Û^ tâe f4me%€C0Ut< (^aemieat By t h e Standing Committee on M e m b e r a n d Public Relations of the A C S Board of Directors
JL H E committee has m a d e an. exhaustive study of t h e entire public a n d m e m b e r relations program of t h e Society. I n view of t h e w i d e and continuing interest m a n i fested i n this subject, it seems appropriate to present to the membership through t h e columns of C H E M I C A L
AND E N G I N E E R I N G
N E W S a report on the committee's findings. At t h e outset, t h e committee undertook to determine t h e proper public a n d m e m ber relations objectives of the Society. In an earlier study, made b y industrial p u b lic relations experts in 1945 a n d known as t h e Brayman report, t h e Society's broad public relations objectives were defined as follows : 1. T o improve t h e professional status of the chemist through greater public knowledge of t h e importance of chemistry in modern life. 2. T o bring about a true appreciation on t h e p a r t of t h e public of t h e numerous contributions of t h e chemist t o t h e public welfare, a n d to obtain from civic leaders and m e n in public life a recognition of t h e fact that chemistry is used to improve t h e quality of practically everything in modern life a n d thus contributes greatly to t h e steady increase in the s t a n d a r d of American living. 3. T o awaken within t h e individual chemist a sense of responsibility for t h e public's opinion of chemists, a n d to awaken t h e need for participation in civic activities related t o his chosen field. The
AMERICAN
CHEMICAL
SOCIETY
Mews Service, in a current brochure explaining its aims and activities, expands this list t o cover 10 public relations o b jectives for t h e Society. These objectives are ( t h e order in which they appear is of no special significance) : 1. T o disseminate scientific a n d technical information among laymen. 2. T o promote the expansion of t h e chemical industry to meet t h e nation's needs, raise t h e living standard, a n d provide m o r e jobs. 3. T o condition t h e public to accept n e w chemical products with full confidence. 4. T o educate bankers a n d investors in t h e possibilities inherent in sound a n d persistent chemical research. 5. T o educate industrial m a n a g e m e n t in t h e value of a n d n e e d for continuing chemical research. 3488
Emil Ott, C h a i r m a n
E. C. Britton
6. T o encourage public recognition of t h e contributions of chemists and chemical engineers t o better living. 7. T o strengthen t h e professional status of chemists a n d chemical engineers. 8. T o encourage public service activities on t h e part of chemists a n d chemical engineers. 9. T o disseminate information about
Henry Eyring
concerned primarily with external relations, while t h e Executive Secretary and the. editor of C H E M I C A L AND E N G I N E E R I N G
N E W S a r e concerned primarily with internal relations. Obviously, close coordination is essentia] in administering these programs, and the committee is happy to report that in its study it f o u n d a b u n d a n t a n d convincing evidence of such cooperation. t h e A M E R I C A N C H E M I C A L SOCIETY a n d its T h e Executive Secretary has told the aims a n d policies, with a view to extendcommittee t h a t t h e member relations aci n g its influence—and therefore t h e intivities have only o n e aim—to build and fluence of its individual m e m b e r s — i n all implement a strong program for t h e benepublic matters of direct concern t o chemfit of the profession a n d the science. That ists a n d chemical engineers. is possible only if t h e following is 10. T o acquaint American youth with achieved, a n d therefore one can say that t h e true n a t u r e a n d importance of t h e these constitute t h e objectives of t h e memchemical a n d chemical engineering prober relations work: fessions, i n an effort to attract t h e most competant type of y o u n g m e n and women 1. To increase individual activities foi the b e t t e r m e n t of t h e profession, the scito the profession. ence, and t h e Society which serves them. T h e committee endorses these objec2. To assure an informed a n d interested membership ( a prerequisite for a i m 1 ) . tives, which, it will be observed, are in accord with those provisions of t h e So3. To ascertain t h e needs of the profession. ciety's National Charter calling for " t h e 4. To foster cooperation between local promotion of research in chemical science sections a n d divisions on t h e o n e b a n d a n d industry . . . the advancement of chemand the society as a whole o n t h e other. istry in all its branches," a n d " t h e inBoth p u b l i c relations a n d member relacrease a n d diffusion of chemical knowltions objectives are implemented in a wide edge." variety of ways, a n d it is difficult comIn many respects public relations acpletely to divide t h