Chemical journalists

In the postwar years a spirit of "chemical boosterism," to use a term coined in a recent historical study, emerged in the United States. A group of chemists, chemical journalists and science popularizers acted as propagandists for the chemical profession and industry. Their message, delivered with conviction to the public through a variety of popular publications, was that chemistry was vital to the national defense and to economic progress. One of the more active of these chemical boosters was Charles Holmes Herty, and his efforts to establish a national institute for drug research must be viewed within this context (11). 

Contaminant scandals or product deficiencies in the broader sense that have been the subject of public debate do produce learning effects, which extend far beyond the product and company concerned. This means that journalistic interest in the subject of chemicals and comparative testing facilities also are important driving forces for iimovation. At the same time, it is however also necessary to ensure that the effective instrument of public opinion is handled in a responsible way. 

A few of the many employment opportunities available to those with an interest in chemistry have been summarized in this section. The few examples should illustrate the breadth of possibilities available to individuals who obtain degrees in chemistry and related fields. Chemistry majors also branch out into other diverse fields that make use of their technical training. Examples include law (patent law, environmental law), insurance inspectors, journalists, technical writers, and librarians or chemical information specialists. Pay for chemical jobs vary... 

Biologist and earth scientist. Researcher in plant physiology at the University of Vienna until 1991 (specialised in photosynthesis research, simulation of plant bio-productivity). Over 60 publications on environmental issues. 1992 invited speaker at the Alpbach Forum 1996 winner of the grand Austrian Environment Award (of Lower Austria) top-notch journalist on environmental issues admission to the "Austrian Scientific Forum for Environment Protection", board member since 2001. Director of the Chemicals Policy Division of the BMLFUW since the end of September 1997 fields of activity legislation on chemical substances at the national, European and UN levels. Scientific and technical risk assessment of substances and products, best practice diffusion for the production and application of chemical products. 

In general all policy actors should ensure that chemicals management policy formulation is done with the proper contribution and participation of all stakeholders. In particular, they are invited to make bigger efforts to get journalists and the media interested in chemical policy issues. Finally, stakeholders should make a concerted effort to provide positive inputs regarding the development of chemicals policy on multi-stakeholder platforms such as the SAICM Asian region focal group meeting which was held in May 2007. 

The accident at Saitama influenced the people involved profoundly,and it become a journalistic topic within newspapers and other media. The Japan Chemical Industry Association formed the "Workshop for Unstable Substances" and issued the brochure "For the prevention of unpredictable explosion and fire caused by chemical substances" in September of the year as an immediate measure. The association, after repeating its additional studies, issued the brochure "Guidelines for the prevention of disasters from unstable substances" in September, 1982, in which suggestion were offered regarding the kinds of provisional tests that should be made before a new chemical substance is... 

Framing Chemical Risks in Sweden and Poland Journalists Narratives and Media Texts... 

Keywords Chemicals Framing Journalists Narratives News media... 

The purpose of this chapter is to present and discuss results from a study on how chemicals are framed in the contemporary press in Sweden and Poland. These two EU countries in the Baltic Sea Region have different capacities for managing the risks involved in the past and present use of chemicals. We study the content and form of media texts as well as the journalists own narratives about their work. We regard the combination of these empirical materials as an advantage in the study of media framing. 

In general, researchers and experts are more common journalistic sources here than politicians. However, none of these groups of stakeholders seem to play a prominent role as opinion leaders in the field (Table 4.4). The content analysis also reveals that officials - quite frequently in the role of specialists - from the three authorities Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (35 hits), Swedish Chemical Authority (31 hits) and Swedish National Food Administration (26 hits) are represented in this material. 

An economic and legal frame is, on the other hand, applied in much of the news coverage related to the European Union, in particular to the Reach legislation. In contrast to the relative silence about the new chemical regulation in the Swedish press (cf. Table 4.3), the Polish journalists at the two largest national newspapers seem to pay quite a lot of attention to the implementation stage. The mass media take on the EU in this context is one of scepticism, and the views of the Polish companies affected dominate the news material and are at the centre of the journalists writing. In one article the reporter addressed the readers directly ... 

The journalist from Dagens Nyheter also stressed that environmental politics is an area of importance for the newspaper. When asked about what good news or a scoop regarding chemicals would involve, several journalists answered that it would be the discovery of buried barrels of toxins. 

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