Indeed, Bob.
The copywriters deserve shooting. Or paying more.
You are quite right about this particular press release. But it is a problem
across the board, and there may be any number of reasons for the poor
quality of many journal press releases. One of the reasons may be that the
releases are being churned out in bulk by inexperienced and/or over-worked
writers, and insufficient editorial resources are devoted to rectifying
deficiencies in raw copy. Inadequate editing is a common problem in
contemporary medialand, and it is largely the result of time and money
restrictions.
Where you are not correct is in implicitly blaming the press release for
Christopher Booker's Daily Wail article. Booker the lumpen contrarian hath
no shame, and would publish such crap whatever the nature or quality of the
source material.
We should expect more of this kind of thing following the demise of the News
of the Screws. Amoral and generally dodgy though the Murdochs may be, their
newspapers do at least take environmental science issues semi-seriously. Or
at least those under Master James' control do so. With Murdoch's UK red-tops
under threat, the Mail and Express will likely take up the slack.
Francis
--
Dr Francis Sedgemore
journalist and science writer
www.sedgemore.com
> -----Original Message-----
> From: psci-com: on public engagement with science [mailto:PSCI-
> [log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Robert Ward
> Sent: 15 July 2011 15:31
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [PSCI-COM] Bad PR leads to inaccurate science coverage
>
> Here is an example of a mistake in a journal's press release helping to
> generate some shockingly inaccurate media coverage:
> http://www2.lse.ac.uk/GranthamInstitute/Media/Commentary/2011/July/in
> acc
> urate-reporting-climate-change.aspx
>
> The authors of the journal paper also share some of the blame, because
they
> approved the media release. Yet neither the journal nor the authors appear
> to want to correct the error or apologise.
>
> Bob Ward
>
> Policy and Communications Director
> Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment
> London School of Economics and Political Science Houghton Street London
> WC2A 2AE
>
> http://www.lse.ac.uk/grantham
>
> Tel. +44 (0) 20 7106 1236
> Mob. +44 (0) 7811 320346
> Twitter: @ret_ward
>
>
> Please access the attached hyperlink for an important electronic
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