ADS Media Contacts

[Grant Barrett]

Dear American Dialect Society colleagues,

As we near the words of the year vote in January, I'd like to remind
ADS members that we have a media contacts page on the ADS web site.
Journalists use this page throughout the year to find someone to talk
to about matters concerning language, linguistics, dictionaries,
accents, dialects, etc., but they are especially interested in it at
the time of the LSA/ADS meeting.

<http://www.americandialect.org/index.php/amerdial/media_contacts/>

All ADS members are invited to be listed on that page (if you're not
an ADS member, please see the web site for membership information--
it's cheap!). International members are encouraged to participate.

It is, in my opinion, far preferable to have an ADS member quoted by
the press on such topics, first because they're more likely to get
information right (though there's never any telling what will appear
on the other end of editing), and second because if they don't get it
right, we know who to josh and kid.

I receive four or five media contacts a month from this page; your
mileage may vary. Other members already on the list report similar
results. While I think you should always mention your ADS
affiliation, it is entirely acceptable to use such media
conversations to mention your own projects.

To participate, please send me the following details, keeping
everything brief and precise.

Your name.

Preferred professional title(s). Two titles max.

Professional affiliations. Employer, leadership roles, etc.

Credentials. Degrees, training, professional experience, etc.

Areas of expertise. Be specific: "language" or "English" are too
broad, "English as a second language" or "gender bias in slang" are
better.

Key publications. Not your entire CV, please. Remember you're
bridging the gap between specialists and the public.

Contact information. At the very least, this should be your email
address. Phone numbers are highly recommended. If you have one, your
web site will be linked to, so please include it.

Thanks,

Grant Barrett

administrator at americandialect.org
American Dialect Society
VP of Comm and Tech
http://www.americandialect.org/