November 2004

American Geophysical Union

AGU Fall Meeting - media advisory 4

Press conference update; field trip update; other events for science writers

Contents of this message

1. Press Conference Update
2. Geophysics of Winemaking Field Trip: Update
3. Press Room Information
4. Attention PIOs: Sending Press Releases to Fall Meeting
5. Homo sapiens Bites Canis familiaris!
6. Mass Media Fellows Program
7. NCSWA Holiday Dinner: You're invited
8. Press registration information (Repeated from Media Advisory 3)
9. Press registration form (Repeated from Media Advisory 3)
10 Who's Coming

Note: This message does not repeat information from Media Advisory 3. See: http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/prrl/prrl0435.html

Attention international science writers: Please see important U.S. visa information in Media Advisory 1, regardless of your country of citizenship: http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/prrl/prrl0431.html

1. Press Conference Update

We are in the process of organizing around 20 press conferences related to presentations at Fall Meeting. The list below is a work in progress and is subject to change. Press Conferences may be added or dropped; titles and emphasis may change; days may also change.

We will issue an advisory around two weeks prior to Fall Meeting, with the "final" press conference schedule, including a description of each one and a list of its participants. Any changes after that date will be announced in the Press Room at the meeting.

Monday, 13 December
Overview of Fall Meeting
Permafrost at Risk
Climate, Trees, and Insects
Mars Exploration Rovers Update
Submarine Landslides and Other Sources of Mega-tsunamis
ICESat Update

Tuesday, 14 December
Cassini at Saturn: the Latest
Arsenic in the Groundwater: Cause (?) and Cure (?): A Debate
Deep Impact Briefing (Live From NASA HQ, With Participation From Fall Meeting)
Aura's First Discoveries
Alleviating Global Poverty through Science and Technology
Mount Saint Helens: Latest Findings on Recent Activity
Reduction of Ice Cover at High Latitudes

Wednesday, 15 December
Earth's "Safe Zone" Became Hot During Legendary Solar Storms
Plumes or Not?: A Debate
Innovations in Geoscience Education

Thursday, 16 December
Climate Change in Alaska: The 100-Year Photographic Record
Recent Changes to the Arctic Hydrologic Cycle
Keeping it Clean in Solar System Exploration: A Planetary Protection Workshop for Science Writers
The 2004 Parkfield Earthquake: Latest Findings

2. Geophysics of Winemaking Field Trip: Update

The field trip planned for Sunday, 12 December remains as announced in Media Advisory 2:
http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/prrl/prrl0434.html#2
Our bus is full, and we are maintaining a wait list in the event of cancellations or no-shows.

The list of those with confirmed places will be found at the end of this advisory, under "Who's Coming," following the list of all Press Room registrants. Those on the wait list have been so notified by e-mail.

Important: Those confirmed on the field trip must be outside Moscone West at 800 Howard Street, that is, on Howard Street, just off the corner of 4th Street, where the bus will pick us up, no later than 0815, at which time vacant places will be awarded to those on the wait list. If you are on the wait list, you should also be at the pick-up site no later than 0815.

Please have breakfast before going to Moscone West, as no food or beverages will be served on the bus. You are encouraged to bring a snack and/or a beverage with you. A box lunch will be served, compliments of AGU, at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, at around 1300.

The bus will return to Moscone West in late afternoon or early evening. From there, it is a one block walk to the Marriott Hotel, where taxis are usually available. It is also a short walk to BART rapid transit or to Muni buses on Mission or Market Streets.

3. Press Room Information

The Press Room is Room 2024 Moscone West, at 800 Howard Street, corner of Howard and 4th Streets. This is the same room as for 2003 Fall Meeting, although it has been renumbered.

The phone number of the Press Room is 1-415-348-4440. Please give this number to anyone who may have to call you in the Press Room.

The Press Room fax is 1-415-348-4452.

There is no charge for business calls or faxes.

The Press room is equipped for wi-fi, as is the lobby area of Level 2. Phone jacks are provided for laptops that lack wi-fi capability, and there will be one computer with Internet access for use by Press registrants.

Breakfast will be served from 0730, Monday-Friday.
Lunch will be served from 1130, Monday-Friday.
Coffee, tea, and soft drinks will be available through the day.

