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Jon Palfreman
Alma materUniversity of Glamorgan
Occupation(s)Journalist, Producer, Educator
Notable workThe Machine That Changed the World, Siamese Twins, Harvest of Fear
Websitehttp://pfgmedia.com/

Jon Palfreman (born XXXX) is a reporter, writer, producer and educator best known for his documentary work on Frontline and Nova. He has won awards for his journalism, including the Peabody Award,[1] Emmy Award, the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton,[2] Writers Guild of America Award, and the AAAS-Westinghouse Science in Journalisim Award.[3][4] Palfreman has written, directed and produced documentaries on a wide range of topics, but specializes in topical and often controversial issues involving science and medicine.[5] Palfreman is the author of Brainstorms: The Race to Unlock the Mysteries of Parkinson's Disease, The Case of the Frozen Addicts: Working at the Edge of the Mysteries of the Human Brain (with J. William Langston),[6] and The Dream Machine: Exploring the Computer Age (with Doron Swade). He is also president of the Palfreman Film Group.[7]

Background

Palfreman was born in England[8] [Year?]

Palfreman studied physics and the history and philosophy of science while attending university, [8] earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from University College London in 1971 and a Master of Science degree in history and social studies of science from the University of Sussex in 1972.[citation needed]

In 2006, Palfreman earned a PhD in Communications at the University of Glamorgan (now the University of South Wales) in 2005.[9]

While working at WGBH in Boston, Palfreman was a resident of Lexington, MA.[10] He moved to Eugene, Oregon in 2006 to teach at the University of Oregon.

Career

In the late 1970s until 1997,[citation needed] Palfreman worked as a science journalist, director and producer for the BBC in London and WGBH in Boston, MA[7]

In 1997, Palfreman started his own production company, the Palfreman Film Group.[7]

While in Massachusetts, Palfreman served as adjunct professor at Tufts University (teaching a course in risk communication)[7][11], Boston University and Suffolk University.

trustee and board member of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies[7] [12]

In 2002, Palfreman along with five other journalists, John Price, Robin D. Stone, Jonathan Cohn, Barry Meier, and Marc Schaffer, was selected as a 2002 Kaiser Media fellow.[13]

In 2006, Palfreman was selected as a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University[3][14]

Palfreman held the position of KEZI Distinguished Professor of Broadcast Journalism at the University of Oregon until 2015.[15] He is currently an emeritus professor of journalism at the University of Oregon. [citation needed]

Journal of Parkinson's Disease[16]

In 2011, Palfreman was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, which he wrote about in The New York Times article, The Bright Side of Parkinson's.[17]

The Machine That Changed the World (TV Documentary)

The Machine That Changed the World, a five-hour PBS series for which Palfreman was executive director, tracks the origin of the computer from the 18th century, when "computers" were human beings, to what was, by 1992, the development of machines so inexpensive that virtually anyone could own and use one.[18][19] The series included conversations with Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Thomas Watson, Jr., Bill Gates, and Marvin Minsky and covered topics such as the development of the U.S. computer industry, artificial intelligence (including Douglas Lenat's Cyc) and virtual reality.[18][20] The series also recognized Konrad Zuse, John Mauchly, J. Presper Eckert, Maurice Wilkes, and Alan Turing for their contribution to advances in computer technology in the 20th century.[21] In reviewing the series, Eric Mink of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote: "What could have been a tangled mess of tubes, transistors, RAM, ROM, chips, bits and bytes instead is a story of a struggle against conventional thinking; of creative insight; of salesmanship and politics; of people taking risks and sometimes failing, sometimes succeeding beyond all expectations. And nothing brings a story to life more than being able to see and hear some of the people who made it happen."[22] The Machine that Changed the World won the 1992 George Foster Peabody Award for excellence in "chronicling the history and impact of computing."[1]

It is not an ordinary machine, like a car or washing machine. It is something special. When we thought about it more deeply, we realized it wasn't a machine, it was a new medium. It was more like the development of writing than the development of the automobile.

