Autism and The Media (#6647)


Friday, July 12, 2013: 10:45 AM-12:15 PM
Ballroom A (David L. Lawrence Convention Center)

This panel discussion features Michelle Diemont, Co-Founder of Disability Scoop, Karen Weintraub a former Boston Globe reporter and now freelance reporter, Mark Roth, a science reporter with the Pittsburgh Gazette and Daniel Heinlein, host of I Am Autistic on the Autism Channel. Facilitated by Richard Wolf of USA Today and CSPAN, the panel will discuss the role of the media in reporting on autism, how the media portrays autism issues and how autism advocates can work with the media to educate the media on issues impacting individuals and families affected by autism.
Presenters:

Michelle Diament
Co-Founder
Disability Scoop
Michelle Diament is a seasoned journalist whose work has appeared in People, AARP, The Washington Post Magazine, The Chronicle of Higher Education and Gannett News Service. As the sibling of an adult with autism, Diament is no stranger to the world of disability issues. She holds a degree in journalism and political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Karen Weintraub
Freelance Reporter
A freelance health/science journalist, Karen Weintraub writes regularly for the Boston Globe, USA Today and BBC online, among others, on topics such as nutrition, cancer, genetics and child development. She also teaches journalism at Boston University and the Harvard Extension School, and has written two books and two e-books.

Mark Roth
Science Reporter
Pittsburgh Gazette
Mark Roth is a senior staff writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, specializing in medical and science issues. He has taught science writing at Carnegie Mellon since 2007, and was the newspaper's first science editor in the 1980s.

Daniel Heinlein
Host
Autism Channel
Daniel Heinlein is the host of I Am Autistic, the flagship interview program of The Autism Channel, an on-demand streaming television channel. Daniel began taking an interest in autism and the autism spectrum community when he was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome in 2004.

Richard Wolf
USA Today
Richard Wolf has been a USA TODAY reporter and editor for more than 25 years, specializing in government and domestic policy. He has covered the Supreme Court since 2012. Prior to that, Mr. Wolf covered the White House, Congress, the federal budget and economics, health care policy, and politics.