Consumer Reports will use experts in the future

Katherine Seelye of the New York Times reports that Consumer Reports magazine, reeling from an embarrassing mistake earlier this year, will now try to use more outside experts when it evaluates products.

Seelye wrote, “But yesterday, the magazine said that its quest for independence had kept it from reaching out to experts who might have helped it avoid one of the biggest mistakes in its 71-year history.

“In January, the magazine reported that 10 of 12 infant car seats it tested had failed simulated crash tests — a report it retracted two weeks later.

“A review of the incident by two outside specialists found that the magazine’s problem stemmed mainly from its decision to develop and run its side-impact tests without extensive consultation with other experts.

“The magazine said in a statement that it had not consulted outside experts in part ‘because of the organization’s longstanding policy of limiting contact with government and industry to avoid compromising the independence of its judgment.’

“That decision, the magazine said, ‘ultimately proved to be a mistake.'”

Read more here.