If you’re at all interested in paranormal and historical mysteries, you almost certainly know the work of Joe Nickell, the resident investigator at the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and one of the most frequent correspondents for Skeptical Inquirer and Skeptical Briefs. On his blog last week, Nickell related his experience with a television producer who had asked him to appear on TV to investigate an unnamed fringe mystery. According to Nickell, the producer complained that another skeptic he had contacted by phone was too negative and dismissive. He said that as he would bring up a new topic, the skeptic would sigh loudly and then launch into a diatribe about why the subject was too silly for words. In fact, he said, the skeptic did not seem to have much to offer on the various topics and cases. Consequently, of course, the person was not being invited to appear on any of the shows. Just to make clear: I am not the skeptic in question. Although I have spoken with TV producers, I’ve never sighed into the phone, nor have I ever told a producer a subject was too silly for words. However, as we shall see, Nickell (perhaps unintentionally) seems to assume that television is the highest form of celebrity and therefore the producer’s erstwhile interviewee failed at some level by refusing to flatter the producer’s interest in fringe topics. I disagree with this on many levels. Without more specific details about who was interviewed and why I am of course limited in my comments, but in my experience I’ve found that TV producers are singularly uninformed on many levels. Each time I’ve had one contact me, that producer had no idea who I am or what areas I consider myself competent to discuss. To wit: The first time a TV producer ever contacted me it was to ask me to comment on a rash of sightings of flying pig men in central Mexico. Since I don’t typically cover modern material or cryptozoology, I had rather little to say about it, and I wasn’t afraid to say so. Similarly, I’ve had more than one producer call me under the impression that I am an ancient astronaut theorist. But beyond this, I don’t consider being on TV a life goal, and I’m not afraid to tell producers that their ideas are unworthy of air time. My goal isn’t to appear on TV but to promote the truth, and therefore when one producer from a well-known cable channel wanted to present a conspiracy theory about the Smithsonian Institution and its alleged cover-up of the truth as though it had some foundation in fact, I felt no compunction about telling him that the story was a fraud and explaining exactly where it came from. To kill the segment is, in the end, more of a victory for truth than me appearing for 10 seconds to say no in a 20-minute segment that gives the impression of yes. It is entirely possible that the producer was describing a similarly-inclined skeptic who felt that participation in a show would only serve to legitimize whatever the unnamed fringe topic was. I know, for example, that Mike Heiser feels much like I do and is happy to tell producers no at the first sign that they plan to promote fringe material. …it appears the skeptic has tired of certain subjects (if ever interested in them in the first place)—i.e., is suffering from skeptical burnout. This eventually happens to debunkers—not real investigators, who are willing endlessly to seek explanations for mysteries and use them to teach science and the scientific method. Nickell’s logic is flawed in the above quotation, and it bothers me somewhat. He’s right that investigators have a passion for their subjects—heaven knows I’ve spent enough time endlessly reviewing ancient texts—but how many times are we supposed to repeat ourselves? I know Nickell doesn’t quite mean what he said, but once you’ve reached a conclusion supported by all the evidence, why should you want to “endlessly” repeat the same work to reach the same conclusions? Nickell seems to see each new claim as a new adventure, but he has conflated specific claims with general subjects and inadvertently created a straw man pseudo-debunker whose alleged activities he next outlines: This brings me to the other issue, that the skeptic seemed to have little to offer about the topics the producer posed. Again, it is the investigator rather than the debunker who is apt to know something. Debunkers are quick to be dismissive, or to suggest (antecedent to inquiry) that a claim is a hoax or to offer one or more off-the-shelf explanations (usually based on some investigator’s work—certainly not the debunker’s). Here again I think it behooves us to recall that TV producers aren’t gods to be appeased, and it isn’t clear at all that the skeptic necessarily had anything to say about the subject, as I did not when asked to discuss flying pig people. Some extra details might have helped for us to understand whether there really are people who simply stand athwart mysteries yelling “stop!” or whether this was the case of someone who was not an expert being asked to speak beyond his or her expertise.
