Following on from the earlier DB post, I have known Ray Snoddy, the editor of the BBC’s Newswatch, for more than 25 years and I admire him as a journalist. But his decision to interview Fiona Fox – director of a body called the Science Media Centre (SMC) – to give a supposed impartial verdict on the current standards of BBC science reporting was a major mistake.
First, this harpy is not a scientist, but a camapaigning lefty journalist. Second, as I have pointed out in previous posts, the body she works for is in no sense “independent”; not least because it is run partly run by a senior BBC editor (of Today), Ceri Thomas. Further, SMC long since dropped any pretence of impartiality and all its seminars on anything to do with climate change are addressed only by warmist fanatics. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Ms Fox – although she may have picked up scientific jargon with relish – has not the faintest idea of how science works and appears to think the veracity or otherwise of scientific theories is decided by the weight of evidence.
Equally as chilling (though no surprise on this blog) was her revelation on Newswatch that Richard Black and Roger Harrabin have been campaigning hard to reduce the appearance of sceptics on BBC science items. This confirms yet again that they are political activists. Snoddy should have torn her apart for this, but he let her walk all over him, and showed not a flicker of curiosity or surprise at her fanatical, absurd responses.
It is deeply depressing, but also predictable, that it will be to bodies like the SMC and women like Fiona Fox that the BBC Trustees will turn in their current investigation of the standards of science reporting. As with Oxburgh, rubbish in, rubbish out.