Re: [cdn-nucl-l] reply to Benjamin Rouben re. opinions and employment

[Tom Adams <TomAdams@nextcity.com>]

It is delightful to see the commitment to disclosure of nuclear affiliation
when commenting on nuclear subjects from English, Rouben, and Cuttler.
Perhaps they would encourage some of their team mates to observe this minimal
standard. See for example, Morgan Brown's undisclosed affiliation in his
letter to the editor of the National Post on February 17, 1999 discussing
(inaccurately it turns out) nuclear performance statistics.

Tom Adams

"English, Andrew" wrote:

 

You're wrong again, Mr. Adams.

• I am not a professional nuclear advocate; I am a professional project manager.
• I don't have "personal opinions"; I have personal opinions, no inverted commas.
• I have had letters to the editor, advocating MY nuclear views (which are based on fact, not opinion), not my company's views, published in Maclean's; in these letters I even revealed my affiliation with AECL.
• I really am just an ordinary citizen.
• Public discussions should not have to bear the burden of UNINFORMED "professional" opinion.  Note the inverted commas.

 

Andy English
 
 

-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Adams [mailto:TomAdams@nextcity.com]
Sent: Tuesday January 15, 2002 10:23 PM
To: CNS listserv; roubenb@aecl.ca
Subject: [cdn-nucl-l] reply to Benjamin Rouben re. opinions and
employment

Benjamin Rouben,

There may be members of this listserv who are not employees of AECL, but
those who are employees of AECL and are discussing their nuclear
interests in public are clearly representatives of their employer,
although not necessarily designated official spokesmen for their
company. In a public forum like this, you and Mr. English are
professional nuclear advocates. There are obviously a variety of related
subjects where you have informed professional opinions. I hope that this
forum provides an opportunity for useful, informed and also polite
discussion about facts and opinion related to Canadian nuclear matters.

There is a historic pattern that in my experience is fairly unique to
AECL (although OHN used to do it too) of its employees pulling a veil of
"personal opinion" over themselves and advocating their company's views
in letters to the editor and other public statements while failing to
reveal their affiliations, as if theirs were just the words of ordinary
citizens. Public discussions around nuclear technology should not have
to bear this burden.

Tom Adams, Energy Probe

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