I read an article in the November issue of the E&T Magazine which prompted me to contact one of the magazine’s editors with regard to the reporting. I should say that many of the November issue articles gave me cause for concern on the messaging. I’ve included my correspondence and the response from the E&T editor.
What’s your view of selective data being presented because “its relevant to the issue it illustrates”? (ie the data fits the narrative).
What should we expect from the E&T publication (acknowledging that the IET is not responsible for the opinions expressed in the E&T publication)?
If you are interested, The Royal Society published the following paper on the subject of wildfires:
Global trends in wildfire and its impacts: perceptions versus realities in a changing world
dx.doi.org/.../rstb.2015.0345
Letter to the Editor on E&T Magazine Article
“I have been a member of the IEEE and IET for over 40 years and a reader of the magazine over that period.
I am writing to you as managing editor of the magazine, as I am becoming increasingly concerned by the lack of balance and omission of context in the reporting I have seen over time, from what is purported to be an engineering magazine, (not a political news sheet). This directly impacts the integrity of reporting and the credibility of the publication.
As example, I draw your attention to the Nov 2020 issue The Graphic; Forest Fire Fighting; and the graphic showing US fires growth.
I was interested in why the1988 start date was chosen, so went to the referenced website to check the source data. The full set of wildfire data from 1926 is shown in the graphic below, with the excerpt of the data used in the article (highlighted). While there is a caveat on the website for pre 1983 data, the information is readily available on the site and as such must have value, although it was not collected using the current reporting process.
This full information is important to understand context, and put the current rising US wildfire trend in perspective. There are many factors which contribute to and acerbate the size and extent of forest fires. Climate is a factor, as is land management through prescribed burns, ability to maintain fire breaks, access and managing forest floor clearing, many of which have been adversely impacted by the enacting of environmental legislation.
As an engineering magazine I'd expect the IET's E&T’s reporting and articles to fully represent the issue context and disclose all the relevant data. I hope you agree that this is important from an integrity perspective and to preserve and make informed, unbiased and balanced commentary.”
Response from Editor (names and email xxxxx’d out)
“xxxxxxxxxxxxx and I have discussed your points with E&T associate editor xxxxxxxxxx, who put together this article.
xxxxxx has pointed out that the timeframe shown was selected by the National Forestry Center in providing the data to media, because it believes it to be the most reliable and relevant to the issue it illustrates. The same information was used by other publications, such as The Economist, in articles on the subject.
www.economist.com/.../the-area-burned-by-wildfire-in-america-has-quadrupled-in-40-years
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/09/12/why-is-california-burning
I hope this helps to explain the thinking behind this article. If you do have any other thoughts or would like further clarification you can contact xxxxx directly at xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx”
