TIGHAR
Amelia Earhart Search Forum => News, Views, Books, Archival Data & Interviews on AE => Topic started by: Monty Fowler on February 05, 2011, 11:10:42 AM
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Well, shoot. I was all ready to watch Finding Amelia at 1 p.m. today and was treated to the Kennedy's Secret Service detail instead. Bummer. Anyone have a clue when the good folks at the Discovery Channel are next going to try this?
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Amelia has disappeared again! I guess we should have expected no less of her.
I though I had checked the discovery site a couple of weeks ago and saw it listed, but when I tuned in all I found was the Secret Service babysitting John John and Caroline.
It seems clear that nefarious forces high within our government are determined to keep the truth about AE from getting out!
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At last! An Earhart Conspiracy we can believe in!
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So disappointing. You wonder why they did it? Did they really expect a show about the Kennedy's to draw that many more people than one about AE--at 1:00 P.M. in the afternoon? it just doesn't make any sense.
I'd been looking forward to this for weeks, and we made sure we had both our TVs set to record it. Then we go to watch it, and nothing!
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Ric ... just out of curiosity, where were you on Nov. 22, 1963? *peers at a blowup of the grassy knoll*
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Is there some mechanism that we can let Discovery know how disappointed we are that they didn't follow through with the scheduled airing of Fiinding Amelia?
Seems that if they know there is demand, they'll respond.
amck
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I just finished Fred Goerner's book and had developed a case of conspiritation of the brain, hence the government plot. Poor man, he could have wrapped this up 50 years ago if he spent a fraction of the time following up on Floyd Kilt's story on p177 that he did chasing wisps of rumors and digging up random war dead. So dedicated to his pursuit and yet so blinded by tunnel vision that an outlying data point that didn't fit his hypothesis is ignored.
How many of the principals were still alive in 1961? How fresh the memories, how undisturbed the evidence. Oh well, the mystery wouldn't be here for us to pursue now if he had done a better job.
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I'm as upset about this as all of you are. Maybe more. I'm the guy who has to raise the money and this show is one of our best fund-raising tools. I'll write to Discovery and voice our disappointment and displeasure. I'll let you know how they respond.
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Ric ... just out of curiosity, where were you on Nov. 22, 1963? *peers at a blowup of the grassy knoll*
Niku!
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Another viewing would also have boosted number on the forum, member ship has tailed off this month.
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And for those of you who like abuse, there is also the Discovery Channel "viewer feedback" feature on their website. It is NOT very user-friendly, but then, in my experience, those types of things very seldom are. Still, it might not hurt to clutter up their In box with a whole bunch of "Why the heck would you do such a dumb thing?" queries. They say they will "try" to respond within one week. Right-o!
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To register your displeasure with Discovery Channel viewer feed back (http://corporate.discovery.com/contact/viewer-relations/l) you'll have to jump through three hoops before you get to say what's on your mind. It's like putting the Complaints Dept. on the roof that is only accessible via three ladders. On the other hand, because not many people are willing to climb the ladders, the complaints that do get registered may get some attention.
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There was supposed to be another showing of Finding Amelia? Well, let's hope Discovery airs it again as it was a very good documentary! Hope I can see it a second time!
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Rick's link led to "Page not found", but I did find "Viewer Relations" here:
http://dsc.discovery.com/utilities/about/viewer-relations.html
Went down to selection 32 and submitted the following: Happened to catch the last 20 minutes of this after midnight in November 2010.
Have waited for a 're-run', but have not seen any.
Very interested in seeing the entire program and hope that you will air it again.
Thank you very much,
Art
The site had blocks to select information including "Finding Amelia" & "Air Date" and promised a reply within a week, I will report any feedback here.
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This is what I sent to the Executive Producer of the show:
On January 12 you told me the show would re-air on February 5 and, in fact, it was widely scheduled to re-air on that date, but it didn't. I must tell you that there was great disappointment among our members and our considerable fan-base that, once more, Finding Amelia did not air on the advertised date. Instead, the network chose to air a yawner about the Kennedy security detail. Whoever schedules these shows did it to us back in December and they did it again on Saturday. Discovery tells us when the show will air, we tell our public, they call their friends, everybody gets pumped, and then Discovery changes the date without telling us. Everyone is disappointed and those who helped spread the word are embarrassed. This creates the impression that Discovery is capricious and disrespectful of its viewers.