e program rigidly along tivities for t h e Society resemble public these lines, because often a single activity relations activities for a n industrial contouches b o t h fields. F o r t h e purposes of cern. Just as a full-neged industrial public this report, those activities primarily direlations program comprises both external rected to t h e public will b e regarded as and internal ( o r employee) relations, so public relations efforts, a n d those prithe Society's program embraces both p u b marily directed t o t h e members will be lic and m e m b e r relations. T h e ACS News placed in t h e member relations category. Service directs the Society's relationships with the public at large, through cooperaPUBLIC RELATIONS tion with the press, radio, a n d television. Before describing t h e far-reaching p u b T h e Executive Secretary a n d the Society's lic relations work n o w carried o n by the publications, particularly t h e official SoSociety, it m a y b e well to outline briefly ciety organ, C H E M I C A L AND ENGINEERING the history a n d past achievements of the N E W S , a r e largely responsible for t h e conNews Service in this field. duct of member relations. This means that the director of t h e N e w s Service is T h e Society formally e m b a r k e d upon a C H E M I C A L
A N D ENGINEERING
NEWS
¥ V W ^ %
Board Committee on Member and Public Relations hopes that the following report will demonstrate to the membership that an outstanding job has been done in the field of member and public relations. Credit for this effort goes to many. The prime responsibility rests in the hands of Alden H. Emery, Executive Secretary, and Walter J. Murphy, Director of ACS News Service and Editor of CHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING NEWS.
They have been able to function so effectively because of their qualifications, intimate knowledge, and sympathy with the aims and objectives of our Society, large acquaintanceship with individual chemists and chemistry, intimate knowledge of the workings of our Society, and because they have at their command effective tools with which to produce results. The Committee believes that this approach has been sound. Much has been accomplished but it is obvious that most of the achievements would soon be lost again if the effort were to be diminished. Continuous activity with freshness of approach is vital for lasting results. Your Committee believes that this will be accomplished provided those who carry out the work are given encouragement, constructive criticism, and support from the individual members, councilors, and the Board of Directors.
public relations program in 1917, when t h e directors established a publicity department operating on a p a r t - t i m e basis. T h e News Service, as it was subsequently named, proved so successful in its pioneering efforts to explain chemical progress to the nonscientists that it quickly won a permanent place for itself a s a vital aid to t h e press a n d radio of the nation. It is widely recognized, in fact, that t h e News Service has h a d a key role i n the development of p u b l i c appreciation of science. Not so widely recognized, p e r h a p s , is the magnitude of the News Service's influence on t h e growth of t h e chemical industry. T h e dissemination of factual information about chemistry and chemical engineering has h a d a profound effect in building a favorable public attitude toward research a n d i t s products. T h e striking reversal in t h e attitude of t h e investment world t o w a r d the chemical industry also can be attributed in part to the educational role of the News Service. A few decades a g o bankers and investors were frightened b y the chemical industry's reputation for revolutionary change overnight. T o d a y , m a n y chemical stocks are rated as first class investments, and financiers are likely t o insist that a company possess an efficient research organization before t h e y will invest in it. T h e professional s t a n d i n g of chemists a n d chemical engineers has improved greatly in t h e p a s t three decades. Here again the News Service h a s b e e n an important factor, striving at all times to convey to t h e public a realization that the chemist a n d chemical engineer stand with the doctor, the lawyer, and other professional men. This has been done b y directing attention to t h e fact t h a t chemistry is a learned profession, a n d t h a t those workVOLUME
