United Kingdom: Science Media Centre (including Fiona Fox)

[JohnTheJack]

This is fantastic. She is utterly shameless.

For me this Honorary Fellowship is much more exciting than my OBE because I have such huge admiration for this organization.

By the way everyone, did you know I have an OBE as well?

It is so ignorant as well. She shows a fundamental misunderstanding of what knowledge is.

 

[Trish]

Bah humbug.

 

[Londinium]

Just leaving this here: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2003/dec/09/highereducation.uk2

 

[Barry]

Correcting bad science and fighting for the evidence may well fan the flames of a row, and it might not be the best thing for your institutions’ brand. But in these days of fake news and post truth, we need you more than ever.

Talks the talk doesn't she .

The irony of the final quote says it all.

Doesn't it just.

 

[Suffolkres]

Academy of Medical Sciences
List of Presidents

• 2015–2019 Sir Robert Lechler (King's College London).............

 

[Robert 1973]

Thread about a Fiona Fox article for the Revolutionary Communist Party c.1996 for anyone who’s not seen it: https://www.s4me.info/threads/artic...he-revolutionary-communist-party-c-1996.3452/

(This is the article where she claims that involvement with the RCP inoculates her against myalgic encephalomyelitis.)

Direct link to annotated RCP article:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/jroffc18kizqzzn/fiona_fox_ME_RCP_with_links.pdf?dl=0

 

[Sean]

 

[JaimeS]

(This is the article where she claims that involvement with the RCP inoculates her against myalgic encephalomyelitis.)

I. What?

 

[Suffolkres]

Am sitting here with my jaws dropped....... The audacity, arrogance and superciliousness of the woman! No wonder we have a problem with the SMC!
I feel for poor Carol!


Mentions ME and claims it is caused by a virus...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/en/articles/art20130702112133756

"Science and the media: Fiona Fox (and the Holy Grail of journalistic balance ......words of wisdom during the BBC interview)

If you aren’t a specialist in a particular area, there’ll always be a lot of people who know more about a subject than you do..... (right on comrade F!)
Fiona Fox is chief executive of the Science Media Centre which provides advice and support to scientists and journalists.

And, quote from talking to the Lancet, Ha! (my emphasis)
"The SMC offers media training for scientists, including meet the media days where they come face-to-face with UK national journalists in an informal setting. Fox and her colleagues also provide expert comment on just about any science or health subject. “There are far less journalists nowadays, but with much more space to fill. By providing them with expert comment, we are giving it to them on a plate—but what they are getting is fair, balanced, journalism”, says Fox........ (Oh no she isn't!)

 

[Suffolkres]

I know I am recycling, but think it's useful to re-highlight under this thread.

Here's one JtJ did earlier, https://johnthejack.com/2017/10/20/a-response-to-fiona-fox/
and a great link!
http://data.parliament.uk/WrittenEv...logy/Science communication/written/34673.html

 

[chrisb]

I think this may be a sign of the end of civilisation as we know it.

A journalist who doesn't distinguish between "less" and "fewer".

That is guaranteed to upset the residents of Tunbridge Wells.

 

[rvallee]

Finally, critics of the Academy recently mocked you as representing ‘Eminence Based’ medicine. Well I for one am delighted to join this ‘eminent’ club. Thanks for letting me in.

Centuries of science have made that point extremely clear: eminence is a lousy system to determine what is true and what isn't and objective science, one that painstakingly acknowledges biases and works hard to reduce their influence on outcome, is the only process that yields useful outcome over the long term. Reality is just not intuitive, you have to seriously poke at it to get the juicy bits of truth out.

And she's proud of rejecting those painful lessons and embracing argument by eminence. Disgraceful. Explains a lot, though. Quite fitting that this is a movement promoting what is essentially a rejection of the germ theory of disease as the foundation of modern medicine, another painfully learned lesson that took centuries to perfect.

[Edit: no politics ]

 

[MEMarge]

http://www.sciencemediacentre.org/dont-be-complacent-about-the-gains-we-have-made/

Also includes at the end

Had hoped that the reference to "Eminence-Based" Medicine meant that she had been reading Brian Hughes' book.

 

[Barry]

Had hoped that the reference to "Eminence-Based" Medicine meant that she had been reading Brian Hughes' book.

I think it means some amongst them must be aware of his criticisms, and that final comment just validates what @Brian Hughes says, though I doubt that speaker had the slightest awareness of his doing that.

 

[Barry]

Anyone have a link to Malcolm Hooper article (c2013)
The SMC and its campaign against MECFS.

I found one link (meactionuk) that doesn't work and another
https://t.co/1hsatWiHb8 which requires FB login

Is this it?

http://www.margaretwilliams.me/2013/role-of-science-media-centre-and-insurance-industry.pdf

"Section 4: The SMC’s campaign against ME/CFS patients"

This is accessible from MEpedia's page (ref 98) ...

https://me-pedia.org/wiki/PACE_trial#Prof_Malcolm_Hooper.27s_complaints

 

[Suffolkres]

From what I can see on Wikipedia I have a suspicion that organisations like Greenpeace may have morphed rather in the way that the Revolutionary Communist Party and SMC have morphed. The original people started going off in weird directions. That may of course be spin but I am not sure. It may be less infiltration with subversives and more infiltration with the usual phoneys. Plus ça change...

Greenpeace have capitulated to corporatism and money spinning and grabbing. They, with 9 other large "charities" "allowed" and endorsed the destruction of a key "Suffolk Coastal local plan protected" wildlife space with 250 community planted trees, badgers and other wildlife in Rushmere and made us take the issue to Judicial Review in 2016. Cost us a packet but one has to stick to one's principles........ At a cost to fight government development policy and corrupt/ biased and twisted judicial system.

 

[Sly Saint]

 

[Robert 1973]

I see that Dr Brennan Kahan is a lecturer in medical statistics at QMUL:
https://www.qmul.ac.uk/blizard/staf...re-and-public-health/staff/brennan-kahan.html

 

[TiredSam]

A journalist who doesn't distinguish between "less" and "fewer".

Beat me to it.

I shall retire to my sofa with a glass of sherry.

 

[Forbin]

Finally, critics of the Academy recently mocked you as representing ‘Eminence Based’ medicine. Well I for one am delighted to join this ‘eminent’ club. Thanks for letting me in.

In Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray," Lord Wotton says that he likes to choose his enemies for their good intellects. Unfortunately, even in this regard, it looks like ME patients are once again screwed.