USAP Media Visitors
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USAP Media Visitors | ||||
| Project Indexes | USAP Program overviews | Station schedules & overviews | Technical Events | |||
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NSF Contact: |
Peter West, Public
Affairs Officer Office of Legislative and Public Affairs National Science Foundation 4201 Wilson Blvd., Room 1245 Arlington, VA 22230 703.292.8070 pwest@nsf.gov |
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| Each year the National Science Foundation selects a limited number of journalists to visit USAP research stations and report on the scientific work being done. The program's goal is inform American taxpayers about the publicly supported program. Without NSF support, these visits would be difficult or impossible since there is no commercial transportation to the continent or within it. | ||||
| Public affairs officers from NSF's Office of Legislative and Public Affairs (OLPA) assist reporters during their stay in Antarctica. Many reporters maintain their interest in the program for years after they visit the southernmost continent. A reporter may join a research cruise or spend an extended time at a field camp. They may focus on research in a particular discipline, pursue a broader interest in the science program as a whole, or concentrate on a specific project taking place that season. | ||||
| The Antarctic "group media tour" of the past has been replaced by individual visits, and there are many more requests than can be met. Journalists apply to the program by proposing a reporting plan based on ideas often developed in conjunction with OLPA's staff. Candidates are selected on a competitive basis by a committee drawn from OLPA and the Office of Polar Programs (OPP). The program is open to media professionals and representatives from a variety of media may be selected in a given year. | ||||
| The media visitors for the 2002-2003 field season have not yet been selected. | ||||
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