[Editors] MIT Editors' Club Minutes, September 2007

[Elizabeth Thomson]

MIT EDITORS' CLUB

*Meeting Notes from September 19, 2007*

About 15 people attended our first Editors' Club meeting of the 07-08  
school year, and the hour flew by as we discussed such things as  
scientific journals and exactly what a planned gift is. (As Editors'  
Club member Sarah Rowley of the Office of Gift Planning told us,  
"most people don't know what a planned gift is. That's why I have a  
job.")

*Stories, Please!*

My colleague Greg Frost, the News Manager for the News Office,  
encouraged everyone to send MIT stories or story ideas his way.  
Here's a great example: a few weeks ago Editors' Club member Karla  
Mansur of CSAIL sent Greg a note about a young man who hadn't even  
heard of MIT as of three years ago, but is now a freshman. He's here  
as a result of a program founded by other MIT students to bring  
together Israeli and Palestinian youths in an educational  
environment. End result: a fantastic feature (go to http:// 
web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2007/meet-tt0919.html).

What about more modest announcements, like the need for host families  
of international students? Send 'em along, said Greg. He's at  
frost at mit.edu or x8-5401.

Of course, I'm always interested in research news from your  
department.....As I mentioned at this meeting, the key is advance  
notice. For example, I'd rather know about a paper that's been  
*accepted* by a journal than one that was published a few months ago.  
A paper that's already been published has lost its "news hook."

*Careful....Careful!*

That was my advice when Editors' Club member Nancy Stauffer of the  
MIT Energy Initiative called about some really cool research she's  
writing about that is ALSO the subject of a technical article the  
researchers had submitted to the journal Science.

Nancy was wondering if a story about the work could affect the  
researchers' chances of getting into Science.

And the answer is: yes. Journals like Science and Nature are quite  
strict about papers they're reviewing or that have been accepted.  
They're quick to bounce anything that has already appeared in a  
public forum. In this case, the MIT team had derived their Science  
paper from a "working paper" they planned to post on the web. My  
guess was that the "working paper," once posted on the web, would  
indeed break the rules. And although Nancy's own story about the work  
wouldn't be too technical, I thought it best not to post that,  
either....to err on the safe side. A quick call to Science confirmed  
my suspicions.

*So what IS a planned gift? *

According to Sarah, who is the marketing coordinator for the Office  
of Gift Planning, a planned gift involves money given to the  
Institute before a person dies. MIT cannot use that money, however,  
until the person dies. In the meantime, that person receives income  
from MIT based on the gift, and there are tax advantages to that.

*Open House!*

The Environment, Health, and Safety Office will be holding an open  
house on October 11. Emily Ranken of EHS invites everyone to come on  
by. Plus, she says, "if people bring in a sample of water, they can  
have it tested for lead.  We also will give Radon test kits to those  
who request them so they can test their houses for radon (our office  
will analyze the kit)." How's that for a great MIT bene? For more  
info, go to http://web.mit.edu/environment/openhouse.html

*Next Meetings*

The next meetings of MIT Editors' Club are as follows. All meetings  
are from 12-1 in the News Office (11-400). Please feel free to bring  
a lunch.
Tuesday, October 16

Thursday, November 15

Monday, December 17

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Tuesday, February 12

Friday, March 14

Monday, April 14

Friday, May 16

Tuesday, June 10


Cheers!

Elizabeth

================================
Elizabeth A. Thomson
Senior Science and Engineering Editor
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
News Office, Room 11-400
77 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA  02139-4307
617-258-5402 (ph); 617-258-8762 (fax)
<thomson at mit.edu>

<http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/www>
================================



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