nisbetmc | December 22, 2008From an email sent out this morning by NSF. If readers can make it, this panel is definitely worth attending.
NSF to Host Panel Discussion on Communicating Climate Change
Journalists Andy Revkin (New York Times), John Carey (Business Week), Tom Rosenstiel (Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism) to join climate scientists Michael Mann, Maureen Raymo on Jan. 8, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Leading journalists and climate scientists will headline a January 8, 2009, program at the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Arlington, Va., to discuss a newly released book on climate change…
nisbetmc | December 21, 2008Now that Obama has his science and environmental policy team in place, there's great optimism for important new directions in policy. Yet it will take smart and effective communication to meaningfully engage Americans on these policies, especially in the context of an overwhelming public focus on the economy.
Consider that in a WPost/ABC News poll released today, when asked in an open-ended question to name the most important problem the President and Congress should focus on, 55% named the economy, 1% named gas prices/energy, and less than 1% named greenhouse gases/global warming.
When asked…
nisbetmc | December 21, 2008
The latest issue of the American Journal of Bioethics features an important study on the effects of viewing medical dramas on the ethical reasoning of medical and nursing students. From the abstract for the study by researchers at Johns Hopkins:
Television medical dramas frequently depict the practice of medicine and bioethical issues in a strikingly realistic but sometimes inaccurate fashion. Because these shows depict medicine so vividly and are so relevant to the career interests of medical and nursing students, they may affect these students' beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions…
nisbetmc | December 18, 2008
President-elect Obama's remarks at a press conference today should sound familiar to readers of this blog:
"A couple of years ago I was invited to Rick Warren's church to speak despite his awareness that I held views that were entirely contrary to his when it came to gay and lesbian rights, when it came to issues like abortion," he said. "Nevertheless I had an opportunity to speak, and that dialogue I think is part of what my campaign's been all about, that we're not going to agree on every single issue, but what we have to do is to be able to create an atmosphere where we can disagree…
nisbetmc | December 18, 2008
In two new TV advertisements, the We campaign is back on message (after one major stumble), framing appeals around the tagline of "Repower America," connecting a focus on clean energy to economic recovery, and using a rancher (above) and a construction worker (below) as spokespeople.
There's a lot to like about these new TV spots, starting with the tagline of "Repower America," a theme that resonates with wider news attention to fixing the country's economy and restoring the nation's sense of pride. Then there's the choice of actors as spokespeople.
The spot above featuring a truck driving…
nisbetmc | December 17, 2008Obama gets communication and that's why he was able to make a historic run to the White House. And it's much more than an understanding of how to use technology to deliver a message or to augment traditional grassroots organizing efforts.
More importantly, Obama understands the importance of focusing on commonly shared goals and values, in the process reaching out to unconventional allies to frame issues in a way that connect to the worldviews of hard to reach audiences. The latest example is the choice of Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at Obama's inauguration. (Let's also hope, as I…
nisbetmc | December 17, 2008Over at the Columbia Journalism Review, Curtis Brainard offers a must-read interview with the NY Times Andrew Revkin, the environment beat's most influential reporter. Revkin has been covering the environment for a quarter century and was recently awarded by Columbia University the prestigious Chancellor Award for sustained career achievement.
At the award ceremony, Revkin asserted again his view that climate change is not the dominant story of our time. Rather, as he puts it, climate change is a symptom of the much bigger challenge of sustainability: coming to terms with explosive…
nisbetmc | December 16, 2008
Many readers were shocked and disappointed last week with the forced resignation of Rev. Richard Cizik from his position heading up the Washington office of the National Association of Evangelicals. As I wrote just a day before his resignation, Cizik's work on climate change and his unique standing among Evangelicals may make him America's most important climate communicator.
With news of his resignation, the NY Times Nicholas Kristof lamented the loss of a major political "bridge maker" and noted Cizik's instrumental role in raising public concern over AIDS, Darfur, poverty and religious…
nisbetmc | December 15, 2008There's probably no one better qualified than Carol Browner to coordinate the administration's efforts on energy and the environment. The looming question is whether or not Obama's new uber-czar positions can really accomplish anything. The Wall Street Journal has the details, quoting several experts who point to history as casting doubt on the effectiveness of czars:
"There've been so many czars over last 50 years, and they've all been failures," said Paul Light, an expert on government at New York University. "Nobody takes them seriously anymore." He pointed to officials placed in charge of…
nisbetmc | December 12, 2008On January 8, NSF will be hosting a very important panel discussion on climate change and journalism. Details are below.
NSF to Host Panel Discussion on Communicating Climate Change
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
January 8, 2009
Leading journalists and climate scientists will headline a January 8, 2009, program at the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Arlington, Va., to discuss a newly released book on climate change science and journalism.
