FAQ: SPS TCs and eNews

As the Associate Editor for the SPS eNewsletter in charge of liaising with the different Technical Committees of the IEEE Signal Processing Society, I regularly send out emails to TC members asking for contributions. More than rarely, the individuals whom I contacted come back to me with various questions. In an attempt to help future contributors, I gathered below frequently recurring questions together with the best answers I could come up with so far.

What is eNews? I have never heard about it!
Established in Spring 2007, the monthly “Inside Signal Processing eNewsletter” complements the bi-monthly Signal Processing Magazine to provide timely updates and resources to member of the IEEE Signal Processing Society. In particular, it provides the shortest delay to publication with contributions being published in less than a month.

What is the template for TC News? What kind of content is expected?
The rule of thumb is that there is no template since the format and content of a contribution may significantly vary from one TC to another. This being said, TC News contributions usually include a combination of the following: call for nominations, call for papers, workshop advertisement, emerging trends, elected members announcement, status update about the TC, long term directions of the TC, TC-related challenges, etc.

How long should be my contribution?
In accordance with conventional practice on the web, it should neither be too short nor too long. A typical contribution in eNews is between 25 and 50 lines of text, though exceptions are possible.

How frequently is each TC expected to contribute to eNews?
The eNews team aims at publishing TC news from two separate TCs each month. In other words, in average, each TC is expected to contribute twice a year. However, should you have something to publish while it is not your turn according to the implicit rotation, do not hesitate to contact me or any relevant Associate Editor for your contribution to be published in a timely fashion.

Why should I bother with eNews? My TC already has its own internal Newsletter!
eNews is actually an efficient means to reach out outside your own community. Keep in mind that eNews is advertised to all standing members of the Signal Processing Society, including those who are not affiliated to any specific technical committee. Sharing experiences and initiatives with not so closed colleagues is highly valuable to maintain SPS as a whole lively and dynamic. Moreover, you are more than welcome to reuse any existing material that you may have, including internal Newsletter contributions, TC meeting minutes, etc

I am looking forward to your future contributions.  For questions regarding how to contribute an eNews article, please Click here to learn more. Please also share the eNewsletter with your colleagues by emailing and bookmarking Inside Signal Processing eNewsletter.

And I wish you all the best for a successful and happy new year 2011.

Gwenaël Doërr
Associate Editor for eNews