10 Questions on MASGC Communications Program

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Sea Briefs is a report on the results of the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium.

Editor: Laura Bowie

This newsletter is available in PDF format from:
masgc.org/seabriefs

MASGC supports applied, interdisciplinary marine science research, education and outreach efforts to foster the sustainable development and management of the Mississippi and Alabama coasts and nearshore ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico

Mississippi-Alabama
Sea Grant Consortium
703 East Beach Drive
Ocean Springs, MS 39564
Phone: 228-818-8838
E-mail: seabriefs@masgc.org
MASGP 08-011-04

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10 Questions on MASGC Communications Program

MELISSA SCHNEIDER has served as the communications coordinator for the MASGC since 2006. Melissa plans, designs and implements MASGC’s communications programs, including Sea Briefs, the MASGC Web site and publications. She also writes about MASGC-supported research and programs in non-technical language for news releases and other communications products and promotes MASGC projects, events and programs. Melissa works to make MASGC more visible within NOAA and the Gulf of Mexico region. A former U.S. Peace Corps volunteer, she has a background in print journalism and a bachelor’s degree in English and Spanish from The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in Eau Claire, Wis.

1. What is your background and what experience did you bring to your position at MASGC?
My background is in print journalism. I started in newspaper 10 years ago as a copy editor and eventually became a reporter. I bring with me the abilities to gather information; write, edit, and design documents; take photographs; use news judgment; and work with a variety of people and topics. I also have experience in radio and technical writing. Whether I am writing a press release or fact sheet, designing a publication, creating promotional materials or doing something for the first time, my background helps me see the possibilities.

2. Do you find it difficult to ensure that your audiences understand MASGC’s technical/scientific information?
The people I work with at MASGC are skilled at describing their research, information and efforts in language that is not too difficult to understand. Most of them are educators in one form or another. Once in a while, things get over my head. My rule of thumb: if I would have been unable to understand something before I started working with Sea Grant, it’s too complex and needs to be simplified. I’ll admit it sometimes is difficult to steer clear of acronyms and government jargon; but they are a large, necessary part of our world.

3. There are many topics that MASGC covers. How do you choose what to publicize?
It’s true that Sea Grant-funded research, education and outreach activities are diverse and plentiful. Much of what we try to share with the public is based on timing. If we have a workshop or event coming up, such as the Bays and Bayous Symposium, we focus on the event to let people know about the opportunity to attend. When members of water-dependent businesses formed the Alabama Working Waterfront Coalition, we let media know about that effort and the importance of water access. Also, when gas prices were at their highest, we focused on a biofuel research project we are funding and shared information about what may someday help shrimpers reduce fuel costs and help processors increase revenue. There is a better chance media will take an interest in our programs if there are other things in the news that relate to them.

4. What duties do you have other than working with the media?
I actually spend a lot of time working with people on the Sea Grant team to help promote workshops and events. I also write and design fliers, information sheets and other materials they need for their audiences. I recently worked with scientists and community activists who submitted abstracts for the Bays and Bayous Symposium. I edited the abstracts and used them to produce a CDROM and book of proceedings from the event. In addition, I write progress reports, create a short version of our annual report and write, edit or design a number of other publications.

5. What successes have you experienced?
I wrote a press release last summer about a Mississippi State University biofuel project. First, I sent it to WLOX-TV in Biloxi, Miss., along with information that the project leaders would be picking up shrimp shells from a nearby processing plant. Steve Phillips from WLOX came and interviewed the scientists about their project that will determine if shrimp processing waste can be a source for biofuel. In addition to coverage from WLOX, Mississippi Public Broadcasting and Biodiesel Magazine, the story appeared on about 20 Web sites and led to companies and scientists contacting project leaders about potential partnerships and information exchanges.

BEN RAINES has served as the Mobile Press-Register’s environment reporter since 2000, covering the wilds of south Alabama and Mississippi. He is a native Alabamian and lives in Fairhope with his wife and son. His work has earned top honors from national journalism organizations. Having a genuine interest in natural resources of the coast, Ben participated in a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) stakeholder panel in August at MASGC’s Extension, Outreach and Education Workshop. His involvement with MASGC almost always begins with a phone call from LaDon Swann after he’s read an article published in the Press-Register. Over the last 10 years, Ben has worked with MASGC on a number of stories and issues.

6. What was your first involvement with MASGC?
MASGC director LaDon Swann first called me back in 2000 just after the Mobile Press-Register conducted mercury tests on several of the most popular saltwater fish species in the area. Those tests showed that fish such as cobia, for which there was no mercury warning, contained higher mercury levels than king mackerel, one of the only saltwater fish with a consumption warning from the federal government. LaDon called because he caught a lot of the same species our testing showed to be high and fed them to his family, including his two kids.

7. Have you been involved in any MASGC outreach efforts?
As our continuing reporting showed that elevated mercury levels were widespread in recreational fishermen, MASGC organized a Mercury Forum held at the Mobile Convention Center. It drew scientists and activists from all over the nation, and remains one of the largest gatherings held in the United States dedicated to the issue of mercury in seafood. Top scientists from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the oil industry and a number of universities debated the latest research. The event also marked the first time that the lead authors of the most important human mercury studies participated in the same conference. The forum made national news and played a role in attracting the attention of the White House.

8. On what other topics have you worked with MASGC?
After a series of stories in the newspaper about invasive species arriving in the Gulf of Mexico aboard the oil drilling rigs that travel the world’s oceans, LaDon called again. Within the year, MASGC had helped to organize a major research effort that brought scientists from all over the nation to Mobile to survey Mobile Bay, the Mississippi Sound and the Gulf of Mexico for invasives. MASGC has become one of the leading groups pushing to protect our little corner of the world’s oceans and the people who make their livings from them.

9. Has your involvement with MASGC helped in your reporting?
As a reporter, it is often hard to get the people in charge to pay attention. Having an organization like MASGC around has been invaluable in attracting attention to pressing issues. I am able to gently cajole various officials into getting off the fence on an issue simply by saying, “Well, the folks over at Sea Grant seem to think it is a big deal.”

10. Do you think the paper and Sea Grant have been a good partnership?
Alabama and Mississippi were long infamous for being behind the times when it came to protecting the natural world. MASGC has accomplished a lot in the last few years in terms of pushing both states to move forward, and the paper has helped that effort.