Emma,
Many thanks, that is very interesting. It sounds like the kind of dodgy
defence that Rod Liddle used as editor of the Today programme to try to
justify his championing of Andrew Wakefield's views.
Does anybody know of any other anti-science campaigns by national
newspapers that were driven by the personal views of their editors?
Bob
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
-----Original Message-----
From: psci-com: on public engagement with science
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Emma Mason
Sent: 17 August 2011 15:27
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [PSCI-COM] The Sunday Times
Hi Bob
There's an account of this in Andrew Neil's autobiography "Full
Disclosure",
in the chapter called "Ruining Sunday breakfasts".
It includes such nuggets as it was Neville Hodgkinson "who produced a
major
scoop which effectively settled the debate" over whether AIDS was a
heterosexual disease or not (the ST and Hodgkinson were arguing it was
only
a problem for the gay community). Or that "the history of Aids is one of
the
great scandals of our time. Aids had become an industry, a job-creating
scheme for the caring classes.....etc". Or that "in April 1992
Hodgkinson
reported.....that HIV was NOT the exclusive cause of Aids".
You need to bear in mind that this was written in 1996, but he also says
"We
still do not know the exact cause of Aids. Its pathogenesis (how HIV
causes
the immune system to deteriorate) remains a mystery. In such
circumstances
it seemed only right for a serious newspaper to give space to rival
interpretations and to help counter the popular view that to be
HIV-positive
is a certain death sentence."
He then compares the ST's Aids coverage with Harry Evans's thalidomide
campaign!!!!!!
Enjoy!
Best wishes
Emma
Emma Mason
Tel: +44 (0)1376 563090
Mobile: +44 (0)7711 296 986
www.ricemason.eu
On 17/08/2011 15:05, "Michael Kenward" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> It may sound like an odd one, but have you consulted Private Eye?
>
> As well as the sorry saga of the Sunday Times, they may have dealt
with
> other issues where editors have used their organs to push their
prejudices.
>
> I can't remember how they dealt with Duesberg and Hodgkinson.
>
> MK
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: psci-com: on public engagement with science
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Robert Ward
> Sent: 2011-August-17 14:01
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [PSCI-COM] The Sunday Times
>
> Thanks for the many e-mails on this topic. I should clarify that I am
> specifically interested in any insights into how The Sunday Times came
> to campaign on this issue and the extent to which the then editor
Andrew
> Neil was involved. My reason is that on a number of contentious
> scientific issues, some newspapers have been exploiting the feebleness
> of the self-regulation system to push dodgy theories for their own
> reasons - and that is an issue that should be considered by the review
> by Lord Justice Leveson of the culture and ethics of the Press.
>
> 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
> -----Original Message-----
> From: psci-com: on public engagement with science
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of R.M.Holliman
> Sent: 17 August 2011 10:54
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [PSCI-COM] The Sunday Times
>
> Hi Bob (and Dom - the cheque for 'parish membership' is in the post)
>
> I can send you a copy of the OU booklet if you're interested. Feel
free
> to contact me off-list ([log in to unmask]). What follows is a
> summary....
>
> Holliman, R. (2002). HIV/AIDS: a global pandemic. S802 Science in the
> public. The Open University, Milton Keynes.
>
> The booklet is split into four sections. Section 1 is an introduction
to
> some of the background issues which have influenced the global
HIV/AIDS
> epidemic. This section briefly reviews the disease's effects on
> sub-Saharan Africa. It goes on to introduce discussion of the 13th
> International AIDS conference, held in Durban, South Africa in July
> 2000. This provides a snapshot of how HIV/AIDS has been understood and
> managed in one sub-Saharan country, South Africa. A key element of
this
> debate is examined in Section 2 which reviews the significance of the
> Durban Declaration in relation to scientific debates over whether the
> Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the cause of Acquired Immune
> Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). This Section also reviews a range of
> possible prevention and treatment programmes, highlighting the
> relationship between scientific knowledge and decision making
processes.
> Section 3 documents a further influence on HIV/AIDS treatment
programmes
> by considering issues of global trade, research and development (R&D)
of
> drug treatments, and intellectual property rights. More specifically,
> this Section examines the legal case brought by 39 pharmaceutical
> companies against the South African government's right to import
generic
> drugs which could combat HIV/AIDS. Section 5 concludes the booklet by
> reviewing the key themes and topics that the South African HIV/AIDS
> pandemic has raised.
