Exactly, this is why a science reporter always has to talk to the
researcher and look at the paper in question.
Alexander Hellemans
On Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:14 +0100, "Chris Stokes" <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
> I'm glad someone has pointed this out. Arguing that all media releases
> must be signed off by the scientist(s) behind the story is nice and
> simple and may work most times, but it is not a silver bullet. Caveat
> scriptor.
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: dianne stilwell
>
> [...] There's been many a time I've had a release for final checking and
> have asked "so what does that mean?' to be told that the scientist
> insisted on that particular phrase - and that the writer didn't really
> understand it - but had included it for the sake of a quiet life/get the
> thing written etc. At that point you can:
>
> - leave it - and risk the sorts of misunderstandings that sparked the
> present correspondence
> - re-write with more explanation - leaving in the phrase to satisfy the
> scientist and making it a bit long and wordy - but hopefully more
> understandable
> - insist on a rewrite, removing the complex phrase and with the manager
> perhaps going head to head with the scientist
>
> The options chosen will obviously vary from place to place and person to
> person - and a lot will depend on the authority and standing of the comms
> team within an organisation. If their status is lowly and they are just
> seen as press release machines (and it sounds as if Alison has had a
> particularly bad experience) then there's not much chance that an
> individual release can be changed - the problems goes deeper and is far
> more a management issue.
>
> Dianne
>
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