>At 10:41 AM 6/9/2004, Michael Perelman wrote:
>>She is the Judith Miller of science, except that I recall that she
>>was reigned in a
>>while ago.
>>
>>On Wed, Jun 09, 2004 at 09:34:21AM -0400, Doug Henwood wrote:
>>>
>>> The sister of Judi Bari, as isn't widely known.
>>>
>>> Doug
>
>So, how does this invalidate the researcher's claims?
Her being Judi Bari's sister doesn't at all - that was just a piece of gossip. As should be obvious, I love gossip.
Kolata's history as a corporate hack, however, was reviewed in detail by Mark Dowie in the July 6, 1998, issue of The Nation. "A faithful apologist for corporate science" is one memorable quote. According to Dowie, she's held in low regard by science reporters at Business Week, the WSJ, and Science, and has alienated scientific sources by rough treatment of those she doesn't agree with. The article is only in scanned graphic form in The Nation's archive, so I can't post the text, and don't have time to scan it.
Of course the food industry position on obesity is that it isn't much of a problem, so we can guess where Kolata's sympathies might fall. And the stats she quotes from the "skeptic" undermine rather than promote the case.
Doug