Reporters may invite scientists to the Press Room for interviews, chats, etc.

Press conferences are in Room 2012, same as last year, directly opposite 2024, across the hall. It is equipped with a press (or "mult") box for plugging in recorders to access sound directly from microphones in the room.

4. Attention PIOs: Sending Press Releases to Fall Meeting

AGU encourages scientists to provide press releases pertaining to their presentations at Fall Meeting, whether or not they are participating in press conferences. We urge them to work with public information officers at their institutions to prepare releases and other handouts.

We recommend that you provide 50 copies of printed materials and up to three copies of video material in Beta format.

Those who are giving press conferences are especially urged to provide handouts, especially their PowerPoint presentations, copies of relevant research papers, and imagery (in reproducible quality).

The best way to get these materials to the Press Room is to take them yourself, if you are attending the meeting, or hand them to the scientist to deliver to the Press Room (Room 2024) upon arrival at Moscone (Saturday, 11 December, or Monday-Friday, 13-17 December). Alternatively, you may send them by post or express service, preferably timed for arrival no later than Friday, 10 December. Address packages to:

Harvey Leifert (hold for 10 December arrival)
San Francisco Marriott Hotel
55 Fourth Street
San Francisco, California 94103
USA
(Phone: 1-415-896-1600)

5. Homo sapiens Bites Canis familiaris!

Tuesday, 14 December
1815-1930
Room 2010

If Man Bites Dog defines what is news, then what is science news? How can scientists help reporters get the story and get the story straight? We have assembled a panel of distinguished science journalists from various media to address AGU scientists on these topics. The program will allow for questions and comments from the audience. Press registrants are encouraged to attend and participate from the floor. The program will begin with a short skit by the soon to be renowned AGU Players.

Participants:
David Perlman, San Francisco Chronicle (newspapers)
Charles Petit, U.S. News & World Report (magazines)
Molly Bentley, BBC World Service (radio)
Barbara Moran, NOVA (television)
Cindy Clark, Scripps Institution of Oceanography (public information officers)

6. Mass Media Fellows Program

Wednesday, 15 December
1230-1330
Marriott Hotel, 55 Fourth Street, Yerba Buena Salons 10-11

AGU has sponsored a Mass Media Fellow in the AAAS program annually since 1997. Each year at Fall Meeting, alumni recount their experiences working for 10 weeks at news media around the country. The audience consists of AGU student members interested in knowing more and possibly applying. Press registrants who once were Mass Media Fellows or whose organizations host Fellows are encouraged to attend. (The program also covers AAAS Congressional Fellowships, with alumni and/or current participants.)

Mass Media Participants:
Marian Westley, University of Hawaii, Newsweek 1998
Rei Ueyama, University of Washington, Sacramento Bee, 2004

7. NCSWA Holiday Dinner: You're invited

The following announcement is provided on behalf of the Northern California Science Writers Association. This is not an AGU event.

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AGU reporters welcome to attend NCSWA's annual holiday dinner on Tuesday, 14 December

As per tradition, the Northern California Science Writers Association will hold its annual holiday dinner in downtown San Francisco during the AGU meeting. This year's dinner, on Tuesday, 14 December, is a reprise of last year's successful event at Yank Sing, a popular Chinese restaurant just a few blocks from the Moscone Center. AGU reporters are welcome to attend.

Bay Area science journalist Jon Christensen will give a multimedia recap of his trip retracing John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts in their famous expedition to the Sea of Cortez. In the spring of 2004, Jon joined a scientific expedition on a working fishing boat that sailed from Monterey down to Baja's Sea of Cortez to recreate the 1940 expedition by novelist Steinbeck and marine biologist Ricketts. Jon kept a daily log of the expedition, which surveyed the same 20 intertidal sites and more, at www.seaofcortez.org.

In addition to Christensen's talk, NCSWA will offer door prizes, its annual science book exchange, and other festivities. On the menu is Yank Sing's exquisite dim sum cuisine, renowned throughout the Bay Area.

