leyton.org

I didn’t see the seemingly infamous Panorama programme itself, but have certainly come across plenty of scare-mongering and atrocious reporting in the last few months regarding the supposed “danger” posed by Wi-Fi network routers. Somehow, at least in deluded and panic-stricken sections of the media, these devices are a new menace unseen before and that Action is required. Now. Think of the babies! I hear them cry.

What puzzles me in so much of this is how basic physics seems to get ignored as media-trained journalists no-doubt copy and paste the press-release from excitable pressure groups who could do with spending some more time studying GCSE and A-level physics books. The Inverse Square Law in particular. If you’re hurried, then these pages might be of interest:

• The truth about wireless devices
• Dr Ben Goldacre’s excellent Bad Science column from last Saturday’s Guardian. That schoolkids saw through what was being claimed is marvellous.

I’m really beginning to worry that media hysteria and delirium on specific issues (frequently with no actual foundation other than one or two pressure groups) is an increasing problem that detracts from coverage of genuinely important issues. MMR is the classic case. It’s so important to think critically and objectively about what’s been said, and remember that - in science and technology issues in particular - the reporter is rarely going to be an expert, and perhaps therefore over-inclined to listen and give equal time to people and organisations on the fringes of generally accepted science.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 3rd, 2007 at 12:00 pm and is filed under BBC, Media, Newspapers, TV, UK. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.