Thanks for the link to Ben Goldacre on cash for stories. In one piece, he tells how he was approached by a PR company offering £500 for 'an equation from an expert to work out which celebrity has the sexiest walk, with theory behind it.' They wanted 'help from a doctor of psychology or someone similar who can come up with equations to back up our findings, as we feel that having an expert comment and an equation will give the story more weight.'
The company had already decided Jessica Alba would win; they just hadn't got round to doing the survey at that point. Goldacre turned them down, but eventually a story was published in the Daily Telegraph claiming support from 'a team of Cambridge mathematicians'. This after the PR company had obtained a response (to which they didn't exactly adhere) from none other than the director of the Statistical Laboratory at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge University.
Whole thing is here http://www.badscience.net/2007/09/imaginary-numbers/#more-520
Jaw-dropping. Is this how stories of the kind that prompted this thread typically come to light?
Chris
-----Original Message-----
From: psci-com: on public engagement with science [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Michael Creek
[...]
Ben Goldacre has a whole "Cash for Stories" section of his website devoted to this type of shenanigans:
http://www.badscience.net/category/cash-for-stories/
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