Salk and the Media
An article by Mr. Anthony Perry on Feb. 16 (“San Diego at Large”) asserts that the Salk Institute does not encourage “media attention.” Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the same issue of The Times included an article on a new discovery made at the institute. Your reporter prepared it with the fullest cooperation of our scientists.
At issue is the distinction between information and entertainment, a distinction that is in great danger of being blurred.
The report on our recent discovery is information. What we declined to do was to work for a producer who requested time for “talking to some of your scientists and showing them to do their work” for an entire afternoon. (I quote from the producer’s telefax.) The program is intended for broadcast in Cologne, Germany. Clearly, the program is for the purpose of entertainment, for the producer’s profit at the expense of scientists’ valuable time, and of no benefit to either us or the public.
We agreed to cooperate if the producer were to make a donation to the institute to help with our work. It is false that we requested “$10,000 for an hour interview.”
RENATO DULBECCO
President
The Salk Institute
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