Programme Sessions
Press Briefings and Fringe Events 1-A: Darwin Now Press Briefing
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: Results of Global Survey on Attitudes in Evolution to be announced
Presenting the global results will be Fern Elsdon-Baker, Head of Darwin Now, the British Council’s contribution to the global celebrations around the anniversary of Darwin’s birth and the publication of Origin of the Species. Joining Fern on the panel to discuss the results will be recognised figures and experts in the fields of science and education.
Media enquiries:
Tony Stephenson, Adam Michael, Benjamyn Tan
Tel: 020 7866 7864
Email: DarwinNow@collegehill.com.
Date: Tuesday 30th June
Time: 12.30 to 13.30
Speaker:
Plenary 1: New media, new journalism?
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: There is no question that the internet has dramatically changed the way news is gathered and disseminated. Blogging, podcasting and other innovations provide a voice for many who previously went unheard, but where does this leave journalists? Have new means of communicating and the overwhelming flood of information been to the detriment of science coverage? Or have they opened up new means by which to reach new audiences? Is a ‘new journalism’ required to match the ‘new media’? The panellists will be asked to predict how the media landscape might look in 20 years time and suggest what might be done to ensure a healthy future for critical, hard-hitting science journalism.
Date: Tuesday 30th June
Time: 13.30 to 14.30
Producer:
Chair:
1: Flat Earth News
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: Flat Earth News by Guardian journalist Nick Davies was one of the most seminal books on journalism this decade provoking outright fury from some of those it exposed, who raced to letters pages and blogs to attack it. But despite the outrage caused to some, many others recognised the bleak truth at the centre of Davies’ thesis, that fewer and fewer journalists filling more and more space has led to the collapse of accurate, truth-telling journalism and the explosion in ‘churnalism’ – journalists forced to churn out information straight from press releases. While Davies’s book covers many aspects of reporting he also covers science stories and argues that some of the most damaging and costly examples of Flat Earth News can be located in the sphere of science and health.
Since publishing his book Davies has travelled the world debating his theories with other journalists and being challenged by press officers over his views on the dangers of relying on science and health PR. Now he is coming to the World Conference of Science Journalists to elaborate on the ideas in his book and answer your questions and criticisms.
Date: Tuesday 30th June
Time: 15.45 to 17.15
Producer:
Speakers:
2: Balance not needed? Science journalism and the reporting of creationism
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Biomedical strand funded by Wellcome Trust
Session supported by: British Council Darwin Now
Summary: Professional reporters are trained to listen to each side of a story; to reflect different points of view in our journalism; and to keep personal opinions in check. But what if the story is the rise of creationism, and the reporters in question are science journalists? Is it right that we should automatically give more weight and space to scientific opinion? Scientists worry that giving voice to creationists will fuel irrationality in society. Yet is our role to be the voice of rationalism? Or do our readers deserve to be told the story from many perspectives – even if one of these perspectives goes against what we know to be true?
Date: Tuesday 30th June
Time: 15.45 to 17.15
Producer:
Chair:
Speakers:
3: Science journalism in crisis?
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: From climate change to stem cell research, science is in the public eye as never before. But science coverage is being slashed in newspapers and on television in the US, UK and parts of Europe. At the same time, writing on science, health and the environment is thriving around Asia, Africa, South America and the Middle East. A look at the uncertain future of international science journalism and the prospects for help from the changing world of multimedia.
Date: Tuesday 30th June
Time: 15.45 to 17.15
Producer:
Chair:
4: Great talent, but are they credible?
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Development strand funded by DFID
Summary: The credibility of scientific sources can fundamentally influence the credibility of a story. But how do you spot a credible expert? Mavericks have intrinsic news value, are they a necessary evil to stimulate debate? Does the need for balance excuse the use of less than credible experts?
Date: Tuesday 30th June
Time: 15.45 to 17.15
Producer:
Chair:
Speakers:
5: The challenges of regional reporting
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Biomedical Strand funded by Wellcome Trust
Summary: As scientific findings are reported around the world what challenges are faced by reporters looking at the same story in different regions? The recent swine flu outbreak was widely misreported in the Arab world while elsewhere reporters felt their experiences with avian flu had helped them, and their editors, pitch this pandemic right. Stem cell research may be hailed in Asia or the UK while damned in the US. Newly discovered fossils are recruited in the battle against Intelligent Design in the States but treated as quirky picture stories elsewhere. This session aims to share experience of working with newsdesk or political agendas and prompt discussion about sharing journalistic practice around the world.
Date: Tuesday 30th June
Time: 15.45 to 17.15
Producer:
Chair:
Plenary 2: How top philanthropists are accelerating science
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: Find out what philanthropy means for the future of science…and humanity.
The successful pursuit of science requires creativity and dogged persistence. But these personal qualities alone are not enough. Scientists need enormous resources and funding if their brilliant ideas are ever going to see the light of day. Gone are the days of the lone researcher, toiling away in a backwater laboratory on a meager budget. Most of today’s scientists work in teams and collaborate through international networks to probe further, dig deeper and climb higher in an effort to realize some of their greatest ideas.
