While I’m on the theme of open science/access (see previous blog post on this topic), I have to point your attention to this great article by a Nature colleague of mine, from today’s issue of Nature.

Turns out that some scientific publishers, feeling threatened by the open access movement to make published articles freely available, have been consulting with a PR guru known for advising the likes of Jeffrey Skilling (the convicted Enron fraudster), and Exxon (how to deal with Greenpeace). According to the article, Elsevier, Wiley and the American Chemical Society have had conversations with Eric Dezenhall, the author of Nail ’Em! Confronting High-Profile Attacks on Celebrities and Businesses.

Here’s a snippet from the article:

The consultant advised them to focus on simple messages, such as “Public access equals government censorship”. He hinted that the publishers should attempt to equate traditional publishing models with peer review, and “paint a picture of what the world would look like without peer-reviewed articles”.

Dezenhall also recommended joining forces with groups that may be ideologically opposed to government-mandated projects such as PubMed Central, including organizations that have angered scientists. One suggestion was the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a conservative think-tank based in Washington DC, which has used oil-industry money to promote sceptical views on climate change. Dezenhall estimated his fee for the campaign at $300,000–500,000.

The best part is a quote from a VP of the Association of American Publishers:

“We’re like any firm under siege,” says Barbara Meredith, a vice-president at the organization. “It’s common to hire a PR firm when you’re under siege.”

PS. This Nature article, BTW, is free to nonsubscribers to read. Wouldn’t it be ironic if it wasn’t?!