— Jon Palfreman[18]

Prisoners of Silence (TV Documentary)

In 1993, Palfreman produced an hour-long show exploring Facilitated Communication (FC), a technique being touted by some parents, teachers and mental health professionals as a way to "unlock the autistic mind" simply by supporting their child or client's hand while typing on a keyboard.[23][24] However, his investigations into FC revealed that the claims of proponents, such as Douglas Biklen of Syracuse University, that these people with severe impairments could "actually write and think for themselves" were scientifically unfounded.[25] Double-blind testing demonstrated that "when autism sufferers and facilitators were shown different objects, what was typed by the autistic person was what the facilitator saw".[23][26] Further, throughout the United States, charges of sexual abuse were being leveled at parents and caregivers by facilitators using the technique whose communication partners were, later, found out to have no ability to read or write on their own. FC, often compared with the Ouiji board,[27] turned out to be a "poorly tested and researched technique that has given false hope to many," as well as raise "questions about both the human and professional capacity for self-delusion and the reliability of new information in the field of mental health care."[24] Prisoners of Silence won an AAAS-Westinghouse Science Journalism Award in 1994, which Palfreman considered one of the most valuable awards he's received.[8]

People today are deluged with claims that play on their hopes and fears, and that aren't actually based on anything of substance. Science journalists aren't afraid to engage in the details of science, to go in and bring some reason to these areas. [The AAAS awards] recognize this.

— Palfreman[8]

What's Up with the Weather? (TV Documentary)

Books

  • Brain Storms: The Race to Unlock the Mysteries of Parkinson's Disease (Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015)[28] ISBN 978-0-374-11617-0
  • The Case of the Frozen Addicts: Working at the Edge of the Mysteries of the Human Brain with J. William Langston (Pantheon, 1995) ISBN 978-1-679-42465-9
  • The Dream Machine: Exploring the Computer Age (BBC Books, 1991) ISBN 978-0-563-36221-0

Articles

  • Cracking the Parkinson's Puzzle (Scientific American Mind, 2015)[29]
  • The Bright Side of Parkinson's (The New York Times, 2015)[17]
  • The Dark Legacy of FC (Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention, 2012)[30]
  • A Journalist's Letter from Academia (Nieman Report, 2011)[31]
  • Dealing with Disruption (Nieman Report, 2009)[32]
  • Atomic Masonry (Oregon Quarterly, 2007)[33]
  • Caught in the Web (Nieman Report, 2006)[34]
  • The Rise and Fall of Power Line EMFs: The Anatomy of a Magnetic Controversy (Review of Policy Research, 2006)[35]
  • A Tale of Two Fears: Exploring Media Depictions of Nuclear Power and Global Warming (Review of Policy Research, 2006)[12]
  • Bringing Science to a Television Audience (Nieman Reports, 2002)[36]
  • Sending Messages Nobody Wants to Hear: a Primer on Risk Communication (AgBioForum, 2001)[37]
  • Apocalypse not. (Cover Story) (Technology Review, 1996)[38]
  • The Australian Origins of Facilitated Communication. In H. Shane (editor) Facilitated Communication: the clinical and cultural phenomena. (Singular, 1994)[39]
  • Between Scepticism and Credulity: A Study of Victorian Scientific Attitudes to Modern Spiritualism (Sociological Review, 1979)[40]

Lectures

  • Sick Around the World, sponsored by Health Care for All Oregon, Eugene, Oregon (November 2013)[41]
  • The annual Cary Lecture Series, Cary Hall, Lexington, MA (September, 2011)[10]
  • Combating Global Yawning: Overcoming Public Indifference to the Environment, University of Rhode Island (June 2004)[42]

