Next
stop - SPACE!
Wilson da Silva, Editor, Cosmos Magazine
President, World Federation of Science Journalists
Australia
Edited
by Sarah Coggan
Looking
back in retrospect, I guess my day sounds rather fun. I would
never in a million years have expected to be in such a position
and doing these things.
I love science, and I love its expansive ideas, the fact that
the world is still largely a mystery and that we as a species
are slowly but surely unravelling the fabric - only to find
that there is so much more to discover.
As the president of the World Federation of Science Journalists,
science is a part of my day, every day. Here is what I did
on the 12th of April:
In a long telephone call with Jean-Marc Fleury in Ottawa,
Canada (he's the executive director of the World Federation
of Science Journalists), I discussed dates for the next meeting
in May, his fact-finding mission to Africa, and a workshop
the federation is planning in Munich in July. We also discussed
preparations for the 2007 World Conference of Science Journalists
in Melbourne.
I am also the editor of Cosmos Magazine. So, I spent
a couple of hours editing two articles for the upcoming June/
July 2006 issue of the magazine. I e-mailed a number of writers
to clarify questions about their stories and seek contacts
for story images. I briefed our designer on some cover concepts
and made a few phone calls to journalists and colleagues.
I then went to the ABC Studios in Ultimo, where I did a live-to-air
interview with Richard Fidler on 612 ABC Brisbane about the
concept of peak oil and Hubbert's Peak (in the current issue
of Cosmos, April/May). I then joined Polly Rickard
and recorded a 6-minute story for The Science Show
on ABC Radio National.
Afterwards, I dropped into the office of ABC science broadcaster,
Robyn Williams, and had an impromptu chat with Susannah Eliott,
CEO of the Australia Science Media Centre in Adelaide, who
was visiting and later Niall Byrne, a science communications
consultant who is heading up the 2007 Melbourne conference.
I returned to the Cosmos office and reviewed some
of the pictures we had shot in Britain for a profile that
will be included in the next issue, and I discussed an online
content development issue with a colleague. My next agenda
for the day was an interview with Tony Squires and Rebecca
Wilson of Vega FM in Sydney, who wanted to discuss articles
in the current issue and my 2008 trip into space on Virgin
Galactic.
I love that science is revolutionary - that ideas can be so
powerful as to change the course of history. I certainly never,
ever expected to one day go into space - but that is what
this job has landed me. Our co-founder, Dr Alan Finkel, bought
a ticket for himself and thinks I should come along, which
is pretty unbelievable!
Want to know more about Wilson’s mission into space? Click
these links to:
Read
the Press Release for Australia's first Space Tourists set
for 2008 Launch
Listen to the interview with Paul Davies of Wilson’s childhood
dream come true!
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