Thought for the Day--May 14, 2011: Watching the Watchdog? A Call for Consumers Union Action: A Plea for Transparent Research Protocols
I think it's a good thing that there are bloggers out there watching very closely and holding people accountable. Everyone in the news should be able to hold up to that kind of scrutiny. I'm for as much transparency in the news gathering process as possible. --Anderson Cooper For my May 12 post Shame on You, Consumer Reports... , I was surprised at how difficult it was to track down Consumer Reports' primary research source for its diet rankings in the June 2011 issue ("Pick Your Ideal Diet"). I cite two reasons: 1. Consumer Reports omitted the name of the author and title of their primary source, the very source used to "edge" Jenny Craig into First Place. (Cheryl Rock, et al; "Effect of a Free Prepared Meal and Incentivized Weight Loss Program on Weight Loss and Weight Loss Maintenance in Obese and Overweight Women." (1803-1810) 2. The CR source appeared in the October 27, 2011, issue of JAMA, which published 2 articles and 2 op