So who makes this possible? Governments, universities and NGOs play an important role in supporting scientific research. But there are enormous gaps in what these traditional players - often operating through layers of bureaucracy - are funding. So who has the ability to spot the needs and seize new opportunities to shape and propel the future of science? Enter the philanthropists: they’re concerned about the state of our world and know what science and education can achieve, and they know how to take calculated risks and win. Now they are advancing basic research, healthcare, education, and a host of other endeavors that may help lead society toward an era of new knowledge, peace and prosperity.
On this unique occasion, WCSJ2009 presents some of the world’s most influential philanthropists who will share their passions, pursuits and insights on public and private investment strategies in science, education and the knowledge economy.
Date: Tuesday 30th June
Time: 17.30 to 18.30
Producers:
Chair:
Breakfast session 1: Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: The Royal Society, the UK’s independent science academy, invites you to breakfast at this year’s Summer Science Exhibition. You will be welcomed by Lord Rees of Ludlow, President of the Royal Society, who will give you a brief overview of our upcoming activities, including plans for our 350th anniversary in 2010. You will then have a chance to have a look around over 20 fascinating, interactive exhibits and interview the people behind the research. Exhibits range from a virtual reality cow used in veterinarian colleges, to a chewing robot that can help us develop dental technology, to advances in detecting and treating breast cancer.
For more information, please visit: royalsociety.org and www.summerscience.org.uk/09
The breakfast will be held in the Marble Hall, The Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AG. The closest tube stations are Piccadilly on the Bakerloo and Piccadilly Lines and Charing Cross for overland, Bakerloo and Northern Lines.
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 8.30 to 9.30
Venue: The Royal Society
Press Briefings and Fringe Events 1: Nature press conference
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: Briefing on key paper from this week’s Nature
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 9.30 to 10.00
Plenary 3: Climate change: Gearing up for Copenhagen
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Development Strand funded by DFID
Summary: The United Nations climate change conference due to be held in Copenhagen in December 2009 will be the most important international meeting since the Second World War. This session will explore whether success or failure is likely to result from the negotiations and what role the media might play.
The winning team of the 2011 World Conference of Science Journalists will be announced at the start of this session.
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 10.00 to 11.00
Producer:
Chair:
Press Briefing and Fringe Events 2-A: Sir David King announces The Times/Smith School World Forum on Enterprise and the Environment
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: NB: This Press Briefing is NOT in the Media Room but in the Great Hall as it will follow immediately after the Plenary session in the Great Hall in which Sir David is speaking.
Al Gore and former UK Government Chief Scientist Sir David King will be amongst speakers at the first The Times/Smith School World Forum on Enterprise and the Environment in Oxford from July 5-7 2009. The event, at Keble College, University of Oxford, will address the question: ‘Is there a model for low carbon growth?’ with discussions focusing on how we ensure economic growth while simultaneously de-fossilising our economies. More than 200 politicians, business leaders and academics are expected to attend the World Forum with the President of Rwanda Paul Kagame, Indian Science Minister Shri Kapil Sibal, former BP Chief Executive and former London Mayor Ken Livingstone also addressing the conference. International plans of action for governments, the private sector and academia should emerge from the event, feeding into climate change talks in Copenhagen in December. The World Forum will be an annual conference with support from The Times for the first two years.
Media Contact:
Cath Harris
Email: cath.harris@smithschool.ox.ac.uk
Tel: 01865 614925 / 07917 338266
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 11.00 to 11.30
Speaker:
Press Briefings and Fringe Events 2: Workshop: Pimp my podcast: Using multimedia to enhance your reporting
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: In this hands-on workshop, you will learn how to make a podcast. All
are welcome, from the computer illiterate to the multimedia savants.
We will use the conference itself as the raw material, creating
podcasts and audio slideshows that explore the bizarre world of a
conference full of journalists. Those who have their own laptops,
audio recorders, and cameras should bring them. To take part, please
contact John Bohannon (mailto: gonzo@aaas.org)
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 11.00 to 13.00
Producer:
Speaker:
6: Four science journalists who changed the world
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Development Strand & Biomedical Strand funded by DFID & Wellcome Trust
Summary: The panel will consist of four journalists who have tackled tough issues and have made a difference: having governments implement new health policies in Canada, changing how scientists and engineers are perceived in Japan, standing up to bogus science in Nigeria, and documenting unnecessary and often dangerous medical treatment in the United States. These journalists can be an inspiration and role models for fellow science journalists as well as providing information on how to conduct an influential investigation.
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 11.30 to 13.00
Producer:
Chair:
7: Science on television: Here today, gone tomorrow?
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: A showcase of the best of recent science television from around the world, followed by a panel discussion with some leading industry experts. What is the future of science on television? Will the broadcasting industry be able to carry on supporting science programming with so much competition in the form of digital channels and the internet? There will be an opportunity to ask the panel about science on television, so come prepared with any questions.
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 11.30 to 13.00
Producer:
Chair:
8: Recipe for disaster: A growing population and climate change. Can science serve up a solution?
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Development Strand funded by DFID
Summary: The world population is expected to increase by at least 50% over the next 40 years, but as more people join the middle classes it will require a doubling of grain production to feed.
