Media

The goals of the Media Committee are the following: to increase the awareness of the public to substance abuse research and treatment; to promote the activities of the College, including its journal, Drug and Alcohol Dependence, to the scientific community; and to honor members of the media who have helped contribute to these goals. A Media Award is given yearly for the latter purpose. In addition, the Media Committee handles press releases at the Annual Meeting and during the year, highlighting articles published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

Nominations are solicited through members of the College
Nominees are sent a letter from the Chair of the Committee requesting information to justify the award. This documentation must be received by March 1
The Media Committee votes on nominees, with a majority required. If there is a tie, the Chair breaks this tie
The winner chosen by the Media Committee must also be approved by the Awards Committee and then by the Executive Committee
After approval, the winner is notified by a letter from the President
Those who were nominated but did not win are notified and thanked

The Editors of Drug and Alcohol Dependence (DAD) select "¨newsworthy"Æ articles that have been accepted and obtain authors"´ approval for use as a press release
The Editors forward the manuscript to Media Chair
The Chair or his/her designee contacts the authors of intention to write a press release
With input from the authors, a member of the Media Committee writes the press release
The authors review the press release
Upon approval by the authors the press release is sent to the publisher who arranges release at the time of publication
The authors are encouraged to disseminate the press release at local and institutional levels

A subset of the Media Committee is chosen to arrange for press coverage at meeting

A press release is issued including:

location and date of the annual meeting
award winners
special speakers
program highlights (symposia, sessions of media interest)
individual presentations deemed especially newsworthy by committee members
The press release is distributed to the media where the meeting is taking place about 2-3 weeks before meeting