Science news, popularity

Science writers, working for magazines such as Science News and Popular Science, translate discoveries reported in journal articles (written for expert audiences)... 

Popular Science News and Boston Journal of Chemistry... 

New Research Challenges Assumptions About Popular Flame Retardant, Environmental Science and Technology Science News (November 6, 2003). Available at http //pubs.acs.org/subscribe/joumals/ esthag-w/2003/nov/science/kb flame.html, accessed November 7, 2003. See also Hites (2004). 

What can the history of Science Service reveal about public images of chemistry and other parts of science and about how or why scientists engaged in the popularization process Was the organization merely a promotional agent for scientists, or did it play a more complex, subtle role Because Science Service, Inc., continued beyond those first decades, and focuses today on science education and the publication of the small weekly magazine Science News, there has been a tendency to see the past mirrored in the present, to regard its mission today as reflective of its initial purposes and approaches. 

Scientific American A popular science news site containing selected recent articles. Society for Conservation Biology An information site from the international professional organization dedicated to promoting the scientific study of the phenomena that affect the maintenance, loss, and restoration of biological diversity. 

To prepare for becoming a science writer, you should constantly be reading popular science. One helpful assignment is to search for science news articles written by different authors on the same topic. Examine how different science writers approach the same topic and what information each feels is the most valuable.Think about how you might write the story given the facts in front of you. 

Pheromones, especially insect pheromones, have become common news stories in the popular press and hence are well known to most people. For instance, most elementary schools in the USA now include coverage of pheromones in general science and biology courses. Concomitant with this widespread coverage and inclusion in elementary school curricula is ongoing basic and applied research, which leads to important practical uses and beneficial applications. Since Butenandt s initial report on the pheromone of the silk worm moth, there have been many reviews of pheromones and recent ones are cited here. This review of the chemistry of insect pheromones will cover the isolation and identification of new pheromones and the synthesis of these compounds as well as other recently reported syntheses of important pheromones. 

Morris, P. J. T. 1986. Polymer pioneers A popular history of the science and technology of large molecules. Philadelphia, PA Center for History of Chemistry Polymer Project. Rabe L. R. 2001. Landmark honors Carothers work. Chemical and Engineering News January 22 108-09. 

During the 1930s, Science Service, a not-for-profit independent news organization, promulgated an approach to popularizing science which favored audience preferences over scientific agendas and attended to industry as well as academic research interests. Stories about chemistry and chemists harmonized well with Science Service s emphasis on research utility and relevance. This chapter describes examples from syndicated news reports, radio broadcasts, a newspaper series called Fabrics of the Future , and a department store exhibit on chemistry that traveled through the United States in 1939-40. 

The existence and vitality of this worldwide network of sources demonstrates that the flow of popular science information may have been more complex than historians have previously assumed. Only about one-tenth of Daily Mail Report stories in the 1930s, regardless of discipline, appear to have been based on interviews conducted by Science Service s full-time staff. Instead, they transformed other material into news -editing stringers reports or sifting through page proofs for journals... 

Popularity was measured by the number of listener requests for scripts or free bulletins. In the late 1920s, listeners consistently preferred either the annual forecasts of science to come or information about poison ivy treatments by the early 1930s, listeners were asking for scripts and bulletins on the same topics being emphasized in the Daily Mail Report stories - medicine, psychology, and engineering. 36 By September 1929, Science Service s 15-minute news and interview program (called either Radio Talks or Science Service Series in the schedules) had proved to be so successful that it was broadcast from the CBS station in New York City and over thirty network affiliates.37... 

New Scientist A popular news and archive site for all branches of science. 

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