Meanwhile, prime agricultural land is being lost to erosion, desertification, salinisation and urbanisation.
Can science help to meet demand at the same time as reducing the strain agriculture exerts on the planet?
The Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government, a professor of international development, a plant scientist who has written a book with her organic farmer husband, and a South African farmer who grows GM maize will debate the subject.
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 11.30 to 13.00
Producer:
Chair:
9: Does science need to be highbrow?
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Development Strand funded by DFID
Session supported by: Knight Science Journalism Fellowships
Summary: Readers' and viewers' appetite for science has increased hugely in the last decade and news editors of popular titles and high viewing TV stations have responded by placing the subject high on the news agenda. How has science reporting in these mediums changed science journalism, and how can science be best communicated to mass audiences? Can science be simplified to a level that all educational levels can understand and if so how? If sub-editors misunderstand the science, how can writers ensure accuracy? What is the impact of new media of helping communication of science to these audiences?
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 11.30 to 13.00
Producer:
Chair:
10: The future of science news?
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Development Strand funded by DFID
Session supported by: Knight Science Journalism Fellowships
Summary: The pioneers of news organizations that have gone from traditional news format to news ways of delivering news will tell us how they did, what they did and what will come next. A number of different kinds of stories will be told: From the transformation of Scientific American from a stodgy print magazine to a multimedia news organization to the new effort to organize thousands of bloggers around the world and then to bring journalists to the bloggers as sources. The changing world of news will be described, from the booming blogs of China to the Guardian’s award winning website.
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 11.30 to 13.00
Producer:
Chair:
10-1A: The Big debate: Is the British media the best or worst in the world at covering science?
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: Professor John Martin, one of the world’s leading heart disease experts, has controversially compared the UK’s science journalists to the greedy bankers who have sparked the economic meltdown. He believes that the hyping and sensationalising of recent developments in science like stem cell research will lead to a similar collapse of faith in science and now himself boycotts the British press in favour of reading Le Monde and the Algemeiner Zeitung. But the Good Professor has met his match in Lord Drayson, the UK’s new science minister who, despite being mauled at the hands of the British press in recent years, has long argued that the UK’s science reporters are amongst the best in the world. Lord Drayson has challenged Professor Martin to a verbal duel for the entertainment and edification of the visiting reporters. Ably refereed by Richard Highfield, Editor of New Scientist, let battle commence..........
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 11.30 to 13.00
Producer:
Chair:
Speakers:
Lunch session 1: Building research capacity and healthcare solutions in Africa to fight TB, river blindness and malaria
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Biomedical Strand funded by Wellcome Trust
Session supported by: TDR, the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases
Summary: Health problems rarely get solved without local ownership and involvement. Poor countries need not only their own doctors and nurses, but their own researchers and research infrastructure. This session will provide 3 examples from innovative partnerships of international organizations and pharmaceutical companies showing how several countries in Africa are building research capacity, and out of that, extended community-based healthcare systems and economic development. Field researchers will explain the development of a new drug and new research facilities to combat river blindness (onchocerciasis) in war-torn Africa; a research study that documents for the first time how remote, rural communities can provide a variety of health services and double access to malaria treatments; and a collaborative north-south research effort to implement a massive Phase III trial - 40,000 participants over four years - to license a new tuberculosis (TB) vaccine that could help end this epidemic that kills nearly two million people each year.
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 13.15 to 14.15
Chair:
Lunch session 2: UK research: Excellence with impact
Look up this session in the timetable >
Session supported by: Research Councils UK (RCUK)
Summary: Professor Alan Thorpe, Chair-elect of Research Councils UK, will give a short presentation at the start of lunch to launch the latest in RCUK's series of 'Impacts' brochures, showcasing the benefits that research brings to society and economy. He will highlight the importance and impact of UK research. This will be followed by an opportunity to network. Lunch and a glass of wine will be provided for all attendees.
Packed with case studies of how research has informed and reformed public policy and services, each lunch guest will receive a free copy of 'Impacts: success in shaping public policy and services'. There is a significant amount of research being conducted by higher education institutions in the UK in a wide variety of areas with relevance to public policy, in both central and local Government, and this brochure provides an insight into how successful research has been in shaping public policy and services.
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 13.15 to 14.15
Speaker:
Lunch session 3: The rise of the Middle East’s “Bayt Al-Hikma” (House of Wisdom): Developing Qatar as the region’s leading center for science, research and education
Look up this session in the timetable >
Session supported by: Qatar Foundation
Summary: The enrichment of human capital that is necessary for Qatar's transformation depends to a large extent upon fostering a research culture. The Qatar Foundation, and its partners including Weill Cornell Medical College, the Qatar Science and Technology Park and the Sidra Medical and Research Center, is leading the pursuit of knowledge, research and discovery. Come and listen to the little told story of how Qatar is positioning itself as a regional leader in science and research.
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 13.15 to 14.15
Producer:
Lunch session 4: SciDev.Net networking event
Look up this session in the timetable >
Session supported by: SciDev.Net
Summary: Come and meet the team behind the leading website on science and technology news view and analysis for the developing world. A great opportunity to meet the editorial team, SciDev.Net journalists and others committed to the importance of communicating science and technology for sustainable development.
