For years, 'Dr' Gillian McKeith has used her title to sell TV shows, diet books and herbal sex pills. Now the Advertising Standards Authority has stepped in. Yet the real problem is not what she calls herself, but the mumbo-jumbo she dresses up as scientific fact, says Ben GoldacreCall her the Awful Poo Lady, call her Dr Gillian McKeith PhD: she is an empire, a multi-millionaire, a phenomenon, a prime-time TV celebrity, a bestselling author. She has her own range of foods and mysterious powders, she has pills to give you an erection, and her face is in every health food store in the country. Scottish Conservative politicians want her to advise the government. The Soil Association gave her a prize for educating the public. And yet, to anyone who knows the slightest bit about science, this woman is a bad joke.One of those angry nerds took her down this week. A regular from my website badscience.net - I can barely contain my pride - took McKeith to the Advertising Standards Authority, complaining about her using the title "doctor" on the basis of a qualification gained by correspondence course from a non-accredited American college. He won. She may have sidestepped the publication of a damning ASA draft adjudication at the last minute by accepting - "voluntarily" - not to call herself "doctor" in her advertising any more. But would you know it, a copy of that draft adjudication has fallen into our laps, and it concludes that "the claim 'Dr' was likely to mislead". The advert... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2007-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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That Higgs boson that everyone was so eager to find last year? As it turns out, it could be the end of everything -- in the wrong circumstances, anyway. In his upcoming book Starmus, Stephen Hawking notes that the once-elusive particle could become... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2014-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Gillian Cross is the winner of this year’s Little Rebels Children’s Book Award... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In January, CNN announced staggering growth in the number of users accessing their content on mobile devices. For 2013, the company averaged 30 million monthly unique visitors on mobile, an increase of 40 percent over 2012. ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BBC3 is to become online-only to save money. Is this unfair to young viewers and programme-makers?Boyd Hilton, TV and reviews editor of Heat magazineSo the BBC is getting rid of its one channel aimed at young people, its one channel that has continually fostered new comedy talent, the channel... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Over the past year, an increasingly central plank of conservative and Tea Party rhetoric is that constitutional change is needed and that the 17th Amendment in particular, which gives state residents the power to elect senators directly, should be repealed. (Previously, senators were selected by... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2014-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harry Potter author JK Rowling appears to suggest the boy wizard would have been a better match for Hermione Granger than Ron Weasley in a new magazine interview. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2014-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bookslut is launching the Daphnes, a new award to celebrate the best books of years past and rightfully honor overlooked contenders for prizes, starting with 1963. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Agent Scully actress will use her 'ingrained knowledge and rhythm' for SF to pen multi-volume EarthEnd SagaAfter delving into the paranormal for years as The X-Files' resident sceptic Dr Dana Scully, actor Gillian Anderson is set to create her own science-fictional universe – but this time in... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Berg's memoir chronicles the death of his brother and the aftereffects of the crime. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-10-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Business, Innovation and Skills select committee has criticised the government's... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Headline Publishing has acquired The Wrong Knickers: A Decade of Chaos by journalist Bryony... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Veteran Canadian publisher Scott McIntyre described the dismantling of D&M Publishers, the iconic Canadian independent publishing house he cofounded 40 years ago, as the result of an unfortunate confluence of circumstances. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Aptly titled new Tumblr "Lousy Book Covers" collects the delightfully dubious achievements in jacket design. The book Spending Christmas With a Yeti is already at a marketplace disadvantage, what with that title, but then there’s the book cover. Oh boy, where to start. The real-life... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lena Dunham, creator of HBO’s Girls, signed a $3.7 million book deal with Random House. Rob Spillman says it is emblematic of all that is wrong with corporate publishing today. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-10-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's policies may be unkind to many in the book industry, but that doesn't make them illegal. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple responded to DOJ antitrust accusations claiming it simply leveled the playing field against Amazon's virtual monopoly of the ebook industry. I disagree. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2012-04-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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