2004 Communications Committee Report
In 2004, the Communications Committee, chaired by
Andrea Gwosdow, furthered its goal of developing programs and tools to
garner more publicity for the Society and physiological research. The
six-person committee monitored Communications Office activities, developed a
new program to increase the Society’s visibility, and is in the process of
organizing the third consecutive Communications symposium. The Committee
looks forward to a successful 2005 working with the new APS Communications
Officer Mayer Resnick to promote APS research news and with Communications
Specialist Stacy Brooks who focuses on internal communications initiatives.
Year At-A-Glance
APS continues to aggressively distribute press releases
and materials on the research reported in its journals and APS awards and
programs. The Communications Office performed a newspaper clip analysis of
the thousands of clips collected since 2001. The analysis showed that the
Society’s media outreach efforts have contributed significantly to the
amount of media coverage attained.
The Timeline of Physiology has been printed and is
becoming a popular marketing tool for increasing the Society’s visibility.
Recognizing that the website is an increasingly
important public face of the Society, the Committee is studying how to best
group materials pertinent to general audiences in an easy-to-use format.
The Committee successfully hosted its second EB
symposium and is currently planning the symposium approved for IUPS 2005.
The Committee has begun to develop information modules on specific diseases,
conditions and physiological issues that can be used as backgrounders for
members, general audiences, or the media. They also selected this year’s
APS-sponsored Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellow and performed an
evaluation of the fellowship before recommending that Council continue to
support the program.
Media Outreach
The Communications Office distributed monthly press
releases highlighting new research in the APS journals. To date, research
from all APS journals has been promoted. The Communications Office also
performed media outreach for the 2003 APS Conference in Augusta, GA
(“Understanding Renal and Cardiovascular Function Through Physiological
Genomics”) and for Experimental Biology 2004.
Additionally, the Communications Office continues
national and local distribution of press releases and announcements for APS
awardees and other programs. Press releases were written for the 2004 Young
Investigators Awardees, the Frontiers in Physiology program, 2004
Distinguished Lectureship Awardees, the NIDDK Travel Fellows, the APS-sponsored
AAAS Mass Media Fellowship, and the new 2004 APS President, President-elect
and Councilors.
The Communications Office also helped organize a press
conference and developed materials for the release of the DC Principles, a
free-access effort spear-headed by APS.
Physiological press releases have been well-received in
recent years, partly in response to increased interest in health and science
news. Clip data shows that the Communications Office efforts have steadily
and positively influenced the amount of media impressions the Society and
its journals have received over the past three years. Stories written about
APS research have run in hundreds of media outlets, including recent
mentions in Time Magazine, Newsweek, Science Daily, San Diego Union Tribune,
New York Post, and WebMD to name a few.
Timeline of Physiology
The Communications Committee guided the development of
the APS Timeline of Physiology, which was printed in time for EB 2004. It
was one of the most popular items at the APS booth and was received
enthusiastically by APS members. The Timeline is now available in HTML
format on the APS website and the poster is available for purchase in the
APS Store. The Public Affairs Office has requested additional copies to
distribute to State Societies for Biomedical Research, which represents
another way for APS to raise awareness of physiology and the accomplishments
of the discipline to the wider scientific community.
APS Website
The APS website is the major tool we use to communicate
with current members and to attract new members. To successfully
communicate physiology to the public, the website needs to be readable by
different audiences and easy to navigate. APS web site users include many
non-scientists (or non-experts in a given field of physiology) looking to
obtain valuable information about journal research and Society educational
activities.
To cater to these users, the Communications Committee
proposed the development of a Public Information website that would house
information of public interest. After development, the site could easily be
linked to or incorporated into the APS Web site.
