Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
persuade both press and scientific community to join in a campaign to
educate the masses about what was happening inside the laboratories.
That staff included many pioneers in science journalism, including
some of the first female science journalists in the United States.
21
Many
were among the founders of the National Association of Science Writers
in 1934. Almost all Science Service writers had some type of technical
training; a few, like Thone, had graduate training but had abandoned full-
time research and teaching for a career in journalism.
22
These intermedi-
aries were familiar with scientific organizations, universities, and sci-
ence-based industries. They understood scientists' culture, respected the
authority of their expertise, and were alert to concerns about accuracy
and credit. They were also convinced that scientific knowledge was a so-
cial asset to be shared and that science's fortunes were irrevocably en-
twined with those of the 'masses'.
4.
Constructing the Daily News about Chemistry
If large numbers of readers (and the newspapers serving them) did not
express consistent interest in a particular scientific topic, then Science
Service gave it less attention. Coverage of the disciplines was therefore
quite uneven, reflecting shifting public interest rather than necessarily the
intellectual vigor of a research area. Mathematicians complained con-
stantly about the lack of attention to their work, for example, but theo-
rems or proofs could rarely compete with the glamour of archeology or
physics. Special features and syndicated columns during the 1920s con-
centrated more on astronomy (weekly 'Star Maps'), meteorology ('Why
the Weather'), or natural history and botany ('Nature's Notebook'); news
articles followed similar patterns. During the 1930s, chemistry attracted
more attention, thanks in part to consumer interest in the development of
new pharmaceuticals, fabrics, materials, fertilizers, and insecticides. In
21
Mary Tressida has created a web exhibit ('Women of Science Service') that describes
some of the staff and contributing writers. See <http://siarchives.si.edu/research/sci-
servwomen.html>.
22
Frank Ernest Aloysius Thone (1891-1949) majored in botany at the University of
Iowa, and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1922. His work in Cali-
fornia as assistant to William E. Ritter led to the contact with Slosson. After a few
years of teaching and research, he became the Science Service biology editor in 1924.