>
> The booklet does discuss Peter Duesberg's work, but the focus is on
> sub-Saharan Africa. For a UK perspective, you could try:
>
> Miller, D., Kitzinger, J. and Beharell, K. (1998). The Circuit of Mass
> Communication - Media Strategies, Representation and Audience
Reception
> in the AIDS Crisis. London, Sage.
>
> Best wishes
> Rick
>
> Dr. Richard Holliman
> Senior Lecturer in Science Communication
> Department of Environment, Earth and Ecosystems
> Science Faculty
> The Open University
> Walton Hall
> Milton Keynes
> MK7 6AA
> Tel +44 (0)1908 654646
>
> Select http://www.open.ac.uk/personalpages/r.m.holliman for more
> information about my work.
>
> Select http://isotope.open.ac.uk for the Isotope website.
>
> ________________________________________
> From: Dominic McDonald [[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 16 August 2011 15:47
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [PSCI-COM] The Sunday Times
>
> Hi Bob
>
> I have in my hand a document called "HIV and AIDS: A Global Pandemic".
> It's a Case Study which was part of my MSc at the Open University in
> 2003ish. It says it was written by Rick Holliman, who I believe is of
> this parish. I only have it in hard copy, but he may have it
> electronically. (If it's of use it seems to have the reference S802
Part
> A. SUP 68252 2)
>
> It has a relatively open-minded appraisal of the does-HIV-cause-AIDS
> controversy, but doesn't mention the Sunday Times role in the whole
> thing.
>
> Dom
> -----Original Message-----
> From: psci-com: on public engagement with science
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Mary Rice
> Sent: 16 August 2011 15:06
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [PSCI-COM] The Sunday Times
>
> You bring back some memories with that! I had a look on Peter
Duesberg's
> website and, in the section headed 'Media', there's a lot about
Neville
> Hodgkinson plus the headlines of all of the pieces he wrote on the
> subject. Unfortunately not many of them have urls, but it might help
a
> bit.
>
> As far as an account of the campaign goes, I'm not aware of an
objective
> one. Hodgkinson wrote a book about it, though......
>
> Mary Rice
>
>
>> Does anybody know of a good account of the campaign by 'The Sunday
>> Times' in the late 1980s-early 1990s to convince its readers that HIV
>> was not the cause of AIDS?
>>
>> 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
>> communications disclaimer: http://lse.ac.uk/emailDisclaimer
>>
>>
**********************************************************************
>> Further information about the psci-com discussion list, including
list
>> archive, can be found at the list web site:
>> http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/psci-com.html
>> You may also change your settings and subscribe/unsubscribe to
> psci-com
>> from the web site.
>>
>> Psci-com is part of the National Academic Mailing List Service, known
> as
>> 'JISCMail'.
>> It adheres to the JISCMail Acceptable Use Policy:
>> http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/acceptableuse.html
>> and to the JISCMail guidelines for etiquette:
>> http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/etiquette.html
>>
>> Email commands:
>> 1. To suspend yourself from the list, whilst on leave, for example,
>> send an email to mailto:[log in to unmask] with the following
>> message:
>>
>> set psci-com nomail -- [include hyphens]
>>
>> 2. To resume email from the list, send an email to
> [log in to unmask]
>> with the message:
>>
>> set psci-com mail -- [include hyphens]
>>
>> 3. To leave psci-com, send an email to [log in to unmask] with
> the
>> message:
>>
>> leave psci-com -- [include hyphens]
>>
>> Please allow up to 24 hours for these commands to activate.
>> Remember that you will need to send commands using the same email
> address
>> that you used to register on psci-com.
>> To contact the Psci-com list owner, please send an email to:
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>>
**********************************************************************
>>
>
> **********************************************************************
> Further information about the psci-com discussion list, including list
> archive, can be found at the list web site:
> http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/psci-com.html
> You may also change your settings and subscribe/unsubscribe to
psci-com
> from the web site.
>
> Psci-com is part of the National Academic Mailing List Service, known
as
> 'JISCMail'.
