atw: Re: 'Writers' or 'communicators' or 'authors' or '?'

I read in an American magazine, an interview with the actor Kevin Spacey 
(aged 40+).
He said "Our family moved around a lot because my father was a technical 
writer".



erisalinsky@xxxxxxxxxxx
Tech writer/Procedures Analyst
0407 811 937 02 6286 8959 (Canberra)
Box 4051, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic 3052 Australia




>From: "McShane Sonja" <Sonja.McShane@xxxxxxxxx>
>Reply-To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>To: <austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: atw: Re: 'Writers' or 'communicators' or 'authors' or '?'
>Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2005 13:45:25 +1100
>
>Where is our audience here? Australia only? Global? In the UK the common 
>ti=
>tle is Technical Author.  What is the common  title in the US?=20
>
>I agree that writing is a part of technical communication and definitely 
>ha=
>ng my hat on the Technical Communicator branch. However, having said that, 
>=
>in some circles my title is "Written Communications Specialist". How much 
>d=
>oes that rock the boat?
>
>Sonja
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>[mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Allan Charlton
>Sent: Tuesday, 25 January 2005 13:33
>To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: atw: 'Writers' or 'communicators'? (WAS: Re: Apart from
>usingWord 2002, what else am I doing wrong
>
>
>Howard questioned the term 'technical communicator' and alleged that it
>'may now be well established in our profession.'  After fifteen years or
>more it hasn't got through to Joe Public and I think that if it was a
>good label everyone would understand and accept it.  How many job
>adverts have you seen that call for a Technical Communicator?  Only a
>few.
>=20
>If I say I'm a technical communicator most people have no idea what I
>do, but if I say I'm a technical writer they immediately think of
>manuals.  It's less than half right, but it gets my interlocuteur
>thinking in the right direction.  As Howard says, the term
>'communicator' is not clearly understood.  Maybe it has too many
>syllables, but it certainly has too many meanings.
>=20
>I agree with Howard when he says
> > Putting pen to paper, or finger to key, is surely understood
> > to be only part of what a 'writer' does. So I think it's
> > reasonable to regard technical writing as a specialised
> > branch of writing
>=20
>Yes.  'Writer' is a generic label that applies to many professions,
>including ours.  I'm happy to accept that being a technical communicator
>is a branch of being a writer, just as being a dermatologist is a branch
>of being a doctor or being an auditor is branch of being an accountant.
>=20
>The question is whether we need a job title that more carefully
>describes all the things we do.
>I think not, but I'm probably in the minority.
>Allan
>=20
>=20
>
>
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>are=
>  not necessarily the views of the Department.
>=20
>You should scan any attached files for viruses.
>
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