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- >> This article has been submitted to the Journal of the Mutual UFO Network.--------------------------------------
- UFOs and the Press: An Assessment of Current Media Attitudes by Jim SpeiserThroughout
- the forty-year history of the current UFO era, much of the public's perception of the phenomenon has been shaped by the press and media cov
- erage it has received. Over the years that coverage has ranged in tone from unashamed hysteria to downright ridicule, sometimes both concurr
- ently.Lately, however, the trend has been progressively more cynical, perhaps owing to the increasing pervasiveness of "organized skepticism
- " and the rise of such groups as CSICOP. Early on, debunkers such as Phillip Klass correctly decried the media's uncharacteristic lack of at
- tention to "the other side of the story" in dealing with reports of paranormal phenomena in general and UFOs in particular. Now, however, re
- porters seem to routinely consult with astronomers, satellite tracking facilities and even the debunkers themselves when filing a UFO story.
- On its face, this journalistic balance is commendable, of course, but there is a tendency to let the skeptics have the last word, as if to
- provide a "happy ending" to the plot to upset the scientific equilibrium. Could reporters' own cynical attitudes be coloring their coverage
- of the UFO phenomenon?In an attempt to gauge the current outlook of the media toward the subject, I recently touched base with a group of jo
- urnalists that meet "online", in a nationwide computer forum called CompuServe. In an electronic message, I posed a series of questions desi
- gned to delve into the mindset of the American press vis a vis the elusive UFO.In composing the message, I sought answers to the following:
- 1) How are main- stream UFOlogists viewed by the press? Have we succeeded in separating the hard science from the cult aspect of the phenome
- non? 2) Is the media getting all the facts? Are they making an effort to do so, or is the subject considered so overworked that even the mos
- t superficial details are recorded grudgingly? Are the skeptics and debunkers considered the final word? 3) Is there a more-or-less universa
- l, tacit policy of downplaying UFO stories, in order to avoid comparison with the much-reviled supermarket tabloids?Many have bemoaned the p
- aucity of in-depth reporting on the so-called Cosmic Watergate, the thousands of pages of documents released through the Freedom of Informat
- ion Act. If ever there was a carrot on a stick for the American media, the FOIA documents seemed to be it; yet no Woodward/Bernstein-style e
- xpose' has been forthcoming. However, it occurs to me that "no news is bad news" in the business of journalism, and if such an inquest had b
- een undertaken, yet had turned up nothing of value, the fact would quite likely never have surfaced. "60 Minutes" is not in the habit of rep
- orting what it has NOT found. So another of my intentions was to find out if such an investigation had been undertaken, only to be shelved w
- hen it proved fruitless.The CompuServe Journalism Forum provides an excellent glimpse behind-the-scenes at some of the attitudes and persona
- lities that shape what we see on our TV screens and in our newspapers. The 2000 members represent a respectable cross- section of the journa
- lism community, from newspaper editors to photographers to network news reporters. While the responses I received to my message cannot be co
- nsidered comprehensive, I believe they provide a good thumbnail sketch of how ufology looks in the mirror of American culture, the media. So
- me of the indications:1) There is indeed a tendency to avoid in-depth UFO stories for fear of being tarred with the "National Enquirer" brus
- h. "The more in-depth the story got, the more harebrained the station or paper might seem.", said one member. "Don't get me wrong -- I don't
- necessarily go along with that. I'm just stating what I believe to be fact."2) Perhaps as a result of (1), the cults and kooks are still ge
- tting the bulk of the press, and seem to be inextricably associated with the phenomenon in general. The first response to my inquiry was fro
- m a reporter who complained of regular calls from a man who claimed that aliens were invading people's bodies at a nearby church.Other membe
- rs claimed it was difficult to tell the kooks from the serious in- vestigators. A radio newsman told of an interview he had done with a skep
- tic and a supposedly mainstream ufologist. He claimed that the ufologist, Dale Goudie, turned out to be a "fanatic" who charged the skeptic
- with being an "idiot" and of working for the government. (Upon reviewing a tape of the interview provided by Goudie, I found no such invecti
- ve).3) The reporters are not getting all the facts. My inquiry revealed that a reporter for Channel 5 in New York, who had covered the story
- of the Hudson Valley UFOs and concluded that it was all a hoax, had never even seen the home videos made of either the object or the flight
- of planes!4) My request for information on UFO investigations that hadn't made it to the airwaves drew a blank. Either it hasn't been done,
- or these professionals didn't know about it. Which brings me to...5) My faith in the American media is such that I have never subscribed to
- the theory that the press is "in on" the Cosmic Watergate at any level. There may be a pervasive fear of the UFO story in management circle
- s, but I believe it is based purely on image considerations and not on some unseen pressure from above. I saw nothing in the CompuServe exch
- ange to convince me otherwise.Not all of the vibes in the exchange were negative, and there was at least one useful, positive suggestion: "S
- tay away from buzzwords like UFO and Flying Saucer. In my mind, they instantly conjure up memories of the folks who swear they were whisked
- to the planet Twilo for an all-expenses-paid weekend. When I hear words like SETI, however, I'm a whole lot less skeptical and a whole lot m
- ore interested. [I] think your job is to shift people into a new serious mode of thinking about the subject if you're going to get editors,
- viewers and readers to take you seriously."1987 is shaping up to be the year of the UFO -- not so much in terms of sight- ings, but in terms
- of the amount of public attention that will be paid the sub- ject, through books, talk shows, symposia, mini-series, and other mass media e
- - vents. The press is the major conduit through which much information will reach the public and, rightly or wrongly, it is the press' attit
- udes that will shape the public's view of our endeavors. Public opinion in turn determines funding for future work in the field. Hence, it i
- s vital that the press receive an ad- equate education on UFOs. Judging from the responses gleaned from the CompuServe correspondence, I'd s
- ay we have our work cut out for us.