Communications Symposium
The Communications Committee hosted its second
symposium entitled “Making Science News” at EB 2004. The two-part program
was intended to familiarize scientists with the media, demonstrate the steps
involved in making physiology newsworthy, and provide practical tips for
getting scientific research reported by the media. The first part of the
program featured a media panel comprised of Bethany Halford, (Chemical &
Engineering News), Henry Fishman, (AP Broadcast and WMAL), and Kathy Fowler
(ABC affiliate WJLA-TV) discussing the fundamentals of each medium and
practical advice on presenting scientific information to journalists. In
the second section, Medical Publicist Donna Krupa led a workshop on how
scientists can organize the components of one’s research into a
media-friendly format.
The Communications Committee was pleased with its
second symposium. The symposium attracted a wide range of attendees,
including graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, junior and senior
faculty, editors, industry and government scientists. Twenty-one evaluation
forms were collected. The respondents rated the Communications symposium
highly, with 96 percent (20/21) saying they obtained a greater understanding
of the news process from the session. The evaluations indicate the
significance of holding this type of symposium at EB.
The Committee is currently planning its next symposium,
tentatively titled “Developing and Implementing a Communications Strategy:
the Basics for the Basic Scientist.” The IUPS 2005 program would provide an
overview of the key elements required to translate a basic science message
to the public. This session would be beneficial to basic scientists in
institutional settings, particularly those with little or no experience
interacting with institutional public relations staff or journalists from
the media.
Physiology Information Modules
To communicate physiology to the public, the
Communications Committee has begun an outreach program developing
topic-based resource modules on a variety of physiological issues. These
units include new research papers “hot-linked” from APS journals,
statistical data and a list of APS members who can serve as expert
spokespeople. The information can be modified to a number of uses including
story ideas for the media and general audience resource documents. Members
can also use them as “get-smart” tip sheets in areas with which they may not
be familiar. So far, the Committee has developed modules for obesity,
comparative physiology and the life and science of Ivan Pavlov. The goal of
this program is to inform, teach and gather public support for physiology
research and to publicize physiological research to the public.
Mass Media Fellowship
The Communications Committee oversees this program that
encourages an exchange between science and journalism. This year, the
committee evaluated 19 fellowship applications and recommended funding for
Nicole Garbarini who spent 10 weeks at Scientific American in New York.
Garbarini is an APS student member and a PhD candidate in neuroscience at
Vanderbilt University. She has returned to her graduate studies and plans
to continue expanding public understanding of science through freelance
scientific journalism.
2004 marks the sixth year of APS support of a Mass
Media Fellow. Now in its 30th year, this highly-competitive program has
supported more than 450 fellows. The Communications Office contacted the
seven former fellows to gather their thoughts about the program. Four out
of seven responded. Whether remaining in science or pursuing a career in
science journalism or communications, all sung the praises of the program.
Kawanza Griffin (1999) finished her PhD studies and now
works as a full-time medical reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
She wrote, “I believe that the AAAS Mass Media Fellowship is a great tool
for scientists who are looking either for an alternative career or to
strengthen their communications skills.” Alison Burggren (2003) will likely
go back to bench research, but says, “I truly feel that my internship
enriched my career path with a greater understanding of how scientists are
interpreted by the general public.”
Emily Singer (2002) said, “My summer at the L.A. Times
was the best possible training I could get. What I learned there about the
profession in three months rivals what I learned at the University of
California, Santa Cruz in nine months (in a graduate level science writing
program).” She is currently pursuing a career in science journalism that
has included a stint at New Scientist magazine in London. Rachel Davis
(2001) said of her mass media internship, “The fellowship has given me more
confidence in my writing and has taught me good reporting skills. My life
has certainly been enriched by this experience.” Davis returned to the
research realm and is now working as a lab manager at Rockefeller
University. The Committee recommended continued funding of the program.
Andrea Gwosdow, Chair
Council Actions
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Council accepted the report of the Communications Committee.
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Council approved the request for a Communications Committee
sponsored symposium at the 2005 IUPS Congress.
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Council approved the necessary funding to print 2000
additional copies of the “Timelines of Physiology.”
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