The fact that the producer mentioned bringing up topic after topic suggests the latter, since no one can be an expert in every subject, nor can every skeptic afford to be a professional investigator with the time or the resources to gain expertise, as Nickell has, in ghosts, monsters, religious mysteries, forgery, demons, etc. It must be nice to get paid to do that full time, as Nickell is, but expertise takes time and if you have a full-time job, it’s hard to be an expert in more than one or two fringe areas if you hope to maintain that job. I am, however, interested in Nickell’s notion that there are “debunkers” who are simply hangers-on to the work of the true heroes, the “investigators.” I do not doubt that there are such people (fringe history has enough of their mirror-images), but surely this theoretical distinction bears some further development; what, precisely, differentiates the investigator from the debunker? Nickell doesn’t say (the implication is that debunkers assume while investigators prove), but he offers one key indicator of his criteria in his last paragraph, where he explains how the debunker is trying to usurp Nickell’s rightful place on television, recalling one such individual who told him “I have as much right to be famous as you!” So, if I read this correctly, Nickell is upset that other people are trying to steal his television time by describing the results of investigations he would like to receive on-air credit for originating. Joe Nickell does great work, and his investigations are almost always enlightening and informative (I look forward to each new one), but in this blog post he shows a surprising lapse of investigative zeal in questioning the values and priorities of television—in fact, he takes TV to be a reflection of public interest rather than a medium through which such interest is created. In discussing the seemingly-permanent popularity of fringe claims, he says that “the number of cable TV shows devoted to such is living proof of that.” No, it isn’t. Cable TV shows program for a small but loyal audience for such topics (typically around one or two million viewers per show in a country of 315 million) and in so doing legitimize the topic and therefore create popularity through exposure, with the intent of capturing more market share. In communication theory, this is called agenda-setting, and it is one of the key concepts for understanding how mass communication works—a topic that appears in the media becomes the subject for discussion, and the media essentially create an audience for fringe material. This can be best seen in Ancient Aliens, which surprised even the History Channel by resurrecting the ancient astronaut theory—which prior to the show’s launch had been virtually dead in mainstream media—through a canny combination of mystery-mongering and colorful personalities. Ancient astronaut beliefs track with media attention; the first peak came in the 1970s during the heyday of Chariots of the Gods and its ilk, but a lack of media attention in the 1980s drove belief in ancient aliens down; Ken Feder found about 1in 4 college students believed in ancient aliens in 1984, according to a survey—and college students are more likely than any other cohort to believe. However, a 2012 National Geographic poll found that 36% of respondents, which included all adults, not just college students, now suspect that aliens built ancient monuments like Stonehenge or the Great Pyramid. And where did they get these ideas? The mass media, including cable TV and the internet, are largely responsible because they—and only they—can reach audiences of millions, whereas lectures, newsletters, and small-press or self-published books reach only hundreds or at most thousands. The point is that TV isn’t just the apotheosis of the investigator but also a highly influential tool that shapes the notion of what is and is not part of the public discourse. Sometimes saying “no” to television, or telling a producer that his or her mystery isn’t worth the air time, is the better choice, since even the heartiest of on-screen denials might unintentionally reinforce the idea that there is a true mystery worth investigating.
32 Comments
[jad]
4/19/2014 06:11:54 am
Jason, we both know that (A) you are charming and charismatic
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[jad]
4/19/2014 06:18:35 am
Seriously, not everyone in ufology is as erudite
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Pacal
4/19/2014 06:22:15 am
Read Nickell's original piece. It came across has a petulant whine.
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[jad]
4/19/2014 06:26:34 am
i did. not everyone is media savvy.
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IMOHO by [jad]
4/19/2014 06:36:06 am
maybe i should reframe this question!
Oprah let Tom Cruise leap up onto her couch...
4/19/2014 06:23:31 am
Johnny Depp's new Sci-Fi flic is tanking at the box office as it
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television = teleplayed structured zoo
4/19/2014 06:41:14 am
print media = standards
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Titus pullo
4/19/2014 08:18:59 am
I beg to differ. The NYT, LA Times, Wash Post, Phillt Inquireier, Atlantic Constitution stopped being fact based papers years ago to push a far left, statist, crony authoritarian multiculturalism. Heck the Guardian is a better paper, at least they are honest about their bent. And before you say what about the WSJ, even that paper now run by neocons and war mongers is a.shadow of what it was.
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Walt
4/19/2014 08:39:08 am
Unfortunately, the decline in media standards has been across the board. The choice for newspapers and TV stations is to pander to what people want, or go out of business. I even have trouble seeing a weather forecast on The Weather Channel.
Pacal
4/20/2014 04:50:17 am
You know it is hard to take seriously a comment that describes the NYT etc., has "far left". Thank you for uttering a familiar bit of PC bile from the loony right.
Walt
4/19/2014 07:24:10 am
First, "country of 315 million", not county.
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4/19/2014 07:59:37 am
I fixed the typo.
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KIF
4/19/2014 07:56:44 am
The most interesting thing Nickell ever did was to demonstrate how the image was put on the shroud, he replicated the method unquestionably on a documentary, and yet this is not common knowledge
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Varika
4/19/2014 02:58:02 pm
He did not. He demonstrated a method by which the shroud COULD HAVE been formed. Like the voyage of the Kon-tiki and various methods of making pyramids and moving Stonehenge-sized stones, it's not proof of how it WAS done. Sorry, but I'm a bit persnickety about that. Comes of watching a lot of Investigation Discovery.
