2006 GSA Annual Meeting - Summary of Media Coverage

February 2006 - February 2007

  Media Relations Activity

• 14 July 2006 – A GSA media advisory announced the meeting and encouraged science writers to attend.
• 18 September 2006 - Copies of all abstracts were mailed to public information officers (PIOs) at each presenter’s home institution. We provided information on the upcoming meeting and encouraged PIOs to write press releases where warranted. While we don't know the exact number of releases produced, we received 14 releases for posting in GSA’s Online Newsroom. Participating institutions included Penn State University, Ohio State University, Rutgers University, Virginia Tech, University of Washington, University of Cincinnati, and others.
• 6 October 2006 – A second GSA media advisory emphasized technical program highlights and the Public Forum ("Understanding Global Climate Change: What is it? What does it mean? What can we do?")
• 13 October 2006 – A GSA press release on the Public Forum was distributed to Philadelphia-area media.
• 17-24 October 2006 – Six GSA press releases on individual presentations from the technical program were distributed.

GSA’s media distribution list included 325 domestic and international science writers and editors. All releases were also posted on the AAAS EurekAlert Web site for science writers.

  Journalists at the Meeting

Twenty-two science writers and public information officers attended the meeting. Science press included Science, Nature, Geotimes, and Chemical and Engineering News. Writers from National Geographic, Chronicle of Higher Education, and Natural Resources News Service also attended. Local/regional interest was high with two staff writers from the Philadelphia Inquirer publishing multiple articles.

  Coverage Highlights

Sixty presentations from the technical program are known to have received coverage. Topics included paleontology, mass extinctions, hazards, tectonics, climate change, geology and health, environmental geology, geomorphology, hydrogeology, and geoscience education. Global reach was reflected in articles appearing in South Africa, Jamaica, India, and Malaysia.

• Research by Brent Breithaupt (University of Wyoming Geological Museum) on study of modern-day emus to gain insight into behaviors reflected in fossilized dinosaur tracks was reported by the Associated Press. It generated two rounds of coverage, the first coincident with the Annual Meeting and the second in February 2007. Stories appeared in print and Web outlets throughout the U.S., including Yahoo!News, MSNBC, and Discovery Channel. (GSA release)
• Evidence that the Amazon River reversed its flow from west to east about 100 million years ago presented by Russell Mapes (UNC Chapel Hill) was reported by the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, Science News, Health and Medicine Week, Discovery Channel, and other outlets. (GSA Release)
• A presentation on health impacts of global warming by Cindy Parker, M.D. (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health) received global coverage that included a variety of health Web sites. Outlets included Medical News Today, Pollution Online, and News-Medical.net (Australia). (GSA Release)
• Research by Cynthia Rozenweig and Vivien Gornitz (NASA Goddard and Columbia University) on sea-level rise and hurricane risk in New York City was reported by USA Today, Ocean News and Technology, Disaster Resource Guide, and the NASA Earth Observatory Web site.
• A presentation by Sandra Olsen (Carnegie Museum of Natural History) showing evidence that horses were first domesticated in Kazakhstan received coverage from Discovery Channel, About Archaeology, and The Horse. (GSA Release)
• Mapping fracture zones to help locate ancient Egyptian tombs, presented by Richard Parizek (Penn State), received coverage in Science, Geotimes, Science Daily, and Innovations Report (Germany).
• The Halbouty lecture by Rodney Ewing (University of Michigan) on how much nuclear power generation would be required to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide was reported by Innovation Report (Germany), Pollution Online, and What's Next in Science and Technology.
• Evidence presented by Gerta Keller (Princeton University) suggesting more than the Chicxulub impact event was involved in the demise of the dinosaurs received wide coverage. Outlets included CNN, Discovery Channel, Scientific Frontline, Space Daily, Terra Daily, MacroWorld Investor, Astrobiology Magazine, and Geotimes.
• Several presentations on the Lilliput Effect (Jablonski, Keller, Harries) were reported in articles in the Christian Science Monitor and USA Today.
• Discovery that dinosaurs suffered from gut parasites presented by Karen Chin (University of Colorado) was reported by CNN, MSNBC, Reuters U.S./U.K./India, The Scotsman, The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, ABC Online, and many other outlets.

Events outside the technical program also received coverage:

• Three field trips were reported by area outlets including the Philadelphia Inquirer.
• The special information sharing session on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans for repairing the Gulf Coast was reported by the New York Times. The article was subsequently picked up by other outlets around the U.S.
• The talk by Judge John E. Jones III on his landmark ruling against teaching intelligent design received coverage in Chemical and Engineering News, a publication of the American Chemical Society. The importance of the decision to those who teach geology was aptly communicated to chemists: "Imagine trying to teach basic chemistry to students who stand up and debate the existence of atoms in the middle of a lecture of oxidation-reduction reactions."
• News that Philadelphia's cash-strapped Academy of Natural Sciences was selling off its mineral and gem collection prompted a Philadelphia Inquirer science writer to ask for a comment from GSA. President Steve Wells was quoted and references made to the GSA Annual Meeting in an article that received national coverage. The Associated Press also published an article that appeared in a variety of outlets around the U.S. including the CBS News Web site.

  SPECIALTY MEETINGS

Backbone of the Americas – Patagonia to Alaska

3-7 April 2006, Mendoza, Argentina

GSA Press Releases

• 10 March 2006: Meeting announcement
• 28-29 March 2006: Three press releases on individual presentations

Coverage Highlights

• A presentation by Miguel Soler on Argentina's Vilama supervolcano generated wide global coverage. A Google search before distribution of GSA's release on the presentation generated fewer than 10 hits. Two days after the GSA release went out, a Google search generated 26,000+ hits. Outlets included Geotimes, NASA Earth Observatory, Discovery Channel, Science Daily, Innovations Report (Germany), Spiegel Online (Germany), and Science/Engineering/Technology News (U.K.)
• A presentation by Emil Okal (Northwestern University) on risks of Sumatra-style megaquakes around the world was reported by Science Daily, United Press International, Discovery Channel, and Washington Times.
• Evidence presented by Gerta Keller (Princeton University) on timing of the Chicxulub impact event received coverage by the Discovery Channel, United Press International, Science Daily, NGS-Geonieuws, and Geoscientist.

Managing Drought and Water Scarcity in Vulnerable Environments — Creating a Roadmap for Change in the United States

18-29 September 2006, Longmont, Colorado

GSA Press Releases

• 10 August 2006: Meeting announcement
• 14-19 September 2006: Three press releases on individual presentations

Journalists at the Meeting

Regional journalists on-site represented the Rocky Mountain News, Boulder Daily Camera, Longmont Daily Times-Call, and Greeley Tribune. A public information officer from Senator Ken Salazar's office also attended.

Coverage Highlights

• A presentation by Tom Brikowski (University of Texas at Dallas) on storing reservoir water in underground aquifers was reported by New Scientist, Science Daily, United Press International, and other outlets in Cyprus and the Netherlands.
• Research by Martin Hoerling (NOAA) suggesting that in coming decades the American West could experience drought worse than the Dust Bowl of the 1930s received strong regional coverage and was reported in Energy Bulletin (Australia).
• Drought lessons learned in Australia, presented by Linda Botterill (Australian National University) were reported by Science Daily.
• General articles on the conference appeared in Natural Hazards Observer and MacroWorld Investor.