Select Frontline and Nova Productions

  • Nuclear Aftershocks (Frontline, 2012)[43][44]
  • The Vaccine War (Frontline, 2010)[45][46]
  • Sick Around the World (PBS, 2008)[47][48]
  • Harvest of Fear (Frontline and Nova, April 2001)[49]
  • What's Up with the Weather? (Frontline and Nova, 2000)[50][51]
  • Stealing Time: The New Science of Aging (Frontline, 1999)[52]
  • Last Battle of the Gulf War (Frontline, 1998)[53]
  • Nuclear Reaction (Frontline, 1997)[54][55]
  • Breast Implants on Trial (Frontline, 1996)[56]
  • Waco: The Inside Story (Frontline, 1995)[57]
  • Currents of Fear (Frontline, 1995)[58]
  • The Nicotine War (Frontline, 1995)[59]
  • Siamese Twins (Nova, 1995)[60]
  • AIDS Research: The Story So Far (Frontline, 1994)[61][62]
  • Prisoners of Silence (Frontline, 1993)[25]
  • Brain Transplant (Nova, 1992)[63]
  • The Machine That Changed the World (Nova, 1992)[18][64]

Awards

  • American Institute of Physics Science Writing Award for WNET's production of Light Speed (2005)[11]
  • duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton Award for Frontline, Nova, and the Palfreman Film Group production of Harvest of Fear (2002)[2]
  • Victor Cohn Prize for excellence in medical writing (2001)[65][15]
  • Science in Society Award for the Frontline and Nova production of What's Up With the Weather?[66]
  • Effective Presentation of Behavior Analysis in the Mass Media Award (2002)[67]
  • Science in Society Award for the Frontline production of Gulf War Syndrome (1998)[66]
  • Science Journalism Award presented by the American Association for the Advancement of Science for the Frontline production of Breast Implants on Trial (1996)[68][69][70]
  • Science in Society Award for Frontline (1996)[66][71]
  • Writers Guild of America Award in the television documentary, current events category for AIDS Research: The Story So Far, PBS (1995)[4]
  • AAAS-Westinghouse Science Journalism Award for the Frontline production of Prisoners of Silence (1994)[8]
  • Westinghouse Science Journalism Award for radio and television science journalism on Nova's The Case of the Frozen Addicts with Paul S. Apsell (1986)[72][73]

