You would think that it was not possible for Jeni Barnett and LBC Radio to compound their errors and mishandling of this issue – that the past few days and the blogosphere reaction to LBC’s Legal Chill Effect as administered to Dr Ben Goldacre might have taught something to Jeni Barnett and LBC Radio about the Streisand Effect. However, as the comments have disappeared from her two postings Bad Scientists and MMR and Me, it seems not.
Oddly enough, there was a discussion on this morning’s Start The Week (Matt Wardman has the snippet) on how, on the Internet, few things ever really disappear. Head over to Quackometer: Jeni Barnett, Have You Lost Something?
This is a unfortunate development for those people, such as Martin Stabe who praised Barnett for allowing those who are critical of her to comment.* How very reminiscent of Patrick Holford, who doesn’t allow comments from people who haven’t drunk the Kool-Aid and signed up to his 100%health subscription service.
*We should clarify that we are so jaded that we tend to expect this so rather liked to be reminded that other people’s default expectation is for better behaviour.
8 Comments
February 9, 2009 at 9:43 pm
It’s not really unfortunate for me. I simply withdraw my praise.
Those who publish their ideas in the public domain must expect those ideas to be challenged – sometimes robustly. I was impressed by her apparent willingness to engage with that sort of public critique. It’s what scientists do, and I wish it were also the standard in the mass media.
Admin edit: hope that didn’t come across negatively. I thought it was good that people were giving her the benefit of the doubt.
February 9, 2009 at 9:44 pm
[...] It seems my pleasant surprise at Barnett’s willingness to engage with her critics was premature. As Holford Watch points out, out the critical comments have now been removed from her site. Barnett also added second, more [...]
February 9, 2009 at 11:52 pm
[...] course, we are constrained to mention that, after calling for a debate, Jeni Barnett has seen fit to delete comments from her blog. Of course, that doesn’t mean that they have disappeared from the [...]
February 9, 2009 at 11:53 pm
[...] Jeni Barnett. Has The Streisand Effect Taught You and LBC Radio Nothing? [...]
February 10, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Just for the sake of interest, the full list of blog posts from both the main threads on Jeni Barnett’s blog can be found here…
http://themilligan.wordpress.com/2009/02/09/jeni-barnett-aka-the-lbc-idiot-no-debate-here/
in one, handy *.pdf file. Please feel free to download and disseminate as you see fit.
Contact me if you want the transcript of the broadcast in a *.pdf and I’ll sort that out as well.
We aim to please.
Not everybody.
And not all of the time.
March 5, 2009 at 9:24 am
Jeni Barnett: I’m controversial but only on my own terms. In the way that allows me to be rude to other people and discount their input.
The moment anyone gives me a robust response, I reserve the right to play the gender card and crumple into a puddle of crocodile tears.
March 5, 2009 at 3:14 pm
In association with the age card it is a devastating combination. Even if it does make a nonsense of her usual self-promotion as a desirable, sassy woman who knows 60 is the new 40.
March 11, 2009 at 2:32 pm
I imagine that Jeni Barnett must be thrilled to have extra coverage of this issue on ITV Lunchtime – there’s no such thing as bad publicity, eh?
http://www.badscience.net/2009/03/christ-i-need-a-haircut/