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 13.30 to 14.30
10-2A: ABSW's How to publish a popular science book
Look up this session in the timetable >
Session supported by: Association of British Science Writers (ABSW)
Summary: From an idea in an author's head, to a book in a reader's hand, there is much about the science book trade that may surprise. This session aims to unlock the mysteries behind writing a book proposal, such as getting an agent, making proposals to editors at publishing houses, how editors have to sell books to their sales/marketing teams, doing deals and getting book buyers interested. The session offers potential authors the chance to ask burning questions of those directly involved in the business in order to shed light on some of the less-well known aspects to the science book trade, such as editing, publicity, and how a book gets reviewed. This session also hopes to address the question of whether the books that become bestsellers are the best books or those which publishing companies have spent the most money.
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 13.30 to 14.30
Producers:
Press Briefings and Fringe Events 3: Confronting the killers: European health research leads the fight
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Biomedical Strand funded by Wellcome Trust
Session supported by: European Commission - DG Research
Summary: Leading European scientists will unveil the latest results from EU-wide Research projects in the field of HIV-AIDS, Influenza, Tuberculosis, Breast Cancer and Heart Disease, as well as strategies to protect Europe from the next viral outbreak
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 14.30 to 15.30
11: As others see us: Science fiction writers on science journalism
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: Science fiction is a crucial setting for the public perception of and the public understanding and cultural response to science. People who read science journalism may often read (or watch) science fiction too – and people who read science fiction are almost certainly readers of science journalism. So are the people who write it.
On this panel, three eminent science fiction writers will provide a critical consumer’s view of science journalism, discussing the similarities and differences they see between what we do and what they do, and how both forms of writing inform and are informed by the cultural setting of science.
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 14.30 to 16.00
Producer:
Chair:
Speakers:
12: Strife at the top: Lord May of Oxford in conversation with Tim Radford
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Biomedical Strand funded by Wellcome Trust
Session supported by: Darwin200 & Natural History Museum
Summary: Lord May of Oxford, OM, former Chief Scientific Adviser to the British government, former President of the Royal Society, former Chairman of the trustees of the Natural History Museum, and former Adviser to Tom Stoppard, speaks with even more than usual frankness to Tim Radford, former Science Editor of the Guardian, about science, government, the media, biodiversity and controversy.
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 14.30 to 16.00
Producer:
Speakers:
13: Is the growing influence of PR on science journalism in the public interest?
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Biomedical Strand funded by Wellcome Trust
Summary: As the editorial resources devoted to specialist journalism decrease, while at the same time public relations becomes bigger and more powerful, is there a risk of science journalism simply becoming the conduit for marketing from big science and health organisations?
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 14.30 to 16.00
Producer:
Chair:
14: Different strokes for different science folk
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: Science media centres already exist in the U.K., Australia and New Zealand and one is about to be born in Canada. As well, exploratory discussions are under way in South Africa, with potential pan-African collaboration in Nigeria and Uganda.
These centres share a goal of improving media reporting about science, but operate in markedly varied science cultures and journalistic environments. Hear from the people in charge about what differs and what is common in the operating philosophies of these centres. Discuss how science and journalism reflect national circumstances and characteristics.
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 14.30 to 16.00
Producer:
Chair:
15: A drought or a flood? Climate change reporting around the world
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Development strand funded by DFID
Session supported by: Knight Science Journalism Fellowships
Summary: This session explores climate change reporting in settings as varied as urban China and rural Uganda. It examines how journalists are working together and whether this creates barriers as well as benefits. It compares ways of building journalists' capacity to cover climate change and asks if the media is failing the vulnerable by neglecting to report on adaptation.
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 14.30 to 16.00
Producers:
Chair:
Speakers:
15-1A: Swine flu or whine flu? Pigging out on scare stories
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Biomedical Strand funded by Wellcome Trust
Summary: For 2 whole weeks around the world, the only news was swine flu news. In different countries media reacted with different levels of scepticism, reflection and temperance. As the dust settled on these first waves of infection many claimed it as another senseless scare story even though the experts had very real concerns. Scientists still believe that infectious diseases are going to have a huge impact in the future, but how fine is the line between informing and scaring? Has the reporting of the killer pandemic that failed to live up to its billing led to a public backlash against the reporting of infectious diseases? Will it be a case of the Boy who cried Pig?
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 14.30 to 16.00
Producer:
Chair:
Press Briefings and Fringe Events 4: The Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research 2009 winner announcement press briefing
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Biomedical Strand funded by Wellcome Trust
Session supported by: Johnson & Johnson
Summary: Established by Johnson & Johnson, The Dr. Paul Janssen Award salutes the most passionate and creative scientists in basic or clinical research whose scientific achievements have made a measurable impact on human health. It’s named for Dr. Paul Janssen, one of the 20th century's most gifted and passionate researchers, who contributed to the discovery and development of more than 80 life-saving medicines. Previous winners have gone on to win the Nobel Prize, so don’t miss your chance to be among the first to learn the 2009 recipient and hear about the outstanding science behind his work. Visit www.pauljanssenaward.com for more information.
