Australian Science Media Centre

Australian Science Media Centre   (Think tank, Big Pharma/lobbyist)
Formation	2005
Headquarters	Adelaide, South Australia
Interests	UK Science Media Centre
Think tank created to dominate the narrative in Australian corporate media in scientific issues.

The Australian Science Media Centre(AusSMC) is a think tank that works to "help the scientific community to engage with journalists", to make a "big impact on the way issues are covered in the media". AusSMC hands out releases from the government, industry (such as Big Pharma) and works with all corporate media in Australia, engaging with around 1,600 journalists.

Its fact sheets, issues briefs and reports, from scientist chosen because they align with commercial interests, tend to be spread in corporate media without any critical analysis, a system that was particularly destructive during the COVID-19 deep event.

Official Narrative

AusSMC is there to "enhance the media’s coverage of science, providing the evidence and experts when science hits the headlines."

Stating that "The corporate media is the most important source of information on science and technology for the Australian public, and yet the relationship between scientists and the media is often fraught and difficult. The AusSMC exists to support both scientists and journalists to ensure that the public has access to the best scientific evidence and expertise."

The AusSMC is based on the UK Science Media Centre that was established in London in 2002. The AusSMC was established as an independent, not-for-profit organisation in late 2005. The AusSMC is now one of six international SMCs (UK, Australia, NZ, Canada, Germany and the US).

"In response to a demand from journalists", the AusSMC launched a breaking science news portal, Scimex (Science Media Exchange) in 2015 to provide the media with access to scientific expertise, independent expert reaction, multimedia and research stories from Australia and NZ. Scimex is now used by 1,600 journalists and distributes more than 3,000 stories each year.

The Centre also trains scientists, engineers and health professionals to enable them to offer reporters the facts journalists need in the form they need them for broadcast interviews, on-the-record quotes and background or off-the-record discussions.

Media, academic institutions, government and the pharmaceutical industry all contribute to the funding of the Centre. On the board are representatives of most corporate media, including the government's ABC, Nine Entertainment, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp is one of the sponsors.

Monsanto

In 2012, A study suggesting a Monsanto GM maize and the company’s Roundup herbicide may pose serious health risks has been widely attacked. Although the publication of the results of the long-term feeding trial in Food and Chemical Toxicology made front page news in France, it got a very different reception in the English-speaking world. This was thanks to the rapid rebuttal efforts of the London-based Science Media Centre (SMC), which almost as soon as the study was published began spoon-feeding journalists with ready-made quotes from scientists savaging the study. The SMC’s quotes were pumped out internationally via its clones, like the Australian Science Media Centre, with like-minded local experts layered on the top. The quotes were also circulated to the media by Monsanto and other GM lobby groups.

The Centre regularly hands out briefings from (alleged) independent experts strongly supporting genetic editing.

Rating

11 November 2021 Terje 

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