Re: New Area 51 "special": Katie and Peter

On Jun 29, 9:33�am, "Lumpy" <lu...@digitalcartography.com> wrote:

obviouslydelusional wrote:

This is a really good lesson in tabloid journalism...


Perhaps that's why the producers chose the guide
that they did. He's well known for blurring the
line between fact and fiction and delights in
"investigating with the heart instead of the head".

I would think there are only two ways for any current
day reporter to approach the subject of A51 -

ONE would be "What's all the talk about aliens?"
meaning they would be interested in getting honest
facts about the base. Essentially disproving any
of the talk of aliens.

The OTHER would be "Take us as far as you can
toward the idea that there are aliens out there
and let us hypothesize about the rest". Meaning they
want their audience to believe in the unbelievable.

This episode sounds like the latter.

In a way, it's hard to blame them. Their demographics
likely don't want to hear stories about some investigations
that Glenn and others did a decade or two ago. That kind of
story becomes the "story of the investigators" rather than
the story of the base itself.

Tha "alien angle" is certainly sexier and more exciting
than "it's a secure military base where they test airplanes".

Craig 'Lumpy' Lemke

www.n0eq.com


I think you might be a bit harsh in your assessment, and it comes down
to the difference between reporters (the real deal) and tabloid
shows.  The tabloid shows can take your quotes and make you say
exactly what they want.  If Peter Merlin were the tour guide instead,
the producers would have spliced together snippets of the conversation
to have him say "There are UFOs at Groom".  There's no burden of
objectivity there.

You're much safer when dealing with a real reporter but even then it's
easy to be misquoted, taken out of context or maybe the reporter just
doesn't understand what you're saying.  If you've ever dealt with the
media on any hot topic you will understand.  Real reporting is very
rare on Area 51, as the story's pretty much been done to death.

For years now, the only media feeding on Area 51 have been the tabloid
shows. They don't care about either of the two approaches you
mention.  All they want are eyeballs watching their show in order to
sell soap.  They don't care if it's factual or honest, as long as
people watch.  And to that end, the more sensation the better.  The
demographics of those interested in Groom as a secret facility testing
conventional aircraft is quite small.  But UFOs sell soap!