> It adheres to the JISCMail Acceptable Use Policy:
> http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/acceptableuse.html
> and to the JISCMail guidelines for etiquette:
> http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/etiquette.html
>
> Email commands:
> 1. To suspend yourself from the list, whilst on leave, for example,
> send an email to mailto:[log in to unmask] with the following
> message:
>
> set psci-com nomail -- [include hyphens]
>
> 2. To resume email from the list, send an email to
> [log in to unmask] with the message:
>
> set psci-com mail -- [include hyphens]
>
> 3. To leave psci-com, send an email to [log in to unmask] with
the
> message:
>
> leave psci-com -- [include hyphens]
>
> Please allow up to 24 hours for these commands to activate.
> Remember that you will need to send commands using the same email
> address that you used to register on psci-com.
> To contact the Psci-com list owner, please send an email to:
> [log in to unmask]
>
> **********************************************************************
>
> **********************************************************************
> Further information about the psci-com discussion list, including list
> archive, can be found at the list web site:
> http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/psci-com.html
> You may also change your settings and subscribe/unsubscribe to
psci-com
> from the web site.
>
> Psci-com is part of the National Academic Mailing List Service, known
as
> 'JISCMail'.
> It adheres to the JISCMail Acceptable Use Policy:
> http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/acceptableuse.html
> and to the JISCMail guidelines for etiquette:
> http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/etiquette.html
>
> Email commands:
> 1. To suspend yourself from the list, whilst on leave, for example,
> send an email to mailto:[log in to unmask] with the following
> message:
>
> set psci-com nomail -- [include hyphens]
>
> 2. To resume email from the list, send an email to
> [log in to unmask] with the message:
>
> set psci-com mail -- [include hyphens]
>
> 3. To leave psci-com, send an email to [log in to unmask] with
the
> message:
>
> leave psci-com -- [include hyphens]
>
> Please allow up to 24 hours for these commands to activate.
> Remember that you will need to send commands using the same email
> address that you used to register on psci-com.
> To contact the Psci-com list owner, please send an email to:
> [log in to unmask]
>
> **********************************************************************
**********************************************************************
Further information about the psci-com discussion list, including list
archive, can be found at the list web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/psci-com.html
You may also change your settings and subscribe/unsubscribe to psci-com
from the web site.
Psci-com is part of the National Academic Mailing List Service, known as
'JISCMail'.
It adheres to the JISCMail Acceptable Use Policy:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/acceptableuse.html
and to the JISCMail guidelines for etiquette:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/etiquette.html
Email commands:
1. To suspend yourself from the list, whilst on leave, for example,
send an email to mailto:[log in to unmask] with the following
message:
set psci-com nomail -- [include hyphens]
2. To resume email from the list, send an email to
[log in to unmask] with the message:
set psci-com mail -- [include hyphens]
3. To leave psci-com, send an email to [log in to unmask] with the
message:
leave psci-com -- [include hyphens]
Please allow up to 24 hours for these commands to activate.
Remember that you will need to send commands using the same email
address that you used to register on psci-com.
To contact the Psci-com list owner, please send an email to:
[log in to unmask]
**********************************************************************
Please access the attached hyperlink for an important electronic communications disclaimer: http://lse.ac.uk/emailDisclaimer
**********************************************************************
Further information about the psci-com discussion list, including list archive, can be found at the list web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/psci-com.html
You may also change your settings and subscribe/unsubscribe to psci-com from the web site.
Psci-com is part of the National Academic Mailing List Service, known as 'JISCMail'.
It adheres to the JISCMail Acceptable Use Policy: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/acceptableuse.html
and to the JISCMail guidelines for etiquette: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/etiquette.html
Email commands:
1. To suspend yourself from the list, whilst on leave, for example,
send an email to mailto:[log in to unmask] with the following message:
set psci-com nomail -- [include hyphens]
2. To resume email from the list, send an email to [log in to unmask] with the message:
set psci-com mail -- [include hyphens]
3. To leave psci-com, send an email to [log in to unmask] with the message:
leave psci-com -- [include hyphens]
Please allow up to 24 hours for these commands to activate.
Remember that you will need to send commands using the same email address that you used to register on psci-com.
To contact the Psci-com list owner, please send an email to: [log in to unmask]
**********************************************************************
|