Source: BBC Newsnight

Hiranya Peiris, University College London

A university has written to a newspaper to express ¡°disappointment¡± over an article it claims insinuated two academics were only invited on to the BBC¡¯s Newsnight because of their gender and ethnicity.

In an open letter to Paul Dacre, the editor of the Daily Mail, David Price, vice-provost for research at University College London, said it was ¡°profoundly insulting¡± that anything other than the ¡°academic record¡± of one of the scientists in question qualified her to take part.

The academic, Hiranya Peiris, a reader in astronomy at UCL, said that she had deep pity for the journalist who wrote the piece.

Dr Peiris and Maggie Aderin-Pocock, an honorary research associate in UCL¡¯s department of physics and astronomy, appeared on the 17 March edition of Newsnight to comment on the big bang gravitational waves discovery by US researchers.

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Two days later the Mail published an article in its Ephraim Hardcastle diary column that suggested Newsnight asked the academics to contribute because editor, Ian Katz, ¡°is keen on diversity¡±. The column added that the discovery had been made by ¡°white, male¡± scientists.

In the letter Professor Price writes: ¡°It is deeply disappointing that you thought it acceptable to print an article drawing attention to the gender and race of scientific experts, suggesting that non-white, non-male scientists are somehow incapable of speaking on the basis of their qualifications and expertise.¡±

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Professor Price says of Dr Peirism: ¡°She is a world-leading expert on the study of the Cosmic Microwave Background, with degrees from Cambridge and Princeton, so is one of the best-placed people in the world to discuss the finding.¡±

He adds: ¡°Dr Aderin-Pocock is a highly-qualified scientist and engineer with an exceptional talent for communicating complex scientific concepts in an accessible way.¡±

Dr Peiris said: ¡°I deeply pity the sort of person who can watch a report about ground-breaking news on the origins of the universe and everything in it, and see only the gender and skin colour of the panelists.¡±

She added: ¡°I am disturbed that [the column] has even erased the contributions of all of the non-white and non-male and non-American scientists involved in the discovery at the same time.¡±

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Dr Aderin-Pocock, who also presents the BBC¡¯s The Sky at Night, said: ¡°I find Ephraim Hardcastle¡¯s idea very interesting, I now picture the Newsnight team flipping through their rolodex, saying ¡®too white, too male¡­ ah, 2 ethnic minority females, perfect!¡¯¡±

She added that she received 10 requests for media interviews the day the news broke. ¡°I believe that the requests were made for my ability to translate complex ideas into something accessible, rather than my gender or the colour of my skin,¡± she said.

An attachment was also added to the letter describing the ¡°extensive academic credentials¡± of the two scientists.

holly.else@tsleducation.com