Andrew C. Revkin of The New York Times and John Carey, senior correspondent for Business Week, will participate on the panel along with climate scientists Michael…
nisbetmc | December 12, 2008In a Policy Forum article this week at Science, Hampshire College professor Salman Hameed discusses the reasons for widespread rejection of evolution across Islamic countries.
Surveys show, for example, that public acceptance of evolution stands at lower than 20% in many Muslim nations. The reason, Hameed details, is that few citizens have had exposure to evolution in school and so to form an opinion about evolution, instead rely on what they might pick up via interpersonal sources or in the media.
The result is that many Muslims misperceive evolution as equaling atheism and as a direct…
nisbetmc | December 11, 2008
Next year, as the science community celebrates the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's On the Origin of Species, leading organizations such as the AAAS, NIH, and the National Academies will be participating in coordinated efforts to reach out to new audiences, emphasizing the value and importance of teaching evolution in schools.
They will be using innovative techniques such as the AAAS YouTube video produced above. And as the National Academies did last year or as AAAS does in the video, they will be focusing importantly on the frame of religious compatibility, reassuring and…
nisbetmc | December 11, 2008Think Progress, the blog for the Center for American Progress, has a detailed run down on the Obama administration's announced appointment of Steve Chu as Energy secretary, Carol Browner as the head of the new National Energy Council, and Lisa Jackson as head of the EPA. At Dot Earth, Andrew Revkin has more background on Chu.
The plan is for this new policy team to be working with Congress and the states to pass bold new initiatives on energy and climate change, but it is not necessarily a given that strong public support for these policies will follow along.
These policies--along with…
nisbetmc | December 11, 2008The University of Wisconsin news office has posted a valuable Q&A with my friend and UW professor Dietram Scheufele. The occasion is a new study he has published with colleagues at Nature Nanotechnology, examining the relationship between the social background of audiences and their views on the moral acceptability of nanotechnology, comparing perceptions in the US to Europe.
The interview hits closely on some of the major themes Scheufele and I cover in a manuscript that provides a big picture view on new directions in science communication. Here's a key excerpt from the interview:
WW…
nisbetmc | December 9, 2008Over at George Mason's Center for Climate Change Communication, they are hosting a poll asking readers to vote for the 2008 Climate Change Communicator of the Year. Among the choices are such notables as Thomas Friedman, Bill McKibbon, John Warner, and Chevron's "Will You Join Us" Campaign.
But my vote would be for a name not on that list: the Reverend Richard Cizik, VP for Governmental Affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals. Cizik is a perfect spokesperson for a hard to mobilize segment of Republican-leaning America. Not only does he have credibility among Evangelicals, but…
nisbetmc | December 8, 2008About a 100 attendees turned out for Thursday night's talk at the New York Academy of Sciences. The event marked the end of a year long series on science communication that was launched by Kate Seip, Liz Oswald, and other New York-area graduate students in partnership with the Academies.
As I mentioned at the outset of my talk, the series offers a unique model to be reproduced in major cities with well developed institutional science hubs such as San Francisco and Chicago. Already, a similar prototype exists in Seattle through the work of students at FOSEP and the University of Washington…
nisbetmc | December 8, 2008This summer I will be heading to Denmark to speak at a June 11 conference of the Danish Science Journalists' Association. A major focus of this year's conference will be the framing of science debates and the connection to policy making and research funding.
Held in Copenhagen, about 250 attendees are expected. The conference is open to the public, but main participants will include science journalists, communication professionals, scientists, and other academics. For Scienceblogs readers in Denmark, Sweden, and Germany, I will be posting more details when they are available. Check back here…
nisbetmc | December 8, 2008On last week's announcement that CNN is shifting the focus and form of its science coverage, I am going to be posting what is a very different interpretation than the predictable laments from various bloggers. But, for now, the CNN announcement also directs attention towards what I believe is the future of science and environmental journalism. As I wrote last February and have discussed at various venues:
The future will be online, in film, and/or multi-media, merging reporting with synthesis, analysis, personal narrative, and opinion. The goals will be to inform but also to persuade and to…
nisbetmc | December 4, 2008The National Academies is doing some preliminary pilot research on a new communication initiative. As part of that process, they want to find out what science blogs readers think are the most important and pressing issues in science. Below is a description and a link to an online survey that they would like readers to take a few minutes to complete.
What topics in science, engineering, and medicine matter most to you? The National Academies are interested in developing useful and engaging print and web-based educational materials on the topics that you'd like to learn more about. They…
nisbetmc | December 3, 2008The NY Academy of Sciences offers a stunning venue for public talks, forums, and receptions, with a view from the 40th floor of 7 World Trade Center.
Thursday morning I will be heading up to New York to give a 7pm talk at the New York Academy of Sciences. A crowd of more than 100 is expected for what I am hoping to be an interesting discussion and entertaining reception to follow. (Register for free here.)
Here's a brief preview of what I will be talking about followed by more specific details:
Over the past few years there have been signs of a major shift in how the scientific community in…