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 16.00 to 16.30
Press Briefings and Fringe Events 5: General Assembly of the World Federation of Science Journalists
Look up this session in the timetable >
Session supported by: World Federation of Science Journalists (WFSJ)
Summary: The 40 associations of the World Federation of Science Journalists meet to elect the 7-member board of the Federation for the following two years. Each association has one vote. All participants are welcome but only associations with full membership can vote. The General Assembly will begin with the report from the president. Amendments to the Constitution will be submitted for vote.
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 16.30 to 18.30
16: The science controversy that broke the mould: The media battle for human/animal embryos
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Biomedical Strand funded by Wellcome Trust
Summary: The relationship between science and the media has been a deeply troubled one with a series of disastrous encounters over the way the media covered a number of science controversies including BSE, the MMR vaccine and GM crops. But now at last the UK has an example of the story that worked - a story that scientists, science press office, science journalists and policy makers all agree was the model of how to behave.
The battle for human/animal hybrid embryo research raged in the headlines of the British press for over a year, intensifying in the run up to a parliamentary vote last summer. Here some of the main players in that battle meet to reflect on what took place and why this experience has forever changed the narrative of science media relations.
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 16.30 to 18.00
Producer:
Chair:
17: Covering a disaster from Sichuan to Sri Lanka
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Development Strand funded by DFID
Session supported by: Knight Science Journalism Fellowships
Summary: On 12 May 2008, a magnitude-7.9 earthquake struck China’s Sichuan Province, killing at least 80,000 people. Hundreds of journalists converged on the region to cover the frantic rescue efforts. A handful of science journalists were on the scene as well. How did they cover the quake and its aftermath? How do their experiences compare with science journalists who covered the South Asian Tsunami of 2004? This session will feature three firsthand accounts of science reporting in disaster zones.
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 16.30 to 18.00
Producer:
Chair:
18: Investigative science reporting: Does it exist?
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Biomedical Strand funded by Wellcome Trust
Summary: The terms science journalist and science writer are often used interchangeably. Science writing is an important skill that serves a vital function - making fascinating and important science more accessible to the public in an accurate and engaging way. But shouldn't science journalists aspire to more than this? Isn't journalism about challenging power and revealing the truth - whether that be politicians and their expense claims or scientists biasing their work to suit their funders? This session will tap the brains of some vastly experienced investigative journalists and touch on huge stories from BAE paying Saudi Arabian princes in exchange for arms sales to Andrew Wakefield and MMR.
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 16.30 to 18.00
Producer:
Chair:
19: The death of science magazines: Real or exaggerated?
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: Science magazines have been hit by a double whammy: the rise of free internet publishing and a severe downturn in advertising both online and in print. So how are they going to survive? To look for ways out of this predicament, this session will bring together editors from a variety of top magazines: Scientific American, Science News, The Economist and Cosmos. It will cover issues such as the role and value of quality journalism, how magazines will make money in future and the role of the web and gadgets, such as Kindle and electronic paper, in publishing.
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 16.30 to 18.00
Producer:
Chair:
20: Food: The good, the bad and the misreported
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Biomedical Strand funded by Wellcome Trust
Session supported by: European Food Information Council (EUFIC)
Summary: How does the science journalist rise above the noise to accurately report on nutrition related topics when it appears that the scientific community cannot agree on the basics? And how much attention should be given to food crises that affect few, when millions of people fall ill every year from foodborne diseases? Have we set the right priorities when reporting about food safety issues? Finally, what if it isn’t “all the fault of the media today” and communicators responsible for disseminating scientific data were to adopt best practice? Would journalists embrace this and reflect greater accuracy in their reporting?
Date: Wednesday 1st July
Time: 16.30 to 18.00
Producer:
Chair:
Breakfast session 2: Meet the editors forum
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: What are editors looking for? What kind of stories do they publish, and which don't they want? What style, approach, length is most likely to succeed in a freelance pitch? Come and hear science editors talk about their media outlets - magazines, newspapers and online – and about their audiences, and the types of articles they need and want from freelancers around the world. Each editor will sum up the basics of what works and what doesn't at their media outlet, and then take questions from the floor.
Date: Thursday 2nd July
Time: 8.30 to 9.30
Producer:
Breakfast session 3: WFSJ Associations' breakfast (by invitation)
Look up this session in the timetable >
Session supported by: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
Summary: A rare opportunity for member associations of the WFSJ to meet and talk about their challenges and successes.
