EOH Wins IRE Award

For Immediate Release – March 28, 2006
CONTACT: Elizabeth Coxe, St. Martin’s Press -- 646-307-5563

EVIDENCE OF HARM RECEIVES INVESTIGATIVE
REPORTERS AND EDITORS AWARD

Author David Kirby is cited for “careful and meticulous reporting” in his book on thimerosal and autism

PLEASE NOTE: DAVID KIRBY WILL APPEAR LIVE AT A MEDIA BRIEFING THIS THURSDAY, MARCH 30TH, AT THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB IN WASHINGTON. FOR MORE INFO, CALL 718-230-4250

NEW YORK, March 28, 2006 – “Evidence of Harm – Mercury in Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic” (St. Martin’s Press – Paperback edition March, 2006) has been awarded the “Investigative Reporters and Editors 2005 Award for Outstanding Investigative Reporting in a Book,” the organization announced today.

“I am honored to be recognized by such a prestigious jury of my peers,” Kirby said. “I hope this award will inspire other investigative writers to follow their leads and their hunches, and to report on all controversial topics that warrant a closer look. Thankfully, freedom of the press survives in America.”

In their comments, award judges – comprised of some of the most experienced investigative journalists in the country – noted that, “Kirby told the story of stonewalling, denial and cover-up by federal regulators, medical groups and the pharmaceutical industry.” And, they added, “He documents covert efforts by some of those same powerful forces - along with the U.S. Congress - to grant blanket immunity for drug companies that put mercury in vaccines.”

“Like so many scientific controversies involving complex science and big business, the topic is controversial. Kirby's careful and meticulous reporting is exemplary in its balance, accuracy and documentation,” the judges said.

IRE, founded in 1975, is a nonprofit professional organization dedicated to training and supporting journalists who pursue investigative stories and operates the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting, a joint program of IRE and the Missouri School of Journalism. IRE Awards will be presented during the Saturday, June 17, luncheon at the 2006 IRE Annual Conference in Fort Worth. More information on IRE and the awards can be found at http://www.ire.org/contest/05winners.html.

“Evidence of Harm” is also a finalist for the The New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism. The winner will be announced at a special luncheon at the Library on May 10, 2006.

From the Investigative Reporters and Editors Awards web site:

Evidence of Harm: Mercury in Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic — A Medical Controversy — David Kirby

Judges' comments: Autism, rare in the past, is exploding in the United States , where it is now found in one in 166 children. Attention-deficit disorder also has skyrocketed. And 1 in 6 children today has a learning disability. David Kirby investigated whether one of the causes of these childhood afflictions is thimerisol, a vaccine preservative that contains mercury, a well-documented neurotoxin. In the 1990s, the mercury-containing additive was injected into children far in excess of federal safety levels. Kirby told the story of stonewalling, denial and cover-up by federal regulators, medical groups and the pharmaceutical industry. And he documents covert efforts by some of those same powerful forces — along with the U.S. Congress — to grant blanket immunity for drug companies that put mercury in vaccines. Like so many scientific controversies involving complex science and big business, the topic is controversial. Kirby's careful and meticulous reporting is exemplary in its balance, accuracy and documentation.