If you wish to attend, you must register by 30 November, by sending your check for $38 to Bob Sanders of NCSWA. Full details about the dinner, and registration information, are available at this web site:

http://www.ncswa.org/archive/dinner-meetings/12-04.html

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Note: Please do not send inquiries or checks to AGU. The dinner itself begins at 2000, with the Christensen program following, so participants and attendees at the AGU program on science communication (Item 5, above) will be able to arrive in time.



8. Press registration information (Repeated from Media Advisory 3)

Press registrants receive a badge that provides access to any of the scientific sessions of the meeting, as well as to the Press Room and Briefing Room. No one will be admitted without a valid badge.

Eligibility for press registration is limited to the following persons:

  • Working press employed by bona fide news media: must present a press card, business card, or letter of introduction from an editor of a recognized publication.

  • Freelance science writers: must present a current membership card from NASW, a regional affiliate of NASW, CSWA, ISWA, or SEJ; or evidence of by-lined work pertaining to science intended for the general public and published in 2003 or 2004; or a letter from the editor of a recognized publication assigning you to cover Fall Meeting.

  • Public information officers of scientific societies, educational institutions, and government agencies: must present a business card.

    Note: Representatives of publishing houses, for-profit corporations, and the business side of news media must register at the main registration desk at the meeting and pay the appropriate fees, regardless of possession of any of the above documents. They are not accredited as Press at the meeting.

    9. Press Registration Form (Repeated from Media Advisory 3)

    The Press Registration Form is set up for online submission, but includes a link to a version that can be printed out and faxed or mailed. Go to: http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm04/?pageRequest=media

    The last day for advance press registration is 3 December. You may also register onsite in the Press Room (Room 2024).

    10. Who's coming

    The following persons have registered as of the date of this message. If you believe you have registered but are not listed, please resubmit the form in Item 9, above.

    Jerry Adler, Newsweek
    Mario Aguilera, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
    Andrew Alden, About.com
    Jonathan Amos, BBC News Interactive
    Anatta, National Center for Atmospheric Research
    James Bela, Freelance
    Molly Bentley, BBC World Service
    Phil Berardelli, United Press International
    Linda Billings, SETI Institute
    John Blackstone, CBS News
    Henry Bortman, Astrobiology Magazine
    Robert Roy Britt, SPACE.com
    Susan Brown, Santa Cruz Sentinel
    Doug Brusa, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
    Mirella Bucci, Freelance
    Peter Calamai, Toronto Star
    Bill Cannon, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
    Lynn Chandler, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
    Kenneth Chang, New York Times
    Rani Chohan, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
    Glennda Chui, San Jose Mercury News
    Phil Cohen, New Scientist
    Cindy Clark, Scripps Communications Office
    Tonya Clayton, Monterey Herald
    Robert Cowen, Christian Science Monitor
    John Cox, Freelance
    Paul Doherty, Exploring Magazine
    Matthew Fordahl, Associated Press
    Kim Fulton-Bennett, MBARI-Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
    Zhenya Gallon, UCAR/NCAR
    Marie Gilbert, Institute of Arctic Biology
    Helen Gillespie, Today's Chemist
    Donald Goldsmith, Interstellar Media
    Pam Frost Gorder, Ohio State University
    Leslie Gordon, U.S. Geological Survey
    Kimm Groshong, Pasadena Star-News
    Rob Gutro, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
    Brooks Hanson, Science
    Scott Harris, U.S. Geological Survey
    Martha Heil, American Institute of Physics
    Laura Helmuth, Smithsonian Magazine
    Tara Hicks, SOEST / University of Hawaii at Manoa
    Ian Hoffman, Oakland Tribune
    Bob Horn, KPIX-TV
    Robert Irion, ScienceNOW
    Jeff Kanipe, Freelance
    Dick Kerr, Science
    James E. Kloeppel, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
    John Krist, Ventura County Star
    Dawn Levy, Stanford News Service
    Nancy Light, Integrated Ocean Drilling Program
    Frank Ling, KALX Berkeley
    Emilie Lorditch, Discoveries & Breakthroughs
    Greta Lorge, Wired Magazine
    Rick Lovett, Freelance
    Merry Maisel, Texas Advanced Computing Center
    Carolina Martinez, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
    Betsy Mason, Contra Costa Times
    Barbara McConnell, National Geographic Magazine
    Usha Lee McFarling, Los Angeles Times
    Debbie Meyer, MBARI-Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
    Mary Miller, Exploratorium
    Bruce Molnia, Freelance
    Barbara Moran, NOVA WGBH-TV
    Mary Beth Murrill, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
    Elisabeth Nadin, Freelance
    J. Madeleine Nash, Time
    Amy Nevala, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
    Jan Null, San Jose Mercury News
    Sid Perkins, Science News
    David Perlman, San Francisco Chronicle
    Charles Petit, U.S. News & World Report
    Catherine Puckett, U.S. Geological Survey
    Horst Rademacher, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
    Krishna Ramanujan, NASA Earth Science News Team
    Clarice Ransom, U.S. Geological Survey
    Christina Reed, Freelance
    Donald Robertson, Astronomy Now
    Anne Rosenthal, Freelance
    Linda Rowan, Science
    Ned Rozell, University of Alaska Fairbanks
    Tony Russomanno, KPIX-TV - CBS News
    Jim Scanlon, Coastal Post
    Laurie Schmidt, NASA Science Mission Directorate
    Mark Shwartz, Stanford News Service
    Megan Sever, Geotimes
    Norman Sperling, Journal of Irreproducible Results
    Alan Stahler, KVMR-FM
    Michael Starobin, NASA-TV
    Kathy Svitil, Discover Magazine
    Adam Tanner, Reuters
    Pearl Tesler, Exploratorium
    Mary Tobin, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
    Rei Ueyama, AGU Mass Media Fellow, U. of Washington
    Marijke Unger, NSIDC/CIRES/University of Colorado
    John VanDecar, Nature
    Joe Verrengia, Associated Press
    Ray Villard, Space Telescope Science Institute
    Lidia Wasowicz, United Press International
    Eric Wegryn, Exploratorium
    Tara Weingarten, Newsweek
    Rachel Weintraub, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
    Matthias Wendt, WDR TV
    Krista West, Freelance
    Marian Westley, AGU Mass Media Fellow, U. of Hawaii
    Kasey White, Joint Oceanographic Institutions
    Potter Wickware, Freelance
    Alexandra Witze, Dallas Morning News
    Kathleen Wong, California Wild
    Laura Wright, OnEarth Magazine
    Matthew Wright, Freelance
    Margie Wylie, Newhouse News Service
    Akemi Yoshimoto, Kyodo News
    (107)