Organized by the Canadian Science Writers Association (CSWA) and the Association des communicateurs scientifiques du Québec (ACS) thanks to support from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
Date: Thursday 2nd July
Time: 8.30 to 9.30
Press Briefings and Fringe Events 5-A: Science Press Conference
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: A press conference with the authors of a key Science paper is planned for 9:00 a.m. BST on Thursday, 2 July, in the media working room at WCSJ's Central Hall Westminster. All information released during the press conference will remain under embargo until 2:00 p.m. U.S. ET (7:00 p.m. BST) Thursday, 2 July 2009. The paper will be published in the journal Science online, at the Science Express website, on 2 July. Please rsvp to Natasha Pinol at npinol@aaas.org
Date: Thursday 2nd July
Time: 9.00 to 9.30
Press Briefings and Fringe Events 6-A: Research4Life Press briefing
Look up this session in the timetable >
Date: Thursday 2nd July
Time: 9.30 to 10.00
Plenary 4: Editors discuss the future of science journalism
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: The last few years have witnessed seismic changes in the world media, through the twin economic and electronic upheavals. But what will our working world look like in a decade from now? As our media platforms continue to multiply -- print, video, web, twitter, YouTube, FaceBook, Kindle and mobile phones -- and our audiences fragment, regroup, disperse and re-gather into new mass mediums, where will science journalists belong? A panel of top editors from the BBC, The Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Scientific American, describe their visions of the global future for our craft.
Where does science fit in the evolving news agenda and how can it be the value-added of the best news brands? What is its role in the news of the future? How will science journalism adapt and change? These top editors discuss the crisis, the challenges and the opportunities for science journalism.
Date: Thursday 2nd July
Time: 10.00 to 11.00
Producer:
Chair:
Press Briefings and Fringe Events 6: Workshop: Pimp my podcast: Using multimedia to enhance your reporting
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: In this hands-on workshop, you will learn how to make a podcast. All are welcome, from the computer illiterate to the multimedia savants. We will use the conference itself as the raw material, creating podcasts and audio slideshows that explore the bizarre world of a conference full of journalists. Those who have their own laptops, audio recorders, and cameras should bring them. To take part, please contact John Bohannon (mailto: gonzo@aaas.org)
Date: Thursday 2nd July
Time: 11.00 to 13.00
Producer:
Speaker:
21: Advocacy science journalism
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: Some modern journalists, particularly those trained in the United States, see as their primary goal a neutral, "objective" story. In Europe and elsewhere, journalists are arguably much more impassioned, filing stories that follow the editorial stance of their publication or a perspective they believe to be true. How does one balance advocacy and journalism? This session will hear from a journalist who joined forces with an advocacy group of scientists to examine misuse science within the U.S. government, another who wrote about Bulgarian nurses jailed in Libya while working behind the scenes with scientists to free them, and a third whose modest online news site has had major impact on what Brazilians hear about their country’s environment and their government's policies toward it.
Date: Thursday 2nd July
Time: 11.30 to 13.00
Producer:
Chair:
22: Blogs, big physics and breaking news
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: How are blogs changing the way science news develops and is reported? The commissioning of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN will offer a telling case study over the next few years. Who will be first with news of the fabled Higgs Boson, and how will we know if they're right?
Date: Thursday 2nd July
Time: 11.30 to 13.00
Producer:
Chair:
Related Links:
23: Genetics in the news information in the daily press: a comparison between daily papers in Belgium, Canada and France
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Biomedical Strand funded by Wellcome Trust
Summary: Researchers from three different academic institutional structures compared articles which deal with genetics information in the national daily press of Belgium, Canada and France published during the years 2006 and 2007. This session will see them present their results, with a Belgian and a French point of view on this research and then about the practice it describes. We will then take a broader view asking for a perspective from Argentina and ending with a discussion with the audience.
Date: Thursday 2nd July
Time: 11.30 to 13.00
Producer:
24: A picture of health? Who shapes public opinion on pharma?
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Biomedical Strand funded by Wellcome Trust
Summary: The public reputation of the pharmaceutical industry has fallen precipitously over the last decade, according to opinion surveys, along with the industry’s market capitalization. Does the industry deserve this loss in public support, or has the media played a role in it, by portraying drug companies in a negative light? This panel will discuss public perceptions of the drug industry, and ask: is press coverage too critical of it — or not critical enough?
Date: Thursday 2nd July
Time: 11.30 to 13.00
Producers:
Chair:
25: Promises, promises: The Ethics of unbridled optimism
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: Science journalists insist on promising their audiences a better world. Reading through a few issues of any science magazine gives one the impression that all the problems in the world are now (or will soon be) solved with the help of science.
But do science journalists really give accurate and trustworthy reports from the fields of science and technology, or do they give ungrounded promises? And, are these promises biased by economical, national, political, or religious motives?
This session will address this issue from four points of view-- historic, geographic, economic, and cultural. The aim is to show how science journalism's often unbridled optimism, even if well-intended, may actually benefit ideological, religious, or chauvinistic interests more it does than the public—and to suggest ways journalists can avoid falling into these "promise-traps."
Date: Thursday 2nd July
Time: 11.30 to 13.00
Producer:
Chair:
Lunch session 6: An AIDS vaccine: Mission impossible?
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Biomedical Strand funded by Wellcome Trust
Session supported by: International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI)
Summary: Since the discovery of HIV as the cause of AIDS some 25 years ago, a vaccine to prevent people from infection with this formidable virus remains elusive. One of the main reasons is HIV itself. The virus is able to outsmart and cripple the defense systems that ought to prevent an infection, and has developed some stellar tactics to do so. The challenge for scientists: how to develop a vaccine that outsmarts the virus and stimulates a better-than-natural immune response. What have scientists learned about HIV? Can it be beaten at all? And what is known about the rare number of people who seem to control or resist infection? What mysteries do they harbour, and could these clues lead to a vaccine? Two scientific experts will answer your questions on where we stand in solving one of the greatest scientific challenges of our time: the development of an AIDS vaccine.
