NEO Media/Risk Communications Working Group Report

Friday, June 01, 2012

SWF published the "NEO Media/Risk Communications Working Group Report," which presents the findings from the session held in November 2011. The 2-day session was convened by SWF and the Association of Space Explorers (ASE) with nearly 40 scientists, reporters, risk communication specialists and SWF staff participating in the meeting at the University of Colorado, Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), Boulder, Colorado. The meeting concentrated on assisting the United Nations Action Team-14 (UN AT-14) on NEOs in its deliberations about the makeup and focus of an Information, Analysis and Warning Network (IAWN), designed to gather and analyze NEO data and provide timely warnings to national authorities should a potentially hazardous NEO threaten Earth. The working group explored in more detail the views of risk communication experts and experienced science journalists on the development of a successful communications strategy.