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ing in the field are professional men, so that when some one says he is a chemist or chemical engineer h e is regarded b y the public—and by industrial management— as a professional man and is treated accordingly. It has always been the policy of the News Service to publicize individual chemists a n d chemical engineers when their Society activities or research or civic achievements are newsworthy. Early Years In its early years, the News Service concentrated upon providing the press with accurate yet easily understood reports, prepared in popular style by professional writers, which stressed the fundamentally significant rather t h a n the merely sensational aspects of chemical progress. W i t h the development of radio as a major means of communication, the News Service extended its activities to include supplying material for newscasters and commentators, as well as arranging for special broadcasts in connection with national meetings and other outstanding events. Up to t h e end of World W a r I I , the News Service operated on a part-time basis, and inevitably concerned itself chiefly with affairs at the national level a n d with t h e scientific and technological reports presented at national a n d divisional meetings or published in t h e Society's journals. Award presentations and similar newsworthy activities of local sections were publicized as far as possible. Particular emphasis always has been placed on t h e task of making known to the public t h e viewpoint of t h e chemist and chemical engineer on current issues
OCTOBER
9, 1 9 5 0
affecting the chemical profession. Editorials in the journals, resolutions b y the Board of Directors, and statements of Society officers on vital problems have been widely reported. During W o r l d War II, for example, the Society took t h e lead in protesting the waste of scientific talent b y the armed forces, a n d t h e success of t h e News Service in directing public attention t o the draft policies under criticism was a n important factor in forcing their revisionW i d e use was niade of such releases b y the press. T h e war, -with its atom b o m b , radar^ antibiotic drugs, and other spectacular triumphs, raised public interest in things scientific to unprecedented heights, and the News Service expanded its program accordingly w h e n hostilities ended. I n the fall of 1945, a full-time office was established in N e w York, t h e stall was augmented, and a nationwide effort was launched t o publicize chemistry, thtchemist, and t h e chemical engineer a t the community level. T h i s effort w a s remarkably effectiveWorking w i t h local public relations committees, t h e [News Service helped î o geî news of meetings, addresses, elections, student contests, and the like into local newspapers amd to cultivate t h e good wîB and interest of t h e local editors a n d radio men. A comprehensive booklet, entitled "Publicizing t h e Chemical Profession,** was prepared a n d distributed to local section officers a n d publicity chairmen and to division officers. A revised edition of this booklet, Avhich gives detailed advice on publicity procedures, will b e published soon. A companion booklet, explaining the broad p u b l i c relations alms a n d policies of t h e Society, also will b e issued 3489
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shortly u n d e r the title, " T h e American Chemical Society News Service—Voice of the Chemical Profession." On the advice of t h e News Service, most of t h e 135 local sections h a v e set u p public relations committees, w h i c h assist the local press and radio in covering news of t h e chemical world. Public relations problems of the local sections a n d divi sions are discussed at a breakfast spon sored by t h e News Service at each of t h e Society's national meetings a n d a t t e n d e d by division a n d local section leaders. Through this broad program, t h e News Service has helped greatly in recent years to win recognition for chemists a n d chemi cal engineers in their own communities. Some idea of the extent to which t h e News Service program has been broadened in recent years is given b y the accompany ing charts. They show the sharp rise in annual News Service expenditures during the past decade and reveal the relatively low cost per member of t h e News Service program. Needless to say, if this cost w e r e figured on t h e basis of all chemists a n d chemical engineers in t h e country, all of whom benefit, the per capita rate would b e even lower. T h e nature and extent of current ACS public relations efforts c a n b e summarized in 10 categories: 1. Newspapers, newsmagazines, a n d press associations—The News Service con tinues to publicize t h e Society's national, regional, a n d divisional meetings, out standing local section meetings, important articles in Society journals, medal awards, and expressions of opinion by t h e Board of Directors and t h e journals on vital issues. " S p o t " news stories are sent to European a n d Latin-American editors a n d the foreign departments of t h e press as sociations. T h e News Service also supplies comprehensive bimonthly reports on American chemistry a n d chemical engi neering to t h e Committee on Inter-Ameri can Scientific Publication, sponsored by
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