David Kirby
Encyclopedia
David Kirby is a journalist
based in Brooklyn, New York, and was formerly a regular contributor to the New York Times since 1998. He is author of the 2005 book Evidence of Harm - Mercury in Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic: A Medical Controversy.
, Redbook
, Self
, and Mademoiselle
. From 1986 to 1990, Kirby was a foreign correspondent
for UPI
, and Newsday
(among others) in Latin America
, covering wars in El Salvador
and Nicaragua
, and he covered politics, corruption
and natural disasters in Mexico
. It was during this time-frame that he also served as a reporter for OutWeek
.
From 1990 to 1993, Kirby was director of public information at the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR), worked for New York City
Council President Carol Bellamy, and was a senior staff adviser to David Dinkins'
successful 1989 run for mayor of New York City.
In 1998, Kirby wrote a cover story for the Advocate, Does coming out matter?: a new Harris poll suggests that knowing people who are gay makes little difference in whether one supports gay rights; from 1998 to 2001, he wrote many articles for the Advocate, including one on the courage of young gay and lesbian scouts and service members Lessons in Courage.
From 2000 to 2004, Kirby contributed several articles on travel to the New York Times including "Rainbow Beach Towels on Mexican Sand", an article on the gay tourism industry in Puerto Vallarta
. He has also written on topics other than travel and leisure, including When the Car Beside You Is an XXX Theater on a new phenomenon, known as "dirty driving", the playing pornography on DVD screens inside vehicles while they drive through traffic. The article expressed concern for what children have been exposed to by these "dirty drivers".
Since May, 2005, Kirby has been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post
.
, ADHD, speech delay
and other childhood disorders in the United States
. In the book, Kirby tells the personal stories of parents of children who have autism, founders of the advocacy group SafeMinds
, including Sallie Bernard, Lyn Redwood, Mark Blaxill, Albert Enayati, Heidi Roger, and Liz Birt.
"Many of the public health officials who discount the thimerosal theory were unwilling to be interviewed for this book (or prohibited from speaking by superiors)," Kirby later wrote. "Readers are invited to reach their own conclusions on the evidence." Nevertheless, Kirby also acknowledges "(E)ach side accuses the other of being irrational, overzealous, blind to evidence they find inconvenient, and subject to professional, financial, or emotional conflicts of interest that cloud their judgment." Ultimately, Kirby finds the evidence leveled against thimerosal inconclusive but suggestive, and calls urgently for further research.
. The reviewer described Kirby's book as "woefully one-sided", and wrote: "In his determination to provide an account that is sympathetic to the parents, Kirby enters into the grip of the same delusion and ends up in the same angry and paranoid universe into which campaigners have descended, alleging phone taps and other forms of surveillance as they struggle against sinister conspiracies between health authorities and drug companies."
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
based in Brooklyn, New York, and was formerly a regular contributor to the New York Times since 1998. He is author of the 2005 book Evidence of Harm - Mercury in Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic: A Medical Controversy.
Biography
Kirby has written for many national magazines, including GlamourGlamour (magazine)
Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. Founded in 1939 in the United States, it was originally called Glamour of Hollywood....
, Redbook
Redbook
Redbook is an American women's magazine published by the Hearst Corporation. It is one of the "Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines.-History:...
, Self
Self (magazine)
Self magazine is an American magazine for women that specializes in health, fitness, nutrition, beauty and happiness. Published by Condé Nast Publications 12 times a year, it has a circulation of 1,486,992 and a total audience of 5,541,000 readers, according to its corporate media kit. The...
, and Mademoiselle
Mademoiselle (magazine)
Mademoiselle was an influential women's magazine first published in 1935 by Street and Smith and later acquired by Condé Nast Publications....
