Ben Goldacre on science in the media
"In a world where rigorous evidence from scientific research languishes unpublicised, the media continued to churn out bogus wacky science stories."
- Ben Goldacre, writing in the Guardian
Britain's favorite pseudoscience basher and all-around pain-in-the-arse has published a round-up of the country's best media mishaps, with a headline proclaiming 2008 to have been a "vintage year for iffy studies and selective reporting". Even seasoned science correspondents from highly reputable news outlets, such as the BBC and Goldacre's own host, the Guardian, incur his scorn for purportedly peddling bad stats, inflated claims, uncontrolled 'trials' and all the other sloppy science that he is known for highlighting throughout the year. Considered in the aggregate, it's a pretty amazing tale of hype and corruption.
You can read the entire piece here.