In What Is News" (1926), the second of his many books, Gerald W. Johnson defended the art of popularizing, which he considered to be one of the more important obligations of the daily press. Only because it usually is done badly do scholars regard popularization with "holy horror," Johnson wrote; popularization undertaken with suitable seriousness is "as rare as first-rate newspapermen":

What often passes for popularization is the muddle-headed work of incompetent journalists which, so far from clarifying an obscure subject, renders it unrecognizable even to the expert.

Genuine popularization is principally clarification. Its difficulty lies in the fact that no man is capable of clarifying a subject until he understands it himself.

The journalist who possesses "genuine learning" will excel at clarification, and his reports to the general public will provide important contributions to the advancement of knowledge.

Johnson was a master clarifier. His industry and intellect were...