Thread by @DrKillgrove

OMFG. I just... honestly have no words right now. First, the SAA doesn't "credential" journalists. I know because I headed the Media Relations Committee. (1/7)

https://twitter.com/SAAorg/status/1118876169728868352

Second, the SAA sends invites to the conference to HUNDREDS of journalists and science communicators, which includes people like me who write for science news outlets. (2/7)

Again, I have a list of more than 300 people that Amy Rutledge compiled as the PR person for @SAAorg to invite/send a press release about #SAA2019 to. I added some to her list as chair of the MRC.

But I can confirm that @mbalter wasn't on that list. (3/7)

But finally, why should it fucking matter WHAT @mbalter's role at #SAA2019 was? He was a discussant on a #MeToo panel, registered for the conference like any other person with something to contribute. (4/7)

To completely ignore both @mbalter's concerns and the swelling tide of social media outrage on Thursday, April 11, was in direct opposition to @SAAorg's sexual harassment policy printed in the #SAA2019 program.

documents.saa.org/container/docs… (5/7)

I'm really at a loss right now. This latest SAA tweet has brought me near tears -- I have tweeted about #SAA2019 #MeToo from the beginning, blogged about it, done interviews with journalists, and emailed the Board more than once. WHY ARE THEY STILL FUCKING THIS UP? (6/7)

I wasn't pro-boycott before. I wasn't pro-ousting of the Board before. I am now.

This isn't the @SAAorg that I joined. This isn't the @SAAorg that I gave my service to over the past two years. I don't know what this @SAAorg is. (7/7)

@SAAorg Just gonna post this screenshot here in case SAA deletes the tweet/FB post. (As others have confirmed they are deleting things.)

And I could be wrong about the credential thing -- but there is zero info on press credentials on SAA.org (unlike other orgs, e.g., esa.org/louisville/new…). I have never heard of this for SAA.

But perhaps journalists who've covered SAA in the past can weigh in?

I'm still pretty sure this is a staff issue/failure: my *guess* is that Amy didn't appropriately handle @mbalter's concerns in a face-to-face meeting, Amy (or someone) didn't check their social media accounts, Oona did not move quickly, and then lawyered the SAA up.

But membership can't do anything about @SAAorg staff. We can only do something about the Board. Article VI, Section 8:

saa.org/quick-nav/abou…

@SAAorg Going thru emails w/ Amy, I'm pretty sure that "credentials" means press ribbon on nametag. But I don't know how "credentials" are awarded or what comes w/ it.

I mean, it's beside the point of this rant, which is that credentials don't matter to reporting sexual harassment!

@SAAorg Now have it on (multiple) good authority that journalists can just register on site. So there is no official credentialing process, or at least not a consistently applied one.

Is it late enough to start drinking yet? 🤬