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Article

Science on the Air: NSF’s Role

NOV 01, 1990
High‐quality science broadcasts initiated with the help of government funds have attracted sizable and devoted audiences on public television—yet the goal of reaching commercial television’s wider viewership remains elusive.
George Tressel

In 1976 I wrote a very intemperate letter to the director of the National Science Foundation, H. Guyford Stever. While I didn’t keep a copy, it went something like this: Recently, Science printed an account of your speech on the public understanding of science. With all due respect, the National Science Foundation does not know the meaning of those words.

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References

  1. 1. B. Lewenstein, “‘Public Understanding of Science’ in America, 1945–1965,” dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1987 (order no. 8804924, University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, Mich).

  2. 2. D. Hensler, “Science Policy by Referendum: Voter Choice on the California Nuclear Initiative,” report P‐6576, Rand Corporation, Santa Monica, Calif., January 1981.

  3. 3. J. D. Miller, Daedalus, Spring 1983, p. 29.

More about the authors

George Tressel, Children's Television Workshop, New York.

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This Content Appeared In
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Volume 43, Number 11

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