SATURDAY, JULY 07, 2007
ABC News Morphs into CNN While Doing Piece On UFO Documentary- "Out of The Blue" By Frank Warren © 7-9-2007
Not surprisingly, and following the "mainstream press pattern, ABC News, specifically "Nightline" delivered a disappointing segment on UFOs, and in particular, the "updated version" (5th anniversary) of the documentary, "Out of The Blue" last night (Friday July 6th).
Not unlike its rival, CNN, the reporting done primarily by Brian Rooney was poor, and misleading; however, they did omit the "Sci-Fi theme music" (e.g., The Outer Limits) which I suppose is a plus given how the networks (and CNN) "handle" the subject.
Much like the Peter Jennings show, "Seeing is Believing" done a couple of years back, the news segment started out well; it began with Dr. Frank Drake (in a classroom setting, in front of a chalkboard) explaining the "Drake Equation" which calculates the number of worlds that may harbor intelligent life; this was followed by witnesses of the Phoenix Lights sighting of '97, beginning with good friend and colleague Mike Fortson.
It was all down hill from there in my view; although there were moments of clarity, as the producers continued to show snippets of the documentary. The questions posed by Brian Rooney intimated that the subject of UFOs was either "faith based," fodder for the "mentally challenged" or possibly some "grand conspiratorial hoax!"
Professional skeptic Michael Shermer was enlisted to offer the "contrasting view" (apparently) and for me "broke the monotony," as it evoked laughter; piteously he actually believes what he says. Shermer took eye witness accounts of astronauts, police officers or politicians like Jimmy Carter bundled them up and discarded them, saying, "it's irrelevant . . . because they're human and they're brains and nervous systems and sensory apparatus are structured just like the average Joes."
Can you imagine an attorney in a murder case standing up in court using that defense? Apparently, Shermer would have the viewer believer that the credibility of witnesses is dependent upon "just what they saw." If they saw a plane then "their respective neurons are firing properly"; however, inject a UFO into the mix, and perhaps their "sensory apparatus" is flawed somehow! Ad Nauseum!

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