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KIF
4/19/2014 11:24:49 pm
Oh yes he did, Nickell demonstrated how the image on the Turin Shroud was produced. Something else the documentary let folks know about was that in order for the image on the Turin Shroud to be the way it was the person had to be literally FLAT AS A PANCAKE - the image of the figure on the Turin Shroud is not of a 3 dimensional human being because it showed no wrap-around effects - for the Turin Shroud to be genuine the image needs to be distorted. WOW -- STURP avoids taking this simple fact into consideration
Varika
4/22/2014 03:12:33 pm
No, sorry, KIF, you're still wrong. I've seen that documentary. There is no definitive proof that his method is THE method that was actually used. I have seen at least two other method demonstrations that are just as plausible--and no, I'm not talking about "Divine light burned it into the shroud." I'm talking about other mundane methods of producing the same image that would produce similar modern testing results.
JAD
4/19/2014 07:57:51 am
WILL SOMEONE PLEASE PUT ME BACK IN MY RUBBER ROOM
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4/19/2014 08:11:21 am
luv... your attempt at vintage Rolling Stone 1970s gonzo is pathetic
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only KIF or B L has MY permission to do a "drive-by" thusly
4/19/2014 08:14:17 am
now i really know how Rev. Phil feels...
Titus pullo
4/19/2014 08:25:57 am
We got free hbo this week. I found myself switching between Hanger one and the movie Battleship. I found Battleship more plausible. Seriously, when hanger one started to talk about the nazi bell and then said Iran captured a ufo in 2004, and reversed engineered it so they could bring down a US drone, it really was too much even for that show. If your a rational person, aka skeptic according to the History channel, why go on to get your. 5 seconds of saying their is no proof. A tub pic is dependent on an enlightened public, sorry to say that is not what we have today.
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Mark E.
4/19/2014 10:19:35 am
I couldn't get past the story about giant urinals for aliens being kept a DIA.
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Rowena Fibbs
4/20/2014 01:02:45 am
IMO - the problem isn't necessarily speaking to the producers or giving interviews. The problem is that some producers of these types of programs will twist the truth to promote their predetermined end. We know it's happened on AU, AA and other documentaries. It's no longer an equal conversation. While there is a part of me that still hopes someone will create a program that debunks (apparently this is a bad word now? Just a step above an ancient a astronaut theorist?) I don't hold out much hope for this to ever happen. The networks which promote this tripe don't care because they are getting the ratings they want and selling the air time. I don't blame experts for not wanting to participate in this exercise in futility. They are lambs being led to slaughter.
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Dave Lewis
4/20/2014 06:46:27 am
I frequently listen to Coast to Coast AM. I don't believe most of what I hear on that show. I enjoy hearing about urban legends.
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KIF
4/20/2014 09:31:49 am
Nothing wrong with the word debunker - bunk is there to be debunked
Harry
4/20/2014 01:19:22 am
Does anyone else here appreciate the irony of a skeptical investigator just accepting the word of a TV producer about what some other "unnamed" skeptic told him, and dismissing the skeptic out of hand for dismissing a fringe topic out of hand?
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Harry
4/20/2014 06:35:26 am
Sorry for the duplicative postings. The computer kept telling me that it did not post. It was only after I refreshed after the third time that I saw it worked every time.
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Harry
4/20/2014 01:19:47 am
Does anyone else here appreciate the irony of a skeptical investigator just accepting the word of a TV producer about what some other "unnamed" skeptic told him, and dismissing the skeptic out of hand for dismissing a fringe topic out of hand?
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Harry
4/20/2014 06:30:11 am
Does anyone else here appreciate the irony of a skeptical investigator just accepting the word of a TV producer about what some other "unnamed" skeptic told him, and dismissing the skeptic out of hand for dismissing a fringe topic out of hand?
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i agree... [jad]
4/20/2014 11:20:20 am
i've posted in triplicate too.
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Mark L
4/21/2014 11:49:45 pm
I saw the article and had the same exact response, Jason (and left a comment on his original posting). It's such a strange thing to write - he reminds me of rich people who idly wonder why everyone isn't eating lobster. Because we can't afford it!
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Tobias Claren
3/15/2022 10:34:25 pm
One should not forget, CSI is a dubious sect.
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AuthorI am an author and researcher focusing on pop culture, science, and history. Bylines: New Republic, Esquire, Slate, etc. There's more about me in the About Jason tab. Newsletters
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