Science writers go Hollywood this year at the NASW workshops held in Anaheim, Calif., in advance of the American Association of Advancement of Science annual meeting. All NASW members are welcome to attend any workshop. Contact Carol Cruzan Morton . People with cars, see Center web site for directions. Movies and television wield the power to shape public perceptions of science and scientists.
Mad scientists create life in the laboratory or seek to rule the world.
Heroic scientists use their knowledge to defeat space aliens or conquer mysterious lethal viruses. Spend an afternoon interacting with some top Hollywood screenwriters and Cinema-TV faculty from the University of Southern California who will reveal how they turn science related subjects into successful scripts, and show film clips, in an open and dialogue with you, the audience. Because of the sensitivity of the issue, reporters were initially barred from the meeting. Ultimately a compromise was reached and a handful of science journalists attended after having agreed to embargo news stories until the conclusion of the meeting. Twenty-three years later, the embargo continues to impact the practice of science reporting.