Speakers and topics for Monday, October 17, 2016

Here are the presenters for the first day of the 2016 Lorne Trottier public science symposium series, Science and the Media: The challenge of reporting science responsibly.

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ERICA JOHNSON: Busting the Spin Cycle

These days, almost any outfit promising the latest cure, magical potion or miraculous lotion can get the ear of the media. Find out how Marketplace — North America’s most-watched investigative consumer show — uses original testing, experts and hidden camera footage to fight back. Erica Johnson discusses the growing backlash to “truth telling”, and reveals how — for the first time — a TV program got a Health Canada licence for a children’s homeopathic product with no science behind it.

Erica Johnson is a national reporter for CBC’s Go Public, an award-winning investigative news segment featuring stories that hold those in power accountable. Erica has won numerous television and radio awards, and is a five-time Gemini nominee for best host of a news/information series for her work on CBC’s investigative consumer program Marketplace. She has spent decades investigating everything from marketing scams to the pharmaceutical industry and alternative medicine. Her work has resulted in new food, health and safety regulations, has led to changes to corporate policies, and has shut down shady businesses.

 

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JULIA BELLUZ: The Dr. Oz problem: How reporters should cover the peddlers of bad science

Debunking quacks after they've gained prominence isn't enough to stop the spread of harmful misinformation, and too often amounts to preaching to the converted. Health reporter Julia Belluz shares a five-step plan — for everyone from educators and students to the media — on how to prevent pseudoscience before it happens.

Julia Belluz is a National Magazine Award-winning journalist covering medicine and public health for Vox.com. She was a 2013-14 Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT. Julia’s writing has appeared in Maclean’s, the British Medical Journal, the Medical Post, the Globe and Mail, the National Post, Slate, the Times (of London), the Economist, and other publications. She holds an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics and a B.A. from Ryerson University’s School of Journalism. Find her on Twitter @JuliaOfToronto.

 

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