. From 1986 to 1990, Kirby was a foreign correspondent
Foreign correspondent
Foreign Correspondent may refer to:*Foreign correspondent *Foreign Correspondent , an Alfred Hitchcock film*Foreign Correspondent , an Australian current affairs programme...
for UPI
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
, and Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
(among others) in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, covering wars in El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
and Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, and he covered politics, corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
and natural disasters in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. It was during this time-frame that he also served as a reporter for OutWeek
OutWeek
OutWeek Magazine was an influential gay and lesbian weekly news magazine published in New York City from 1989 to 1991. During its two year existence, OutWeek was widely considered the leading voice of AIDS activism and the initiator of a radical new sensibility in lesbian and gay...
.
From 1990 to 1993, Kirby was director of public information at the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR), worked for New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Council President Carol Bellamy, and was a senior staff adviser to David Dinkins'
David Dinkins
David Norman Dinkins is a former politician from New York City. He was the Mayor of New York City from 1990 through 1993; he was the first and is, to date, the only African American to hold that office.-Early life:...
successful 1989 run for mayor of New York City.
In 1998, Kirby wrote a cover story for the Advocate, Does coming out matter?: a new Harris poll suggests that knowing people who are gay makes little difference in whether one supports gay rights; from 1998 to 2001, he wrote many articles for the Advocate, including one on the courage of young gay and lesbian scouts and service members Lessons in Courage.
From 2000 to 2004, Kirby contributed several articles on travel to the New York Times including "Rainbow Beach Towels on Mexican Sand", an article on the gay tourism industry in Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta is a Mexican balneario resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas.The 2010 census reported Puerto Vallarta's population as 255,725 making it the sixth-largest city in the state of Jalisco...
. He has also written on topics other than travel and leisure, including When the Car Beside You Is an XXX Theater on a new phenomenon, known as "dirty driving", the playing pornography on DVD screens inside vehicles while they drive through traffic. The article expressed concern for what children have been exposed to by these "dirty drivers".
Since May, 2005, Kirby has been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
.
Evidence of Harm
Evidence of Harm explores the controversies surrounding thimerosal containing vaccines (TCVs), and whether TCVs have contributed to the apparent increase of autismAutism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
, ADHD, speech delay
Speech delay
Speech delay, also known as alalia, refers to a delay in the development or use of the mechanisms that produce speech. Speech, as distinct from language, refers to the actual process of making sounds, using such organs and structures as the lungs, vocal cords, mouth, tongue, teeth, etc...
and other childhood disorders in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In the book, Kirby tells the personal stories of parents of children who have autism, founders of the advocacy group SafeMinds
SafeMinds
The Coalition for SafeMinds is a non-profit organization dedicated to investigating the risks of exposure to mercury from medical products...
, including Sallie Bernard, Lyn Redwood, Mark Blaxill, Albert Enayati, Heidi Roger, and Liz Birt.
"Many of the public health officials who discount the thimerosal theory were unwilling to be interviewed for this book (or prohibited from speaking by superiors)," Kirby later wrote. "Readers are invited to reach their own conclusions on the evidence." Nevertheless, Kirby also acknowledges "(E)ach side accuses the other of being irrational, overzealous, blind to evidence they find inconvenient, and subject to professional, financial, or emotional conflicts of interest that cloud their judgment." Ultimately, Kirby finds the evidence leveled against thimerosal inconclusive but suggestive, and calls urgently for further research.
British Medical Journal review
In May 2005, Evidence of Harm was reviewed negatively in the British Medical JournalBritish Medical Journal
BMJ is a partially open-access peer-reviewed medical journal. Originally called the British Medical Journal, the title was officially shortened to BMJ in 1988. The journal is published by the BMJ Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Medical Association...
. The reviewer described Kirby's book as "woefully one-sided", and wrote: "In his determination to provide an account that is sympathetic to the parents, Kirby enters into the grip of the same delusion and ends up in the same angry and paranoid universe into which campaigners have descended, alleging phone taps and other forms of surveillance as they struggle against sinister conspiracies between health authorities and drug companies."
External links
- EvidenceOfHarm.com - Official Evidence of Harm web site
- HuffingtonPost.com - David Kirby's blog at Huffington Post
- Kirby on The Looming Threat of Industrial Farms on Humans and the Environment - video report by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...