In a message dated 8/25/2004 1:31:11 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Hello Jerome,
I am in the nursery business and often give interviews as well for magazines and newspapers for plant related matters, and I plead with them to let me read their articles before they are published to correct obvious errors. Never has one allowed me to do it, and I don't think I have ever given an interview where I was quoted correctly, even when they recorded the interview. Your remedy seems to be the only one - just quit giving interviews. Ted Stephens My comments on the problems many of us in technical fields have with journalists seems to have struck a nerve. When I was on the UC Berkeley faculty in the mid-70s I was asked to give a presentation on the topics of Problems that Scientists have with Journalists". The presentation was to a graduate course in journalism. I provided to the class a one-page summary of my main remarks. The journalism professor teaching the course disagreed with me about my concerns, but when he read the mock newspaper stories that each student prepared based on my presentation, almost all of the students had made serious errors, both of fact and understanding. All of those errors could have been avoided had they simply referred back to the simple handout that I provided. The professor was surprised and chastened, and got much more rigorous with the students after that. I followed Ted Stephens notion, and stopped giving interviews. On the topic of nontechnical people entering the forum -- obviously we want everyone to feel welcome and for them to gain as much practical information and knowledge as possible. Many people who are interested in installing microhydro (and smaller) systems are not from technical fields per se, and we should provide as much assistance as we can to them. I have colleagues who are social scientists and anthropologists working in developing countries (e.g., rural Philippines) who work to assist rural communities in developing small hydro resources. Just ten kilowatts of reliable AC power can transform possibilities for economic productivity and community services (e.g., electricity for small health clinics and for local schools). This site is a great service, and has an energetic participation. Congratulations to everyone who has contributed to it. Jerome Weingart Senior Energy Specialist Energy and Environmental Management Division International Resources Group, Ltd. Washington, DC 703-524-8372 residential office phone and fax 703-625-4428 mobile / voice mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/FGYolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Does your company feature in the microhydro business directory at http://microhydropower.net/directory ? If not, please register free of charge and be exposed to the microhydro community world wide! NOTE: The advertisements in this email are added by Yahoogroups who provides us with free email group services. The microhydro-group does not endorse products or support the advertisements in any way. More information on micro hydropower at http://microhydropower.net To unsubscribe: send empty message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/microhydro/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
