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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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)

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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)

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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

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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.

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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.

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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).

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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)

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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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