References

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  2. ^ a b "Arts & TV in Brief". The Boston Herald. December 20, 2001. p. 56. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  3. ^ a b "Jon Palfreman". Nieman Reports. Cambridge, MA: Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  4. ^ a b "'Four Weddings,' 'Foreest Gump' Screenplays Honored". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, CA. March 20, 1995. p. 19. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  5. ^ Mink, Eric (April 24, 2001). "'Harvest' sinks teeth into biotech rhubarb". New York Daily News. New York, NY. p. 75. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  6. ^ "Jon Palfreman to take part in worldwide Parkinson's webcast". Around the O. University of Oregon. September 24, 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  7. ^ a b c d e "2002: Jon Palfreman". Society for the Advancement of Science. Portage, Michigan: SABA/ABAI. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  8. ^ a b c d e Pabst, Diana (May 26, 1995). "Inside AAAS". Science, New Series. 268 (5214). American Association for the Advancement of Science: 1226–1227. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  9. ^ "A National Teach-In on Global Warming: Speaker Bios". University of Oregon. University of Oregon. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  10. ^ a b Anonymous (September 4, 2011). "Globe West Community briefing". Boston Globe. Boston, MA. p. 2. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  11. ^ a b "Nieman Notes". Nieman Reports. Spring 2006. p. 98. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  12. ^ a b Palfreman, Jon (January 2006). "A Tale of Two Fears: Exploring Media Depictions of Nuclear Power and Global Warming". Review of Policy Research. 23 (1): 23–43. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  13. ^ Anonymous (May 30, 2002). "AmNews reporter named Kaiser fellow". New York Amsterdam News. New York, NY. p. 1. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  14. ^ "Producer Jon Palfreman". PBS/Frontline. WGBH Educational Foundation. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  15. ^ a b "The Journal of Parkinson's Disease announces that Jon Palfreman, PhD, has joined their editorial board". The Cure Parkinson's Trust. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  16. ^ Weintraub, Karen (September 25, 2013). "Michael J. Fox puts Parkinson's fight in a prime-time slot: Actor returns to TV 'examining a life' with the disease". USA Today. McLean, VA. p. D.5. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  17. ^ a b Palfreman, Jon (February 21, 2015). "The Bright Side of Parkinson's". The New York Times. No. Sunday Review. p. 4. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  18. ^ a b c d Vranizan, Michelle (April 6, 1992). "Television: Computers programmed into entertaining series". The Orange County Register. No. Morning Edition. Santa Ana, CA. p. F04. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  19. ^ Storm, Jonathan (April 5, 1992). "A Look Into Two Brains: Human and Mechanical". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, PA. p. G.1. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  20. ^ Ladendorf, Kirk (April 25, 1992). "Computer history program tunes into MMC's Lenat". Austin American Statesman. No. Final Edition. Austin, TX. p. E1. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  21. ^ Goodman, Walter (April 6, 1992). "Review/Television: Exploring Madness's face and the Computer's birth". The New York Times. No. Late Edition (East Coast). p. C.18. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  22. ^ Mink, Eric (April 6, 1992). "How the computer changed the world". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. No. 5* Edition. St. Louis, MO. p. 5D. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  23. ^ a b Kubasik, Ben (October 19, 1993). "TV Spots". Newsday. No. Combined Editions. Long Island. p. 93. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  24. ^ a b Cuff, John Haslett (October 19, 1993). "Television Prisoners of Silence: a shocking look at autism research". The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ontario. p. C.4. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  25. ^ a b Koehler, Robert (October 19, 1993). "TV Review: 'Prisoners' puts autism technique to test". Los Angeles Times. No. Home edition. Los Angeles, CA. Retrieved 15 August 2015. Cite error: The named reference "Koehler, Robert (October 1993)" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  26. ^ Holbert, Ginny (October 19, 1993). "'Frontline' Investigates Therapy for Autism". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  27. ^ Siegel, Ed (October 5, 1993). "The passion gap at PBS The network proves it can unlock 'The Secret of Life', but can it find the key to a broader audience?". Boston Globe. No. City Edition. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  28. ^ "Brain Storms: The Race to Unlock the Mysteries of Parkinson's Disease". Kirkus Reviews. 83 (1): 141. June 1, 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  29. ^ Palfreman, Jon (September–October 2015). "Cracking the Parkinson's Puzzle". Scientific American Mind. 26 (5): 54–61. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  30. ^ Palfreman, Jon (May 11, 2012). "The Dark Legacy of FC". Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention. 6 (1): 14–17. doi:10.1080/17489539.2012.688343. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  31. ^ Palfreman, Jon (March 11, 2011). "A Journalist's Letter from Academia". Nieman Reports. Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  32. ^ Palfreman, Jon (September 16, 2009). "Dealing with Disruption". Nieman Report. Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard. pp. 17–19. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  33. ^ Palfreman, Jon (August 2007). "Atomic Masonry". Oregon Quarterly. 87 (1): 24–28.
  34. ^ Palfreman, Jon (December 15, 2006). "Caught in the Web". Nieman Report. Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  35. ^ Palfreman, Jon (March 2006). "The Rise and Fall of Power Line EMFs: The Anatomy of a Magnetic Controversy". Review of Policy Research. 23 (2). The Policy Studies Organization: 453–472. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  36. ^ Palfreman, Jon (Fall 2002). "Bringing Science to a Television Audience". Nieman Reports. 56 (3): 32. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  37. ^ Palfreman, Jon (December 2001). "Sending Messages Nobody Wants to Hear: a Primer on Risk Communication". AgBioForum. 4: 173–178. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  38. ^ Palfreman, Jon (April 1996). "Apocalypse not. (Cover Story)". Technology Review. 99 (3): 24. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  39. ^ Shane, Howard, ed. (June 1994). Facilitated Communication: the clinical and cultural phenomena. Singular. ISBN 978-1565933415. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  40. ^ Palfreman, Jon (May 1979). "Between Scepticism and Credulity: A Study of Victorian Scientific Attitudes to Modern Spiritualism". Sociological Review. 27 (Supplement): 201–236. doi:10.1111/j.1467-954X.1979.tb00063.x. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  41. ^ "The Bulletin". The Register - Guard. Eugene, OR. November 30, 2013. p. B.16. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  42. ^ "Lectures on environment start next week at URI". The Providence Journal. No. All Edition. June 18, 2004. p. B-03. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
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