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UFOs and the Press - by J. Speiser
>> 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 haen shaped by the press and media cov
erage it has received. Over the years that coverage has ranged in tone from unashamed hysteria to doght ridicule, sometimes both concurr
ently.Lately, however, the trend has been progressively more cynical, perhaps owing to the increasinrvasiveness of "organized skepticism
" and the rise of such groups as CSICOP. Early on, debunkers such as Phillip Klass correctly decried media's uncharacteristic lack of at
tention to "the other side of the story" in dealing with reports of paranormal phenomena in general UFOs in particular. Now, however, re
porters seem to routinely consult with astronomers, satellite tracking facilities and even the debun themselves when filing a UFO story.
On its face, this journalistic balance is commendable, of course, but there is a tendency to let theptics have the last word, as if to
provide a "happy ending" to the plot to upset the scientific equilibrium. Could reporters' own cynicttitudes be coloring their coverage
of the UFO phenomenon?In an attempt to gauge the current outlook of the media toward the subject, I ntly touched base with a group of jo
urnalists that meet "online", in a nationwide computer forum called CompuServe. In an electronic mes, 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 mess I sought answers to the following:
1) How are main- stream UFOlogists viewed by the press? Have we succeeded in separating the hard sci 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 coered so overworked that even the mos
t superficial details are recorded grudgingly? Are the skeptics and debunkers considered the final w 3) Is there a more-or-less universa
l, tacit policy of downplaying UFO stories, in order to avoid comparison with the much-reviled superet tabloids?Many have bemoaned the p
aucity of in-depth reporting on the so-called Cosmic Watergate, the thousands of pages of documents ased 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 t; 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 nalism, and if such an inquest had b
een undertaken, yet had turned up nothing of value, the fact would quite likely never have surfaced. 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 heen undertaken, only to be shelved w
hen it proved fruitless.The CompuServe Journalism Forum provides an excellent glimpse behind-the-sceat 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 ectable cross- section of the journa
lism community, from newspaper editors to photographers to network news reporters. While the respons received to my message cannot be co
nsidered comprehensive, I believe they provide a good thumbnail sketch of how ufology looks in the mr 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 ed with the "National Enquirer" brus
h. "The more in-depth the story got, the more harebrained the station or paper might seem.", said onmber. "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 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. first response to my inquiry was fro
m a reporter who complained of regular calls from a man who claimed that aliens were invading peopleodies at a nearby church.Other membe
rs claimed it was difficult to tell the kooks from the serious in- vestigators. A radio newsman toldan interview he had done with a skep
tic and a supposedly mainstream ufologist. He claimed that the ufologist, Dale Goudie, turned out toa "fanatic" who charged the skeptic
with being an "idiot" and of working for the government. (Upon reviewing a tape of the interview prod 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 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 videose 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 da 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 mediasuch 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 fef the UFO story in management circle
s, but I believe it is based purely on image considerations and not on some unseen pressure from aboI 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 l one useful, positive suggestion: "S
tay away from buzzwords like UFO and Flying Saucer. In my mind, they instantly conjure up memories oe 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 whlot 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 ect 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 mun terms of sight- ings, but in terms
of the amount of public attention that will be paid the sub- ject, through books, talk shows, sympo mini-series, and other mass media e
- vents. The press is the major conduit through which much information will reach the public and, riy or wrongly, it is the press' attit
udes that will shape the public's view of our endeavors. Public opinion in turn determines funding 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 fthe CompuServe correspondence, I'd s
ay we have our work cut out for us.
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