This year's track will help you learn who you should get to know in the new Administration, how to spend your time most effectively on Capitol Hill, and why working with your colleagues is often the only way to make your voice heard in the cacophony of public affairs. The track will take you into the heart of the city to learn firsthand from the media pros how and why you can make your public affairs efforts worthwhile and a success. We plan on visiting science and technology network correspondents on their own turf, speaking with New York City science media heavyweights, and hearing directly from Madison Avenue how to make our pitch for science, engineering, and technology sink in with the American public. Knowing who influences science and technology policy in the new Administration is a powerful advantage in public affairs. This session explores where the key posts are and how to get to know the key players even before they assume office.
Numbers count, and numbers add up.
Case studies will be presented. TV reporters complain that scientists often lack a command of nontechnical English, cannot explain what they have discovered in a way that viewers can understand, and either refuse to be interviewed or assume that their latest discovery rates 10 minutes of air time. Nevertheless, some good science coverage does get onto TV, thanks to both scientists and reporters who make the effort to communicate. Savvy scientists recognize that the public ultimately funds most of their research, and it is therefore in their own interest to make this effort. The legislative process is a dual track consisting of Authorizing bills and Appropriations bills.