Request: the-scientist
Topic: overview
Document Updated: 15 Dec 92
Subject: Overview of THE SCIENTIST
 
 
      	              OVERVIEW OF "THE SCIENTIST"
 
			    15 December 1992
 
THE SCIENTIST is a biweekly tabloid newspaper, published in Philadelphia
(Pennsylvania, U.S.A.) and distributed internationally to research scientists,
managers, and administrators in industry, academia, and government.  Although 
its news articles, features, departments and opinion pieces are targeted at
science professionals in all disciplines, the majority of the publication's
30,000 subscribers are associated with the life sciences.  And most of these
life scientists are directly or indirectly connected to the burgeoning
biotechnology marketplace.
 
With its focus on the career concerns of professional researchers, THE
SCIENTIST is unique among the host of publications available to scientists.
Rather than presenting original research papers or hard-news coverage of
breakthroughs in esoteric scientific pursuits, THE SCIENTIST delivers 
information on the workplace itself--the issues and events conditioning the
professional environment in which researchers conduct their professional lives:
funding legislation; salary surveys; new grants; blossoming areas of study that
are likely to provide the greatest opportunities for career advancement; the 
controversial ethical debates that shape today's workplace; the interplay of
industrial, academic, and governmental research.
 
THE SCIENTIST's editorial package is presented to readers in five distinctive
sections: News; Opinion; Research; Tools & Technology; and Profession.
 
 
APPENDIX:
 
  *  NEWS: Because The Scientist reaches its readers every two weeks, the
     editors presume that other publications are better positioned to provide
     sufficient coverage of "breaking news." The mission of The Scientist's
     News section, then, is to put the latest news in perspective for its
     career-minded readers, with incisive assessments of its impact on the
     working lives of professional researchers, managers, and administrators.
     In this regard, the publication's purview is unique in its breadth: the
     paper fosters reflection by its readers not only on their professional
     roles in relation to science-specific matters-- but also in relation to
     the nonscientific world at large and the major events, from national
     elections to natural disasters, that shape the world in which today's
     researchers ply their trade. The NEWS section also enlightens readers on 
     such urgent matters as the anticipated shortage of scientists and the
     effort to recruit more women and minorities into the science profession.
     Most distinctive, perhaps, is THE SCIENTIST's persistence in tracking and 
     reporting on the individual researchers, the front-running that are
     driving the scientific enterprise today and setting its standards for
     years to come.
 
 *   OPINION:  Probing exploration of critical issues-- matters of considerable
     import to the researcher's professional life--are at the heart of this
     part of the publication. The Opinion section also serves--in the form of 
     a lively Letters department--as a forum for its highly vocal readership.
 
 *   RESEARCH: What are the latest trends in biochemical investigation? Why is
     a particular team of scientists consistently coming up with breakthroughs
     in their field?  What are the "hottest" scientific papers of the day as 
     measured by "citation analysis"? What individuals, institutions, states,
     and nations are documentably emerging as the leaders in scientific
     investigation? The Research section of THE SCIENTIST answers these and
     other questions in issue after issue in order to illuminate readers about 
     the scientific context in which they are pursuing their own careers--and
     about the scientific and professional options that may be available in
     disciplines other than their own.
 
  *  TOOLS & TECHNOLOGY: While this section lets readers in on the latest
     developments in laboratory instruments and systems and in computer-based
     hardware and software that supports lab work, it also examines the
     relationships between these tools and the researchers who use them, as 
     well as issues of impact on the scientific workplace. The publication's
     Tools & Technology sections have focused, for example, on new
     environmental regulations and the effect they are having on traditional
     methods for disposing of lab waste disposal; the need for vigilantly
     monitoring lab safety; how bargain-hunting scientists can beat the 
     skyrocketing cost of laboratory equipment; and advances in computational
     software.
 
  *  PROFESSION: The Profession section presents thought- provoking articles on
     the "bread-and-butter" aspects of the typical scientist's working world.
     Subjects have included: a "tutorial" on how an academic lab can best
     prepare for an on-site visit by National Institutes of Health examiners. 
     The section offers practical advice on topics such as resume preparation
     and networking at scientific society meeting;  tips on how an organization
     or an individual scientist should go about organizing a scientific meeting
     or seminar series; what a researcher who suddenly finds himself or 
     herself in the public limelight must do to prepare for interviews by the
     press and television reporters. Also in the Profession section, readers
     are alerted to funding information with which they may not be familiar and
     rundowns on salaries in specific scientific disciplines. The People 
     department of this section provides special coverage of the science
     community's highest achieving men and women plus passed away.