Editorial: Why we are investing in platforms beyond print

C &EN’s ability to make a difference depends on our expertise in two fields.

Our understanding of the global chemistry enterprise requires a confident familiarity with the science, including the social context of the discovery, application, and teaching of that science. This capacity allows us to offer value to readers who are seeking to get ahead—whether they are chemists themselves or their success depends on the business of chemistry.

But at C&EN we must also be savvy journalists. If we fail to follow the tenets of good, trusted storytelling, of how to make analysis compelling, we fail in our fundamental mission. And journalism in the 21st century is a challenging enterprise.

At the heart of this challenge is the changing landscape. Unlike when C&EN started a century ago, readers, including those interested in chemistry, have multiple options for their news and analysis. Even members of the American Chemical Society are reflecting ever-greater diversity in their information-seeking behavior.

For instance, the number of members of the society who opt for the print version of C&EN is just 20% of what it was 10 years ago.

The implications of this shift are profound. We cannot afford to be passive and expect that potential readers across the global chemistry enterprise will find us.

The Knight Science Journalism (KSJ) Fellowship of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology offers a handbook that dedicates a chapter to understanding the dynamics of reader engagement across a variety of channels. (Ashley Smart, associate director of the KSJ Program, is a member of the C&EN Strategy Reference Group.) And there are a lot of channels. Social media alone offers six major platforms. Then we have newsletters, mobile phones, and an array of audiovisual formats.

These platforms matter because, as a Pew Research Center study demonstrates, audiences have shifted from traditional print formats to digital platforms. And the advertising spend has followed. C&EN’s research over the past year proves that the readers we have, and the readers we aspire to have, are no different; within the chemistry enterprise, there are groups with varying preferences for where and how they want their news and analysis.

The most obvious implication of recognizing that people “consume content differently on different platforms,” to quote the KSJ handbook, is that you need to repackage content for them where they are, not try to convince them to leave their platform of preference and come to where you are.

This means that here at C&EN, as we look to build a future for the next 100 years, we need to think carefully about how we deliver content for a science community with a variety of preferences.

Importantly, we will be enhancing our digital offering so it matches the expressed needs of industry, policymakers, and university students and faculty, needs that are driven by the interests and demands of sector, location, and, yes, age.

This does not mean we will be abandoning print. In fact, quite the opposite. We will be looking closely at the segment of our community that has remained loyal to the print magazine and making a conscious effort to ensure it serves their needs more directly.

We will be making changes to the print schedule over the year as we increase our delivery on other platforms. In addition to an improved website, in August we will unveil an enhanced monthly magazine. We also see this as an important contribution to decreasing the carbon footprint of C&EN.

We are not looking to follow trends, but we do want to learn from the best practices of the industries we are part of: chemistry and journalism. And we seek to reflect this learning in the years ahead.

Our ambition is to serve the champions of chemistry with both integrity and skepticism. To do this, we need to start meeting those champions, wherever they may be looking for insight.

Wishing you all a year of happy discovery!

This editorial is the result of collective deliberation in C&EN. For this week’s editorial, the lead contributor is Nick Ishmael-Perkins.

Views expressed on this page are not necessarily those of ACS.