Hat tip to Jason Colavito for the link.
I can identify with “A Skeptic’s Brief Conversation with a TV Producer” given my own 2003 experience with one of the History Channel’s production companies (it’s the reason I have twice turned down a request to be in Ancient Aliens).
These channels are not about finding the truth. They are about producing what draws an audience so they can sell advertising dollars, swag, and videos. True, you can still find good stuff on them (it’s getting harder all the time), but that’s the truth. Uninformed-but-titillating archeoporn, fear-mongering, and celebration of the non sequitur just sells.
Agreed. National Geographic the other night had a program on how some piece of “intergalactic” stuff, a neutron star, COULD BE ON A COLLISION COURSE WITH THE EARTH, which it wasn’t but if it did COULD WE EVACUATE THE PLANET IN TIME? It featured a number of supposedly professional physicists who were quite concerned about this and kept warning us, in suitably dramatic tones, that we had to be prepared. I found it trite, stupid and repetitive, much like reality TV, until my wife asked if it were for real. No, it’s manipulative ratings-chasing, and irresponsible for an organization of the NG’s calibre.
@ MHS That’s why they like the naked archeologist, I am still not over his jesus nails findings.