Dr. Oz -- Way Off On Fish Facts (IV)

I have some medical advice that Dr. Oz might be interested in hearing about.

You see, it’s quite possible that his ears are burning these days and that might mean one of two things; one, he might need tympanometry which tests for ear infections or two, he might just need to log on to the internet because it would appear people are talking about him and he doesn’t know it.

To help him with this condition I wrote to his Executive Producer and of course his lawyer.

Have a look:

February 17, 2010

Laurie Rich

Executive Producer

ZoCo Productions, LLC

VIA Email c/o Jackie Barth

Dear Ms. Rich,

I am writing to draw your attention to an ongoing discussion about Dr. Oz’s January 26, 2010 segment on fish consumption and mercury happening on the internet and how ZoCo Productions has responded to our continued concerns. Yesterday TheTVNews.TV compared the ZoCo response to our concerns and History’s (A & E) response to our concerns about another seafood related story. As part of its daily video report, also available on YouTube, 2 minutes and 24 seconds into the webcast The Big Picture segment features host Jeff Grimshaw’s analysis, as transcribed below:

• Today’s installment of The Big Picture, analysis and commentary, is aptly entitled “A Tale of Two Fish Stories.” Fish story number one recently aired on the Dr. Oz show and it dealt with some alleged unseen health risks associated with certain seafoods. Fish story number two was to air on History’s Modern Marvels and it too contained some precautionary rhetoric about seafood. In stepped National Fisheries Institute’s Director of Media Relations, Gavin Gibbons, supplying scientific proof what he called demonstrable evidence of errors in both stories. And with what he called public perception of a valuable source of protein on the line here’s where the two stories diverge—Dr. Oz’s group was said to have stone walled the inquire and then proceeded to bring in its legal staff. On the other hand History was extremely responsive and although they could not pull the East Coast airing of Modern Marvels they did preempt West Coast and all subsequent airings pending the validation of the NFI objections. Like all news gathering organizations on a shortened multi-platformed news cycle the TVNews-dot-Tv lauds the actions taken by History; bold, responsive and committed to getting the story right. By the same token we hope that media entities like the Dr. Oz show will emulate History and will strive to put accuracy in reporting as the paramount criterion above air schedules, reputation and everything else. What’s your opinion? We’d like to know.

We continue to be concerned about the serious scientific inaccuracies featured in the segment and implore you to produce a new segment on fish consumption and mercury that features truly independent doctors and researchers who are experts, not activists, like; Dr. Joshua Cohen, PhD from the Tufts New England Medical Center; Dr. Nicholas Ralston, PhD from University of North Dakota Energy and Environmental Research Center; Dr. Joseph Hibbeln, MD from the National Institute of Health; Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, MD from Harvard School of Public Health; Dr. Eric Rimm, D.Sc. from Harvard School of Public Health or Dr. Gary Myers, M.D. from University of Rochester Medical Center As you know we have already begun to correct the record with this YouTube video and will continue to share the independent science with interested parties.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Gavin Gibbons

National Fisheries Institute

cc C. Denise Beaudoin