Science Media Centre UK Spin

[Merry]

Kate Benson at "Reporting on Health: The California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships" discusses Science Media Centre spin on PACE trials results:

http://www.reportingonhealth.org/2013/02/19/reporting-evidence-requires-more-spin

Thanks to Tom Kindlon for posting info at Co-cure.

 

[alex3619]

I read this yesterday after Tom's Co-Cure post. I will be mentioning it in a blog I hope to finish in a month or two. My current unfinished blog is on political issues, and the one after that addresses the SMC by developing the theme of my current blog.

Spin machines have no place in science or science reporting. However, to foreshadow what I will be saying later, its very hard to directly oppose them. There are better ways, and I will be discussing those.

 

[taniaaust1]

I hope the PACE trial goes down in history as the worst done and reported trial ever.

 

[Esther12]

A bit OT, but I thought I'd post this here from Fiona Fox:

Neither is it true that science reporting is all about churn. The SMC has worked with journalists on many original stories, most recently exposing the horrendous campaign of harassment against chronic fatigue syndrome researchers and breaking the news, hidden from public view for 10 years, that the UK’s airlines and ferry companies had completely withdrawn from transporting animals for research after threats from animal rights activists.

http://www.cjr.org/the_observatory/science_media_centers_the_pres.php?page=all

I thought it was pretty funny, considering how poor the research behind these stories was, and that they were really just churnalism and spin.