Fiona Fox (UK press officer)

Fiona Fox (born 1964) is the director of the Science Media Centre and a former leading member of the the Revolutionary Communist Party.

Fiona was born into an Irish Catholic family in North Wales, the younger sister of Claire and Gemma. She attended St Richard Gwyn Catholic High School, Flint, and studied journalism at the Polytechnic of Central London.

Fiona started her career at Thames Polytechnic as an assistant PR officer. From there she worked for six years at the Equal Opportunities Commission where she became a senior press officer, followed by two years running the media operation at the [http://www.oneparentfamilies.org.uk| National Council for One Parent Families] . A total change of environment followed as Fiona became Head of Media at CAFOD, where she founded the Jubilee 2000 press group, which aimed to push serious Third World issues onto the media and political agendas.

In December 2001, Fiona was appointed the founding Director of the Science Media Centre, based at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in London, UK.

Controversy

The credibility of the Science Media Centre has been questioned [http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/peter_melchett/2007/04/farming_for_the_future.html] , mainly on the basis of the political affiliations of Fiona Fox, and in particular her links to the Living Marxism group.

Fiona Fox has been accused of genocide denial in relation to a report she wrote in 1995 for the magazine "Living Marxism" on the violence in Rwanda. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,181819,00.html] She wrote this article using the name 'Fiona Foster'.

External links

* [http://www.sciencemediacentre.org/staff.htm Staff profile at the Science Media Centre site]
* [http://fionafox.blogspot.com "On Science and the Media": Fiona Fox's blog]
* [http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=3164 LobbyWatch profile of Fox]
* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Science_Media_Centre SourceWatch profile of Fox]
* [http://www.gmwatch.org/profile1.asp?PrId=45 GMWatch profile of Fox]
* [http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/peter_melchett/2007/04/farming_for_the_future.html Criticism of the Fiona Fox and the Science Media Centre]

Articles by Fiona Fox

* [http://www.the-ba.net/the-ba/CurrentIssues/ReportsandPublications/ScienceAndPublicAffairs/SPAJune06/SoundingoffJune06.htm the BA: "Scientists in the pay of industry"] (June 2006) - A striking aspect of the media’s coverage of science in recent years is the growing trend to ‘uncover’ and ‘expose’ scientists’ links with industry written by Fiona Fox
* [http://www.sciencemediacentre.org/press_releases/04-02-02_peerreview.htm "Submit Research to Expert Scrutiny, Public Tells Scientists"] (February 2004) - Fiona Fox comments on Peer Review MORI poll
* [http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/Issues/2006/November/Comment.asp Chemistry World: "Comment: Playing fast and loose with science"] (November 2006) - Following the release of the WWF report ‘Chain of contamination: the food link’, John Henry and Fiona Fox comment on the study, and its coverage in the media
* [http://www.scenta.co.uk/scenta/features.cfm?cit_id=533315&FAArea1=customWidgets.content_view_1 scenta: "Not just another scare story?"] (January 2006) - Interview with Fiona Fox on sensational science headlines in the press
* [http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/Issues/2004/February/comment.asp Chemistry World: "Nanotech - The Next Controversy alike GM?"] (February 2004)
* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2099-2188787,00.html Sunday Times: "Relative Values Claire and Fiona Fox, sisters"] (May 2006) - An interview with Claire and Fiona

Persondata
NAME=Fox, Fiona
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Director, Science Media Centre
DATE OF BIRTH=1964
PLACE OF BIRTH=Flintshire, North Wales