Date: Thursday 2nd July
Time: 13.15 to 14.15
Producer:
Speakers:
Lunch session 7: Global uncertainties: Security for all in a changing world
Look up this session in the timetable >
Session supported by: Research Councils UK, Global Uncertainties Research Programme
Summary: This session is an introduction to the Research Council’s Global Uncertainties Programme. Security operates at multiple levels, from the individual to the global and covers a wide range of issues. The Programme will integrate and support multidisciplinary research across the science and engineering base on conflict, crime, terrorism, environmental stress, and global poverty. The programme aims to draw together research that helps us to understand the drivers of uncertainty in a security context and assists in the detection, prevention and mitigation of security threats. For example the programme will draw on and commission research on issues such as the impact of extreme weather events on insecurity and instability, responding to new and emerging diseases, understanding terrorist activity and predicting and adapting to scarcity in natural resources
This session will introduce the programme and there will be a presentation from Dr Jonathan Githens-Mazer on his research into radicalisation.
Date: Thursday 2nd July
Time: 13.15 to 14.15
Speakers:
Lunch session 8: The $1,000 genome is coming: Are we ready?
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Biomedical Strand funded by Wellcome Trust
Session supported by: Oxford Nanopore Technologies
Summary: The $1,000 genome is coming. Are we ready? What scientific, ethical and legal issues will we be reporting and how will science journalists work with non-scientific colleagues on these subjects?
The speed and cost of DNA sequencing technologies are improving at an exponential rate. Within years we may see the complete cost of sequencing a human genome fall below the magical $1,000 mark. This has extraordinary implications for research, putting within reach large-scale studies of complete genomes rather than more targeted studies or analysis of single point mutations.
The resulting deluge of genome data will be challenging to navigate. However, it is likely to underpin a clearer understanding of disease risk, discovery of new biological pathways and potential drug targets, new pharmacogenetic possibilities and much more. Journalists may be asking: Is the technology moving faster than we can cope with? Will we be able to extract the most scientifically credible and clinically useful information from the large volume of research? Will our infrastructure and regulations allow us to be nimble enough to transfer the good science into clinical practice? What are the ethical challenges associated with this new genomics era? Should patients be allowed unrestricted access to their own genetic information? What about employers? Insurers?
Over the next few years, science journalists will be covering a broad range of topics that are likely to be stimulated by this technological advance. Colleagues who cover social issues are also likely to touch on these subjects. This panel session aims to give attendees an overview of the potential benefits and risks of the new genomic era, and to examine the challenges that journalists face when writing about these issues.
Date: Thursday 2nd July
Time: 13.15 to 14.15
Producer:
Chair:
Lunch session 9: Friendship or Friction: How the media relates to the research community
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Development Strand funded by DFID
Session supported by: Department for International Development (DFID)
Summary: The relationship between the media and the academic science community is seldom easy.
The media, academics argue, do not engage with ‘proper’ science and when they do, they over-simplify and distort the research. Academics, retort the media, cannot communicate clearly, do not understand how the media works, and are unwilling to engage with journalists in real time.
The truth lies somewhere in-between.
Academic research is often difficult to access; researchers have no incentives or reward for communicating with the media; and journalists do not have the resources to find it and translate it for their specific audiences.
The session will explore how this relationship can be improved. It will debate the practical challenges for each community, and showcase techniques used by DFID funded research to communicate science, creating a win-win situation for both parties.
Date: Thursday 2nd July
Time: 13.15 to 14.15
Chair:
Press Briefings and Fringe Events 7: Meet the European CDC – a source of data, comment and analysis for science journalists
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Biomedical Strand funded by Wellcome Trust
Session supported by: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)
Summary: Since becoming operational in 2005 the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has worked on diseases ranging from “bird flu” to XDR-Tuberculosis and from Chikungunya Fever to Clostridium difficile. The Centre is currently deeply involved in supporting the EU’s response to the new H1N1 influenza virus. Ben Duncan is ECDC’s Corporate Communications Officer and a member of WHO’s IHR Risk Communication Working Group. Ben will present ECDC’s work, explain the services it offers journalists and answer questions.
Date: Thursday 2nd July
Time: 13.30 to 14.30
Speaker:
25-1A: How to start up a science media centre.. and keep it running in top gear
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: Science media centres are proving to be very effective mechanisms for injecting evidence-based science into public debate. Independent, fast-responding and news savvy, they provide a “public good” service that ensures the public has access to the best information available on the most important issues of the day. Centres are operating in the U.K., Australia and N.Z., a fourth is about to open in Canada, and others are being discussed in Africa. If you want to start a Science Media Centre in your country or want to know how to take advantage of an existing centre, this session is for you.
