In a science article entitled Of Gay Sheep, Modern Science and Bad Publicity , New York Times writer John Schwartz looks at the bizarre and erroneous coverage that complex stories often receive from respected mainstream media - especially, perhaps, when the topics might be touchy.
Follow me toward the meadow...
Dr. Charles Roselli, a researcher at the Oregon Health and Science Center, has spent five years looking for physiological reasons to explain why about eight percent of rams exclusively seek sex with other rams.
The goal, he says, is to understand the fundamental mechanisms of sexual orientation in sheep. Other researchers might some day build on his findings to seek ways to determine which rams are likeliest to breed, he said.
Last fall, PETA opened a full-bore attack against the research. Some gay activists began a vigorous protest as well, claiming erroneously that Dr. Roselli's work was an attempt to find a "cure" for homosexuality. Last month The Sunday Times of London published an article entitled “Science Told: Hands Off Gay Sheep.” The article was every bit as erroneous as the title.
Bloggers, of course, leaped into the fray. From the story:
The controversy spilled into the blog world, with attacks on Dr. Roselli, his university and Oregon State University, which is also involved in the research. PETA began an e-mail campaign that the universities say resulted in 20,000 protests, some with language like “you are a worthless animal killer and you should be shot,” “I hope you burn in hell” and “please, die.”
And this is where DKos enters the picture. More particularly, one of our own, emptypockets:
Dr. Roselli and Mr. Newman persuaded some prominent bloggers, including Andrew Sullivan, who writes an online column for Time, to correct postings that had uncritically quoted The Sunday Times’s article. They also found an ally in the blog world: a scientist who writes under the pseudonym emptypockets and has taken up Dr. Roselli’s cause. The blogger, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he said a public stand could hurt his career, said he had been cheered by the number of bloggers who dropped their opposition when presented with the facts.
Yep, emptypockets blogged about the story on Dkos on January 4th right here. He thoroughly discredited the Sunday Times of London and others who had spread nonsense about Dr. Roselli's work.
and as deathsinger said
I have no comment
other than to say this is one of the 5 best researched diaries I have ever read. Facts, links, great job, so much better than the typical diary.
It was a great diary and deserving of the kind of mention it got. Hooray to one of our own.