<!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN">
<html><head><style type="text/css"><!--
blockquote, dl, ul, ol, li { padding-top: 0 ; padding-bottom: 0 }
--></style><title>MIT Editors' Club Minutes,
9/16/2004</title></head><body>
<div>MIT EDITORS' CLUB<br>
</div>
<div>*Meeting Notes from September 16, 2004*</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Some 13 Editors packed the News Office conference room for our
first meeting of the semester, and a boisterous time we had. How
could it have been otherwise, when we were briefed on stories like the
highschool student who hacked into the new Admissions Office web site
last week before it went "live"...and proceeded to apply,
complete with a credit-card number for the admissions fee. (More on
that one later.)</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>First, however, a warm welcome to three new members who attended
this meeting: Sarah Foote,<font face="Times" color="#000000">
assistant director of Sloan Student Publications;</font> Ben Jones,
communications manager at the Admissions Office; and Emily Ranken of
the Environment, Health, and Safety Office who leads <font
face="Times" color="#000000"> communications activities</font> for
that office.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>*What is News?*</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>I began the meeting with a short update on the News Office. We
are QUITE happy to announce that Sasha Brown, our new writer, started
today. We are also currently accepting resumes for a news manager. And
that brought up the question, "what IS news?"</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>One definition: quirky, fun "stuff" like the experiment
at the Plasma Science and Fusion Center that physically resembles a
UFO, or the caravan of enviro-friendly cars that traveled to Kresge
last Friday. Also: stories that are timely, such as especially
important (or quirky) research results soon to be published in a
journal or presented at a conference. Stories that support MIT's key
messages are also newsworthy. For a list of the key messages (and
links to other resources for MIT communicators) go to<font
face="Lucida Grande" size="-4" color="#000000">
http://web.mit.edu/commworkshops/</font>.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Please always feel free to call or e-mail the News Office (me or
any of my colleagues) with potential story ideas. And don't forget to
alert us to cool photo opportunities!</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>*Bookmark This!*</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Check out (and bookmark for reporters, conference attendees,
etc.) the new web site about visiting MIT. It features info on
what to do, where to stay, etc., and is at<font face="Lucida Grande"
size="-4" color="#000000"> http://web.mit.edu/visit/</font>.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>*New Admissions Web Site*</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Ben filled us in on some of the drama involving the rollout of
the new Admissions web site. Among other things, he told us about
"Jimmy," the young gent who hacked into the site before it
was officially up. Among other things, the new site allows prospective
students to apply online. Jimmy was the first to do so....but because
the link wasn't "live," he didn't get a confirmation (and
his info wasn't saved). In the end, though, he succeeded.....and the
office waived his admissions fee, "since he had to type things in
twice," Ben explained. Jimmy was also told that he was now a
legend in the Admissions Office. (For more on the new site, go
to Ben's Tech Talk story at<font face="Lucida Grande" size="-4"
color="#000000">
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2004/admissions-web.html</font>.)</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>*Next Meetings*</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>The next meetings of MIT Editors' Club are: Tuesday, October 19,
and Wednesday, November 10. the meetings are from 12-1 in the News
Office (11-400).</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Cheers!</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Elizabeth</div>
<div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<x-sigsep><pre>--
</pre></x-sigsep>
<div>===================================<br>
Elizabeth A. Thomson<br>
Assistant Director, Science & Engineering News<br>
Massachusetts Institute of Technology<br>
News Office, Room 11-400<br>
77 Massachusetts Ave.<br>
Cambridge, MA 02139-4307<br>
617-258-5402 (ph); 617-258-8762 (fax)<br>
<thomson@mit.edu><br>
<br>
<http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/www><br>
===================================</div>
</body>
</html>