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Minutes</title></head><body>
<div>MIT EDITORS' CLUB<br>
</div>
<div>*Meeting Notes from October 17, 2006*</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Do you need a degree in science or engineering to write about
those topics? Are tape recorders useful to you in the writing process?
What about quotes in a story? Yea or nay? This meeting focused
primarily on the craft of science writing, but we also discussed other
Highly Important Stuff Related to Our Jobs such as a web site that
explains how to do an end-run around the prompts in voice-mail
systems.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>*Science Writing Tips*</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>At least one of the Editors at this meeting recently moved from a
position in the humanities to one in an engineering lab, which
elicited the following question: Do you need a degree in
science/engineering to be a science/engineering writer? I personally
believe the answer is a big fat NO. You must simply be a good
reporter, willing to ask plenty of questions. Adding to that, Nancy
Stauffer of the Lab for Energy and the Environment stressed:
"don't let ANYTHING get by you." If you don't understand
something the researcher just told you, ask him or her to explain.
Otherwise the interview can quickly snowball out of control.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>One writer at the meeting said that she always likes to start by
interviewing the principal researcher, rather than a student, "to
get the big picture." On the other hand, I often start with a
student or other junior member of the team because they usually have
more time and can really walk me through the topic. THEN I go to the
principal researcher to put the work in perspective. The Moral:
whatever works for you!</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>*To Tape or Not to Tape?*</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>I personally NEVER tape interviews....but boy oh boy am I in the
minority in this group!</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Among the reasons for using a tape recorder: "I'm not a fast
writer," said one person, "and sometimes a researcher will
say something *so* eloquent that I don't want to miss."</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Another important reason to use a tape recorder, one that *may*
even tempt me to use one: the growing use of podcasts. Lisa Damtoft,
one of my News Office colleagues who is part of a team developing a
regular News Office research podcast, told me recently that it would
be very useful to add a short quote from the actual researcher to a
given podcast. Sounds good to me.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Along the same line, Susan Curran and Robyn Fizz of Information
Services and Technology noted the value of *digital* tape recorders.
They have really come down in price (~$80), and allow you to send an
audio file to, say, your webmaster electronically.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>After further discussion, we realized that one factor behind
using a tape recorder (or not) involves how much time you have to
write a story. I often have to turn stories around within a few days
(sometimes hours), and have found that it takes lots more time for me
to write from a recording. Why? I listen and hear a GREAT quote, then
a little while later I hear another GREAT quote....and, oh yeah, 10
minutes later there's ANOTHER one. And I have to transcribe each one,
even if I can ultimately only use one. For me, its simpler to take
notes. I focus on one quote, and if I haven't gotten all of it down by
the time the person has finished, I ask the professor to repeat it
until I have it in hand. (I've also developed my own form of
shorthand.)</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Many of the Editors at the meeting who use tape recorders send
out the tapes to be transcribed. But it can take a few days to get the
transcription back.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>*To Quote or Not to Quote?*</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>"I hate quotes," said Scott Campbell, director of
communications for the School of Architecture and Planning. "I
don't use them," he continued. "They waste so much ink. You
can usually get the same information across in five words."</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Dick Anthony of Spectrum (and Resource Development) noted,
however, that in writing about science, a quote can back up a point
you've made and add credibility--the professor is "agreeing"
with you. Someone else noted that another reason for using a quote is
if the person has a really special way of saying things. One example:
my colleague Anne Trafton recently wrote a lovely story about a new
technique to study red blood cells. Apparently these membranes are
constantly undulating. Or, as she quoted one of the researchers, a red
blood cell is "effectively a drum in perpetual vibration."
Isn't that cool? I think it really helps you visualize what's
happening.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>I love quotes. In addition to agreeing with Dick's comment, I
think that quotes really humanize a story. That said, I use them
judiciously because I also agree with Scott that they can get wordy
and are not always necessary.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>*Another Resource*</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Fresh off the press: "A Scientist's Guide to Talking with
the Media," by Richard Hayes and Daniel Grossman. I haven't
finished the book quite yet, but so far I think it's got lots of good
advice coupled with real anecdotes from scientists.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>*Voice-Mail Shortcuts*</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>I have no idea how this came up, but take note: Robyn Fizz shared
with us a web site that explains how to get to a human from a
telephone voice tree. It's at<font face="Lucida Grande" size="-4"
color="#000000"> http://gethuman.com/tips.html</font>.</div>
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<div><br></div>
<div>*Next Meetings*</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>The remaining 2006 meetings of MIT Editors' Club are Thursday,
November 16, and</div>
<div>Wednesday, December 13. All meetings are in the News
Office, 11-400, from 12-1. Feel free to</div>
<div>bring a lunch.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Elizabeth</div>
<div><br></div>
<div><br>
================================<br>
Elizabeth A. Thomson<br>
Senior Science and Engineering Editor<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>
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