This little short was in yesterday's paper:
It is neither a particularly good representation of what the scientist said or what I wrote. I think that what I wrote was a fairly accurate description of what Dr Rheumatoid Arthritis told us. This piece is definitely not. In particular, the headline has very little to do with what Dr RA said at all.
I don't know at what point in the journey between my laptop and the printed paper these changes crept in, but I find the whole thing a little disconcerting. In my normal life, having your name on something means that you take full public responsibility for it. In this weird new life that I am experiencing, unidentified people can change anything you write and leave your name intact at the top. Does that mean I still have to take full public responsibility for it? If not, why bother putting my name on it?
This makes me particularly uncomfortable because my normal life is hurtling towards me very quickly right now. On Monday morning I am going to be Jean Adams from Newcastle University again, not Jean Adams from The Times. What if someone asks me about that piece I wrote on rheumatoid arthritis?
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