Association of British Science Writers (ABSW)

ABSW Honorary President hailed for his 'wonderfully enthusiastic' solar eclipse commentary

BBC's science correspondent and the ABSW's Honorary President, Pallab Ghosh, has been hailed for his 'wonderfully enthusiastic' solar eclipse commentary. The Evening Standard picked up the story after viewers took to twitter to praise Pallab's 'childlike excitement'.

You can view Pallab's coverage of the eclipse for BBC News at Six and read the full story here:

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/bbcs-science-correspondent-hailed-for-his-very-enthusiastic-solar-eclipse-commentary-a3616941.html

World Federation of Science Journalists: Election news

Dear Member Associations,

The WFSJ is pleased to announce the results of the 2017 Executive Board Election.

Out of a total of 55 Member Associations, 42 (76 %) casted their vote of which 38 (69 %) were eligible. Four (4) votes were considered ineligible either because they were cast after the deadline or because the associations hadn’t paid the WFSJ’s membership fee in the past years.

The four candidates with the highest number of votes are:

Full profiles of all candidates can be viewed here.

The four new Board Members will effectively occupy their international positions on the WFSJ’s Executive Board as of Sunday, October 29th, at the end of the 10th World Conference of Science Journalists (WCSJ2017) in San Francisco. Congratulations!

The WFSJ wishes to thank all nine candidates for sending in their application, as well as the Member Associations that voted and made this election possible and transparent.

The Board Election Nomination Committee
Dominique Forget & Mohammed Yahia

New Canadian Board Member Joins WFSJ’s Board in October 2017

The WFSJ is happy to announce the nomination of Mr. Tim Lougheed as new Executive Board Member. Mr. Lougheed is nominated by the two Canadian associations to replace Ms. Dominique Forget, who has served on the WFSJ’s Executive Board for two terms.

A full-time freelance writer and editor since 1991, Tim Lougheed has written hundreds of articles for specialized and general publications in Canada as well as internationally. He also edits Canadian Chemical News, a magazine published by the Chemical Institute of Canada.

He is the current president of the Science Writers and Communicators of Canada, a national organization with more than 600 members across the country. His career began as a reporter with the Windsor Star and the Sault Star, then as a science writer for Queen’s University. He has degrees from the University of Western Ontario, University of Toronto, and Queen’s University.

Read a more detailed resume of our new Canadian Board Member here.

The WFSJ is looking forward to working with Mr. Tim Lougheed as well as with the other Board Members to create a continues, dynamic and positive impact on science journalism around the world.

Out of the lab and into the newsroom

The ABSW is an event partner for this event of Johson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS

The event is free for ABSW members but you need to register via Eventbrite

Details:

You've got your cutting-edge technology, you've raised money, and your company is making some great headway on the R&D front. You're ready to bring your company out of stealth mode and into the limelight, but you don't know how. In this three-part workshop event, we'll explore how to take your story out of the laboratory and into the headlines:

First, a panel of industry reporters will provide insight into how they like to be pitched, what makes something "newsworthy" and what they are looking for to include in coverage.

Second, in a working session, seasoned communications professionals will help you craft your story using a framework that works well for telling life science stories that resonate with multiple audiences.

Finally you'll have a chance to pitch the reporters in attendance who will each select one company that will be the subject of a one-on-one background interview at a later date.

Key topics will include:

What makes a story "newsworthy"?
What's the best way to pitch a reporter?
How do you translate complex science into a story others can understand?
Tips for your interview

The workshop will be led by Ogilvy HealthPR London.

Speakers
Lisa Melton | Senior News Editor, Nature Biotechnology
Tim Revell | Reporter, New Scientist and ABSW Board member
Simon Stebbing | Managing Partner, Ogilvy Healthworld

Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS

Date/Time: Tuesday, 3 October 2017 from 11:30 to 14:30 (BST)

Location:
Sea Containers House
20 Upper Ground
London, United Kingdom SE1 9PD

This event is free to ABSW members but you need to register via Eventbrite:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/out-of-the-lab-and-into-the-newsroom-registration-35443221630

ABSW Events and Services for Tech and Engineering Writers

Although science writing is in our name, the ABSW also represents tech and engineering journalists and writers. We’d like to address this portion of our membership more actively by tweaking some of our existing activities and/or creating new ones. This meeting is intended to identify what the differences are in the interests of the existing tech/engineering membership (and the many potential members out there), use them to form some specific proposals, and prioritise these for the main ABSW Board.

This event is open to all not just ABSW members.

6-8pm, Tuesday 5 September, UCL Main Campus

If you’re interested in attending, please e-mail Dr Sunny Bains This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. who will be chairing this meeting.

Exclusives and how to get them

An ABSW Event: Exclusives and how to get them

Who doesn't want to land the big scoops? Those stories that really matter, the stories that people in power don't want told and your competitors will give their back teeth to get ahead of you. But how do you find and report out a big exclusive? Come along to ABSW's next evening event and learn from some of the best how they found and developed big stories that made an impact.

We have two seasoned reporters, one winner and one finalist for the best investigative journalism award at the ABSW Science Writers Awards for Britain and Ireland 2017, ready to talk to you about how they found their exclusives and what made them so valuable to report. This panel discussion will be followed with an open Q&A session and a trip to the pub after.

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