David Kirby in London
I suppose the people behind Green Our Vaccines had a plan. While Jenny and Jim were grabbing the headlines in America David Kirby was dispatched to the UK to address Parliament, no less, and give a public lecture followed by press interviews and media coverage. While the Jenny and Jim Show drew the expected response from critical thinkers in the blogosphere it was largely ignored by the mainstream media. Apart from the celebrity chasers nobody thought a rallying of the faithful to march against vaccines was particularly newsworthy.
Over in the UK poor old David Kirby managed less than that. My thanks to Kev for persuading his MP to attend the parliamentary briefing. He was the only one to turn up along with 4 peers of the realm. The media ignored the event completely. Not even the Telegraph turned up. Perhaps their previous execrable piece on vaccines and autism that the splenetic Dr Aust deals with so admirably, was a blessing in disguise. They are probably too embarrassed to let a junior hack anywhere near the story for a long time to come.
Perhaps the press had all gone to Regent Hall for his public lecture. Thanks to Rob Hinkley for going along and giving us this account. No press there either.
Kirby’s visit had been advertised partly as a chance to meet the press, but there were no press (no print, no radio, no TV, no internet, nobody) at the lecture. Kirby said that he’d been interviewed by the BBC but they’d decided not to broadcast it, and he said he’d been commissioned by the Daily Mail to write an article but then they’d decided not to publish it. One lady in the audience (I got the impression she might have been one of the organisers of the event) said she was a journalist [Sally Beck?] but hadn’t been commissioned by anyone to write about what Kirby had to say, and that although she knew all UK science journalists had been notified about the lecture “not one of them has even phoned to ask if they could come”.
Clifford Miller knew why.
“I’ve got good information that our Department of Health threatens DA-notices against the press” over vaccine stories, and “I’ve got no confirmation of this from the press but I have it on good authority from within the civil service … Is our government using a spurious security argument to protect Glaxo Smith Klein?”
Yes, Clifford. You can read Defence Advisory notices that the Department of Defence issues here. No mention of vaccines. Shame.
Perhaps the media are finally wising up to the fact that these tales of doom supported by dubious science are no longer newsworthy. I hope so.
Comment by kristina | June 8th, 2008
I hope so too—-I suspect even Mr. Kirby will not be able to spin this into a triumphant visit.
Comment by MrsHeather | July 8th, 2008
I as a parent of a vaccine damaged child am depressed to think , that no government officials came to Hear Mr Kirby speak he has obviously done his homework on the subject of vaccines it is just a farse that the government will not put the finances in to research this subject , i did not imagine my child to be vaccine damaged , i saw it with my own eye,s the british government needs to wake up and smell the roses