Date: Thursday 2nd July
Time: 13.30 to 14.30
Producer:
Press Briefings and Fringe Events 8: Nanotechnology: Addressing the risks, fulfilling the promise
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Biomedical Strand funded by Wellcome Trust
Session supported by: European Commission - DG Research
Summary: Key European scientists and industry representatives will brief participants on exciting new nanotechnology applications from European research in the field of healthcare, environmental technologies and sustainable industrial production. They will also illustrate European strategies on risk assessment and safety issues of nanotechnology
Date: Thursday 2nd July
Time: 14.30 to 15.30
26: Embargoes in science reporting: Friend or foe?
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Biomedical Strand funded by Wellcome Trust
Summary: Few issues provoke such impassioned debate as the issue of Embargoes in science reporting. Some science journalists are increasingly angry about what they see as ever more draconian sanctions on journalists for minor infringements of embargoes. Some others are angry that that science journals are wrongly labelling genuine scoops as embargo breaks and thus imposing unjustified sanctions. Science Press officers are angry that journalists complain about embargoes when the embargo is their property and one of the very few aspects of control they have over the story coming from their institution/journal. And now a leading US academic has written a book arguing that the entire system is having a corrupting influence on investigative and critical journalism and science journalists should collectively withdraw from the embargo agreements with journal publishers.
In the spirit of the WCSJ, Fiona Fox has brought together all sides of this lively and passionate debate to have no holds barred discussion of all the issues involved..wear a hard hat!
Date: Thursday 2nd July
Time: 14.30 to 16.00
Producer:
27: Reporting cancer breakthroughs: Striking the right note
Look up this session in the timetable >
This session is part of the Biomedical Strand funded by Wellcome Trust
Session supported by: European School of Oncology
Summary: The media plays a pivotal role in raising awareness about cancer and promoting informed debate about improving treatment and care. However, the quality of coverage is often poor - particularly the reporting of cancer breakthroughs. Cancer is a challenging topic to cover well. Journalists often face problems in accessing accurate information, finding credible sources and resisting the pressure to sensationalise stories. This session will explore how journalists can report cancer breakthroughs in a more balanced manner.
Date: Thursday 2nd July
Time: 14.30 to 16.00
Producer:
Chair:
28: Breakonomics, did careless reporting precipitate the global crisis?
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: So we now know that top dogs in the banking sector should have paid more attention in maths class and maybe taken a compulsory lesson in ethical business practices. But what about claims that many reporters' understanding of the crisis is less than perfect and this compounds the situation? Are hyperinflated reports of the latest downturn doing more harm than good, or could (preemptive?) optimism in the media really save the economy? And would specialist science correspondents, with their 'superior grasp' of probabilities, risk and mathematical modelling, have covered the crisis differently?
Date: Thursday 2nd July
Time: 14.30 to 16.00
Producer:
Chairs:
Speakers:
29: Heartbreak and hype: The only way to sell an engineering story
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: Can you use the end of the world to sell a story? The switch-on of CERN’s Large Hadron Collider took the world’s media by storm in September 2008 after rumours started to circulate that it could generate tiny black holes. Physicists and engineers were confident that, even if this happened, these would disappear instantaneously and could not grow to swallow up the Earth, but the myth persisted and even resulted in a court case against CERN. How far can journalists and press officers collude to raise interest in otherwise standard stories? Or, when exhaustive safety assessments had already shown the risk of disaster to be negligible, was it legitimate gratefully to ride the wave of publicity? The session will also ask: who needs media stunts when you can ride a comet and crash into the Sun?; and does it take a disaster to get engineers into the media?
Date: Thursday 2nd July
Time: 14.30 to 16.00
Producer:
Chair:
30: Climate change coverage: The messy marriage of science, policy, and politics
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: In 2009, global climate change heats up on the international stage. The United Nations will attempt to hammer out a new international treaty to curb greenhouse gas emissions, culminating in the Copenhagen meeting in December. The world will be watching for a strong signal from the new American President and Congress that the United States is ready to move forward after eight years of inaction by the Bush Administration. At the same time, the issue of climate change has enormous competition from other global issues, from an economic meltdown to food shortages. How well are the media in the U.S., Europe and other parts of the world doing in covering the science and policy choices? Or are journalists just falling into old patterns by emphasizing the drama and covering climate change like a political horse race?
Date: Thursday 2nd July
Time: 14.30 to 16.00
Producer:
Chair:
Plenary 5: Science based policy making: Advising Government
Look up this session in the timetable >
Summary: The United States has until recently ignored scientific advice when it was inconvenient to the Administration's political priorities, particularly on environmental issues. Conversely the European Union is proposing tightening environmental regulations that will do more harm than good because policy making has been based more on political correctness rather than scientific analysis. The UK has had a Chief Scientific Adviser since 1964, in Ireland the post has existed since 2004. In other regions no specific post exists but advice on scientific issues is taken from those who head national scientific institutions, such as the Science & Technology Park in Qatar. Does the establishment of a specific post ensure science has a stronger influence in policy making or do the policy makers look to scientists to ‘back up’ their chosen policy decisions? Pallab Ghosh, President of the World Federation of Science Journalists and BBC Science Correspondent will lead a lively discussion to close London’s World Conference of Science Journalists.
Date: Thursday 2nd July
Time: 16.30 to 17.30
Producers:
Chair:
WCSJ2009 Blog RSS feed
Join us on Facebook!