of fulltime freelance and now will find out whether it's rough or not.”

After more than 10 years of confusion regarding state regulations, James Lamb has qualified for, taken and passed the exam to become a state licensed clinical laboratory scientist.

Liza Gross , science writer with the Public Library of Science, writes that she was awarded a fellowship to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in September to learn more about ocean sciences and how WHOI researchers are exploring the ocean depths and coastal regions with an eye toward protecting them. What surprised her most, she says, is how little we understand about the oceans -- from the incredibly complex dynamics of physical oceanography to the rich biodiversity of hydrothermal vents.

David Orenstein graduated from San Francisco State University in December 2004 with a BA in Physics. He also holds a master's in journalism from Northwestern University.

Diane Richards has a new position writing outreach materials for the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Tagging of Pacific Pelagics (TOPP) program. She is helping develop a new website and press materials for the research project. Keep an eye out for new information at http://www.toppcensus.org.

Robert Adler says that anyone interested in the history of science and medicine can take a look at his two recent books: Science Firsts: From the Creation of Science to the Science of Creation (Wiley, 2002), and Medical Firsts: From Hippocrates to the Human Genome (Wiley, 2004). Reader reviews on Amazon.com are always welcome.

NEW MEMBERS

Welcome!!

Mitzi Baker is a freelance writer affiliated with Stanford University.

Student member, Dorothy Wozei, attends San Francisco State University.

Siri Schubert has worked as a U.S. correspondent for German publications for the last five years, covering mainly business and technology. She started freelancing a few months ago and is excited to be able to write more about science and health topics.

Andreas von Bubnoff is a student with the UC Santa Cruz Science Communication Program. He was a summer 2004 AAAS Mass Media Fellow at the Chicago Tribune.

Lisa De Vellis is a biosystems engineering graduate student at UC Davis.

Bless Castro is director of scientific content at GeneEd, Inc., a South San Francisco company that provides e-Learning products for education in the life sciences.

Catherine Magill joined NCSWA in December 2004.

Horst Rademacher, who has rejoined the NCSWA fold, has been a Bay Area-based science correspondent for the German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung for almost 20 years. He wrote - in German - several books about earth science and published a compilation of his feature stories about California. He recently received the Kertz-Medal from the German Geophysical Society, honoring his work in explaining the many facets of geoscience to a lay audience.