2.10 Covering a conference (continued)

Engaging scientists in conversation rather than simply reporting on their presentation may lead to unexpected gains, such as a story not yet presented in public or new suggestions for contacts or places to visit. Rather than report immediately from a conference, a journalist might instead store up ideas for future and revisit the topic with phone calls or emails.

EXAMPLE:
This award-winning story [ http://www.islamonline.net/English/Science/2004/05/article09.shtml ] on water pollution took two years of gradual development before the author, Nadia El-Awady, found the right angle. The initial contact was through conversation with representatives of NGOs and governments attending the World Water Forum. Through follow up conversations and attending workshops, the journalist then heard about a project that she felt would form the basis of a suitable story. But it was only after a field visit and establishing good rapport with the scientists that El-Awady had access to information that other journalists did not – and this formed the basis of her report.

Journalists can make use of conferences to find experts willing to provide independent comment – either at the conference or at some time in future. And, of course, scientists can also be interviewed about subjects other than those they are presenting at the conference. If they tell you something is not their field of expertise, say that you only need a rough idea first so that you can put good questions to the experts in later interviews.

It's also worth remembering that if a scientist is speaking publicly to an audience, their words are in the public domain, and journalists have the right to report them.

Developing country-based journalists may lack the funds to travel to international conferences, unless those are being held in their home town. But this need not stop journalists from getting a story that uses the conference as its news peg.

If you cannot attend a conference, you can often find details about the conference topics and speakers on the internet. You can conduct interviews in advance or during the conference by telephone or email, if the organisers help to make the speaker available.


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