ProfNet Experts Available on Pharmaceutical Patents, FBI Email Access, Energy Investments

NEW YORK, April 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network that are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area. If you are interested in interviewing any of the experts, please contact them via the contact information at the end of the listing. To receive updates by email, drop us a note at [email protected] with the industries you cover, and we'll add you to the appropriate edition.

If you are in need of additional experts, you can also submit a query to the hundreds of thousands of experts in our network. You can filter your request by institution type and geographic location to get the most targeted responses. The best part? It's free! Just fill out the query form to get started.

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EXPERT ALERTS

• Top Indian Court Rejects Novartis Patent
• Concern Over FBI's Real-Time Access to Emails
• Lessons from Amway's Hard-Won Success in China
• Investments in Energy
• Responsive Web Design: Future of Internet

MEDIA JOBS

• Food/Health Writer – JorgeCruise.com (CA)
• Sports Producer – NBC Sports (CT)
• Copy Editor – Augusta Chronicle (GA)

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

• How to Become a Freelancer and Ghostwriter
• Social Media in the Newsroom
• Where Did Your Experts Pop Up in March?

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EXPERT ALERTS:

Top Indian Court Rejects Novartis Patent
Dr. Philip Alcabes
Professor, School of Nursing; Director, Public Health Program
Adelphi University, Garden City, N.Y.
"The decision in the Indian courts challenges the capacity of wealthy pharmaceutical companies to deny to poor people medicines needed to relieve suffering or prolong life. In that sense, it's an advance in the pursuit of human rights. But it's also complicated, and invites a host of further questions about access to medicine and human rights. In the case in question, the Swiss drug maker Novartis, one of the wealthiest companies in the world, lost in its attempt to prevent Indian drug companies from selling the drug Glivec, on which Novartis was trying to hold a monopoly. Glivec (also Gleevec) is essentially the only treatment for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia. It can make the difference between rapid death and a few years of life. The court ruling doesn't change the fundamental inequities in access to medicines worldwide.  It doesn't directly improve the life of any individual cancer patient. It doesn't affect lack of health care in wealthy countries like ours. And the main beneficiaries will be Indian drug companies -- not people who can't afford any medicine at all. But it alters what one Novartis official unabashedly referred to as the 'intellectual property ecosystem' in India. In doing that, it questions the reach of corporations. Now there are new questions to answer in regard to pharmaceuticals and the widely recognized human right to a decent chance in life."
Dr. Alcabes is author of "Dread:  How Fear and Fantasy Have Fueled Epidemics from the Black Death to Avian Flu," and has studied the history, ethics, and policy of public health. He is a founding member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the World Trade Center Health Registry, and has consulted on public health policy and AIDS-prevention projects in Eastern Europe for the Open Society Institute's International Harm Reduction Development Program, World AIDS Foundation, and Fogarty International Foundation of the National Institutes of Health. He is known for his critical eye on public health policy, frequently quoted by news media such as WNYC radio, C-SPAN TV and "The Daily Show." His op-ed pieces have appeared in the Washington Post, The Nation, New Scientist, and other publications. He holds a Ph.D. in infectious-disease epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health.
Website: http://chi.adelphi.edu
Media Contact: Kali Chan, [email protected]

Concern Over FBI's Real-Time Access to Emails
Jimmy Ardoin
Attorney
Ardoin Law PLLC, Houston
"The FBI's general counsel says the bureau has made it a top priority this year to gain the power to wiretap, in real time, all forms of Internet conversation, social media and cloud storage. With so much of people's lives now in the 'cloud,' the public should have a great concern about who is accessing their digital information and why. The FBI should tell the millions of law-abiding Americans exactly what it is they want and why they need this real-time access to emails, Facebook accounts and documents. The FBI is likely to succeed in getting most, if not all, of what it wants, but in order to ensure that their requests comport with the Constitution and do not violate the rights of innocent Americans, more transparency on the part of the bureau is a must."
Media Contact: Alan Bentrup, [email protected]

