AGU 2007 Fall Meeting: Media Advisory 3

Preliminary Press Conference Topics;
Delta Field Trip Preview;
You're Invited! NCSWA Holiday Dinner

AGU Release No. 07-24
26 November 2007

Contact: Peter Weiss
Phone: +1 202 777 7507
E-mail: pweiss@agu.org

Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco, California 10–14 December 2007

Contents of this message:

  1. Preliminary Press Conference Topics
  2. Press Room Update
  3. Delta Field Trip Preview
  4. You Are Invited! NCSWA Holiday Dinner
  5. News Media Registration Information
  6. News Media Registration Form
  7. Who's coming

Please see:
Media Advisory 1 for important information regarding visas for international reporters and hotel bookings at meeting rates: AGU 2007 Fall Meeting: Media Advisory 1
Media Advisory 2 for information on searching for sessions and abstracts of interest to you: AGU 2007 Fall Meeting: Media Advisory 2

1. Preliminary Press Conference Topics

We are planning a number of press conferences on some of the newsworthy presentations at Fall Meeting. The following list is subject to change, including deletion of items, likely addition of other press conferences, and different emphases. Reporters are urged to check the sessions and abstracts and attend sessions on topics of interest to them, in addition to attending press conferences (see Media Advisory 2). A subsequent media advisory, to be issued in early December, will contain the full list of press conferences, including days and times, explanatory blurbs and lists of participants. All press conferences take place in Room 2010, Moscone West (see Item 2, below).

2. Press Room Update

The Press Room is Room 2012, Moscone West, Level 2. Upon arrival at Fall Meeting, go to the Media Registration counter in the main registration area (Moscone West, Level 1), to pick up your News Media badge (if preregistered) or to fill out the News Media Registration Form.

The Press Room provides working space for reporters, including phone lines (no charge for business calls), two computer terminals, wi-fi for use with your own laptop, and space for socializing. Press releases and related materials provided by scientists and their institutions will be available, along with the official Program Book and the CD containing all 13,641 abstracts.

Breakfast (from 0730) and lunch (from 1130) are provided daily for News Media registrants, with coffee, tea, and soft drinks available all day. The Press Room is open daily from 0730 to 1800 (earlier closing on Friday). Phone number: +1-415-348-4440.

The Press Conference Room is Room 2010 Moscone West, immediately adjacent to the Press Room.

3. Delta Field Trip Preview

We are currently running a wait list for this visit to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, but if you are interested in participating, please do let us know via e-mail or the News Media Registration Form. In previous years, most wait-listed registrants who showed up prior to departure time have been accommodated, due to last minute cancellations and no-shows.

The Delta encompasses a vast area of former marshland that is carved by 1,100 miles of fragile levees into agricultural fields and aqueducts. The region provides water to farms, factories, and the taps of more than 20 million Californians. However, earthquakes, land subsidence, sea-level rise, and other forces threaten the area.

The tentative itinerary for the field trip includes the stops listed below. These choices are subject to change. A subsequent advisory will include a detailed itinerary with timing and descriptions of stopping places.

Field Trip Highlights (tentative):

4. You Are Invited! NCSWA Holiday Dinner, Wednesday, 12 December

[The following notice is provided on behalf of the Northern California Science Writers Association. This is not an AGU event.]

HOLIDAY DINNER: Jack Shroder on Afghanistan at The New Delhi Restaurant

Once head of Kabul University's seismic station, geologist and physical geographer Jack Shroder knew just by looking at post-9/11videotapes of Osama bin Laden where the elusive al Qaeda leader was sitting. At our holiday dinner, Shroder, now at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, will share the story of how a geoscientist helped track Osama bin Laden through Tora Bora. He'll also share his thoughts on the future of Afghanistan, the country's untapped natural resources, and whether the US government has learned to listen to geoscientists. NCSWA will bestow fabulous science-themed door prizes upon guests who correctly answer trivia questions. Amaze your peers with your deep grasp of useless minutiae that may or may not have anything to do with AGU.

Location:
160 Ellis Street (near Union Square)
San Francisco, Ca.
Phone: (415) 397-8470

Schedule:
6:00 pm–7:00 pm No-host happy hour
7:00 pm–8:45 pm Dinner
8:45 pm–Speaker

For further information and to register for the NCSWA dinner (deadline Friday, 7 December), go to: http://www.ncswa.org/dinner_12-07.html.

5. News Media Registration Information

Eligibility for press registration is limited to the following persons:

Note: Representatives of publishing houses, for-profit corporations, and the business side of news media must register at the main registration desk at the meeting and pay the appropriate fees, regardless of possession of any of the above documents. They are not accredited as Press at the meeting.

Scientists who are also reporters and who are presenting at this meeting (oral or poster session) may receive News Media credentials if they qualify (see above), but must also register for the meeting and pay the appropriate fee as a presenter.

6. News Media Registration Form

The News Media Registration Form is set up for online submission only. Please go to:
http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm07/?content=media&show=pressReg_online

The last day for advance News Media registration, assuring that your badge will be waiting for you when you arrive, is this coming Friday, 30 November 2007. You may also register onsite.

7. Who's Coming

The online Who's Coming list is updated daily and may be seen at http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm07/?content=media.