    Field trip participants (in order of sign-up)

    Sid Perkins, Science News
    Margie Wylie, Newhouse News Service
    Marijke Unger, NSIDC/CIRES/University of Colorado
    Andrew Alden, About.com
    Glennda Chui, San Jose Mercury News
    David Perlman, San Francisco Chronicle
    Alexandra Witze, Dallas Morning News
    Jeff Kanipe, Freelance
    Robert Cowen, Christian Science Monitor
    J. Madeleine Nash, Time
    Mirella Bucci, Freelance
    Christina Reed, Freelance
    Pam Frost Gorder, Ohio State University
    Emilie Lorditch, Discoveries & Breakthroughs
    Barbara McConnell, National Geographic Magazine
    Dawn Levy, Stanford News Service
    Henry Bortman, Astrobiology Magazine
    Horst Rademacher, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
    Bill Cannon, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
    Kenneth Chang, New York Times
    Molly Bentley, BBC World Service
    John Cox, Freelance
    Merry Maisel, Texas Advanced Computing Center
    Alan Stahler, KVMR-FM
    Betsy Mason, Contra Costa Times
    Potter Wickware, Freelance
    Laura Wright, OnEarth Magazine
    Jerry Adler, Newsweek
    Rick Lovett, Freelance
    Leslie Gordon, U.S. Geological Survey
    James Bela, Freelance
    Kathleen Wong, California Wild
    Peter Calamai, Toronto Star
    Mary Tobin, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
    Tara Weingarten, Newsweek
    Ian Hoffman, Oakland Tribune
    Helen Gillespie, Today's Chemist
    Charles Petit, U.S. News & World Report
    Usha Lee McFarling, Los Angeles Times
    Anatta, National Center for Atmospheric Research




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