Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
want the personality himself or herself - you of course bring the person
to the microphone, introducing them and framing the picture for them.
38
Davis attempted to explain that science news is more “deliberate”: it
“does not break in the way that a murder or shipwreck or other news of
that character happens.”
39
He was fighting a losing battle, however, and
he eventually remodeled his CBS series toward more scripted interviews
with guest scientists and engineers and gave more attention to scientists
as celebrities (or, more often, potential celebrities). His broadcasts also
increasingly emphasized pragmatic accomplishments designed to appeal
to Americans clawing through an economic depression - proven winners
like 'That Perennial Public Enemy, Poison Ivy' and practical topics like
highway transportation and household heating. Chemistry became an
integral part of many interviews, from pharmaceutical research to discus-
sion of road-building materials, crime detection, and oil exploration.
The process of developing scripts with scientists required consider-
able diplomacy and patience. Here, the correspondence between Davis
and his potential guests or their representatives provides a valuable
glimpse of the construction of popular science. When Du Pont Company
scientist Henry J. Wing proposed the title “Application of Research in
the Protective Coating Industry” for his radio talk, for example, Davis
suggested that “Vanishing Varnishes” would be better “bait” to lure lis-
teners.
40
Wing called that suggestion “snappy” but offered “Changing
Varnishes” as “just as suitable and perhaps more accurate” and Davis ac-
quiesced to Wing and the Du Pont representatives who had brokered the
chemist's appearance.
41
Davis also knew how to play the broadcasters' game. He injected
humor, attempted to humanize scientists, and declared that “Effective
methods of presentation include dialogue, dramatic programs with music,
as well as other types of programs written for the ear instead of the
eye.”
42
When he interviewed Charles C. Concannon, chief of the Chemi-
cal Division of the U.S. Department of Commerce, in November 1937
38
M. Cuthbert to W. Davis, November 30, 1934; SIA RU7091, Box 167, Folder 11.
39
W. Davis to M. Cuthbert, December 4, 1934; SIA RU7091, Box 167, Folder 11.
40
Henry J. Wing to W. Davis, September 10, 1935; SIA RU7091, Box 403, Folder 13.
41
Henry J. Wing to W. Davis, October 4, 1935; SIA RU7091, Box 403, Folder 13.
42
W. Davis to H. Bonnet, February 8, 1938; SIA RU7091, Box 193, Folder 3.