Lessons from Amway's Hard-Won Success in China
Tom Fox
FCPA and Compliance Ethics Lawyer and Blogger
Tom Fox Law in Houston
"Door-to-door sales powerhouse Amway entered the Chinese market in 1995, only to have its business model outlawed three years later by a government suspicious of Western direct sales tactics. Amway brilliantly looked to its core values, considered the long term, and developed a new business model by building stores, while simultaneously building local trust. That's what led the Chinese government to eventually legalize door-to-door sales for Western companies. The lessons from Amway's success in China speak directly to how a business can meet its anti-bribery Foreign Corrupt Trade Practices requirements and other compliance goals when doing business in a foreign country. Respect the local culture, be a responsible corporate citizen, and don't lose sight of the long-term opportunities."
Media Contact: Mary Flood, [email protected]

Investments in Energy
Matthew Stepp
Senior Policy Analyst
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
"Much more innovation is necessary to achieve deep and affordable carbon reductions. Yet almost all of the policy and funding today focuses on deploying current technologies. U.S. investment in energy innovation is less than 5 percent of federal spending on defense research and demonstration. That has to change. We need better, cheaper options if the grid is to produce less carbon."
In an Op Ed in the Washington Post Matthew Stepp argues current renewable energy technologies are not sufficient to address the challenge of climate change: http://wapo.st/16tZURI Stepp is also the author of "Breaking Down Federal Investments in Clean Energy" (http://tinyurl.com/bsaduay) and "The Future of Global Climate Policy" (http://tinyurl.com/bsr8akf). He is based in Washington, D.C.
ProfNet Profile: http://www.profnetconnect.com/matthewstepp
Website: http://itif.org
Media Contact: William Dube, [email protected]

Responsive Web Design: Future of Internet
Hassan Bawab
CEO and founder
Magic Logix
"Responsive Web design is the future of the Internet. More mobility requires the flexibility for websites to be viewed in a variety of ways, on a variety of devices. Businesses that capitalize on this lasting trend are at a competitive advantage in the marketplace."
Bawab, known as "The Magi of the Internet," has 12 years of experience building websites for mid-size to Fortune 500 companies. He is a noted speaker at conferences including SMX East, Dallas Drupal Days, and the University of North Texas. He can speak on a variety of Web design, social media and SEO topics, and is most passionate about responsive Web design, why companies should use it and the best practices for creating RWD sites. He is based in Dallas and fluent in Arabic.
ProfNet Profile: http://www.profnetconnect.com/hassanbawab
Website: http://www.magiclogix.com
Media Contact: Laura Madison, [email protected]

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MEDIA JOBS:

Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: http://bit.ly/pncjobboard

• Food/Health Writer – JorgeCruise.com (CA)
• Sports Producer – NBC Sports (CT)
• Copy Editor – Augusta Chronicle (GA)

See more listings here.

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OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:

Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line at [email protected]

• HOW TO BECOME A FREELANCER AND GHOSTWRITER: On April 1, we hosted a Twitter-based Q&A featuring Christine Cube, media relations manager, blogger, freelancer and ghostwriter. Cube shared with us the story of how she became a writer and explained the challenges of breaking into freelancing and ghostwriting. She also provided some great tips for others interested in doing the same: http://bit.ly/16oGehV
• NOT YESTERDAY'S NEWS: SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE NEWSROOM. In a recent panel at SXSW, Andy Carvin, senior strategist at NPR's social media desk, discussed how media organizations are approaching news gathering in a real-time world. Carvin was joined by Jim Frederick, editor, Time International; Meredith Artley, managing editor, CNN Digital; and Ayman Mohyeldin, foreign correspondent for NBC News based in Egypt. You can read a recap of it here: http://bit.ly/10rUV30 
• WHERE DID PROFNET EXPERTS POP UP IN MARCH? ProfNet has been helping journalists and experts connect for more than 20 years. In that time, we have seen queries from just about every type of outlet imaginable, from newspapers and magazines to radio shows and blogs. And while the media times are a-changin', there are still a great many stories being written, and writers still need experts. Take a look at some of the more than 300 outlets that used ProfNet in March – and how you can use ProfNet to find experts at no charge: http://bit.ly/11hqzlh

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