Talk about sad ironies. An industry trade group that works so feverishly to generate as much publicity as possible is caving in to a request that Tuesday’s keynote speech by Queen Noor of Jordan must be closed to the media.

Her speech is supposed to be about the role of biotech in global health, but apparently she’s sensitive to the possibility her remarks will somehow cause a security problem for her family. Perhaps extremists will view her appearance as the act of an infidel?

The Queen is free to make any demand she wants, of course, and BIO’s board is free to acquiesce. But BIO ought to know better. This is not an intellectual property issue to be marked ‘confidential.’ Besides the job hunting and closed-door dealmaking taking place at the Boston Convention Center this week, the gathering is widely touted as a key moment to tell the world what biotech does to improve health.

“The press is actually a very important part of our convention,” says BIO spokesman Jeff Joseph. “But we also have other audiences to serve…And we believe the Queen will have a message that will resonate with our members.”

This isn’t the first time that BIO’s board has assiduously courted the media with one hand and restricted coverage with the other. Last year, Bill Clinton was the keynote speaker and he also banned the media (although not the biotech trade press), as Simon Frantz of The Scientist reminds us.

BIO, says Joseph, made an undisclosed donation to the King Hussein Foundation International, which the Queen chairs. The organization lists its mission as promoting peace and cross-cultural understanding in the Arab and Muslim worlds, although she’s missing a chance to remind people by eschewing the media.

If BIO wants to hold a proper convention, all keynote speeches should be open to the media. And the BIO board and staff should recognize the opportunity that comes from conveying to the public the messages contained in those speeches. Otherwise, why not just hold next year’s convention in Tehran?

Thanks to Nature Biotechnology for alerting us to Simon Frantz’s observation.

[tags]BIO[/tags]