I don't hold you responsible for what the scheduling people do, but I hope you'll let them know that this sort of thing has consequences.
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The head of Discovery Specials replies:
"Hey Ric,
Really sorry. I didn't actually realize they had changed the airdate again. It must have been last minute. Sincere apologies to you and the fans."
To which I have replied:
"I'll pass along your apology and urge the mob to put down the pitchforks and put out the torches."
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Talk about a "non-responsive response" :
Dear Viewer,
Thank you for contacting Discovery Communications.
Program schedules are made available on www.discovery.com at the beginning
of each month. These schedules are subject to change and updates are posted
as soon as possible. Your TV Guides or other on-screen guides may not
reflect the most recent schedule changes, because the schedules were sent
to your cable or satellite provider prior to the schedule change.
Please use the "Newsletters" feature on our website at www.discovery.com to
receive e-mail reminders letting you know when your favorite program is
going to air by selecting the network of your choice.
Thank you again for expressing your interest in our programming.
Sincerely,
Viewer Relations
Discovery Communications
>:(
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Nice try, Ric. Love the non-committal response!
It was bad enough that they changed it at the last minute, but they don't even seem to care.
Makes me want to boycott the Discovery Channel--with the exception of when your show airs, of course!
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... It was bad enough that they changed it at the last minute, but they don't even seem to care. ...
I don't think we have to imagine any kind of malice on the part of Discovery.
They may have made a market decision.
They are in business to make money. If they don't make money, they don't stay in business.
It may well be that the folks who buy commercial time asked for a show that would attract a different demographic from "Finding Amelia." It may look strange to us (perhaps even offensive) because we don't have the data on which the decision was based.
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... some wise wag once said something like "never attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity" ...
That saying is now generally known as Hanlon's Razor. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor)
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I think if I was at Discovery and knowing there is DNA material in the lab I would be inclined to hold off a re broadcast until the lab results are known - positive DNA results, what a suppliment - a negitive DNA result, end of NIKU trip.
Ted Campbell
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Talk about a "non-responsive response" :
Dear Viewer,
Thank you for contacting Discovery Communications.
Program schedules are made available on www.discovery.com at the beginning
of each month. These schedules are subject to change and updates are posted
as soon as possible. Your TV Guides or other on-screen guides may not
reflect the most recent schedule changes, because the schedules were sent
to your cable or satellite provider prior to the schedule change.
Please use the "Newsletters" feature on our website at www.discovery.com to
receive e-mail reminders letting you know when your favorite program is
going to air by selecting the network of your choice.
Thank you again for expressing your interest in our programming.
Sincerely,
Viewer Relations
Discovery Communications
>:(
Received the exact same form letter with a link back to Viewer Relations below their sig:A reply to this message will not be answered. If you have additional
questions or comments, please go to our webform at
http://extweb.discovery.com/viewerrelations
I shall patiently await the next airing of Finding Amelia.
The delay is puzzling considering all the News Releases from shortly after the first airing that generated all that interest.
Would have thought that they were going to create a series on the subject.
I expect they would have had an idea of what a long shot that DNA would be.
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I do have some further news from Discovery:
- I've been pressing them for information about how well, or poorly, the initial airing of the show did ratings-wise. I've interpreted their reluctance to tell me as either - "We're embarrassed to say that the show really bombed." or "Knowing that we'll soon be negotiating with you again, we don't want you to know that the show was a huge success." Although they still haven't released actual ratings, they have now said (admitted?) that the show did "a bit better than our Saturday nights usually do." 'Nuff said.
- I've also been bugging them about whether they'll be offering the show on DVD. We very much want to make DVDs of the show available via the TIGHAR Store. The word now is that their Commerce Dept. will make that decision in April.
- Discovery is still VERY interested in the progress of our research and planning for the next expedition.
- No word yet on a re-broadcast date.
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Now if Discovery had something proving that Kennedy is alive and well on Niku, that could explain the schedule swap.
Maybe the next Niku expedition should keep an eye out for Elvis as well. ;)
Mona
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Malice ... stupidity ... marketing decision ... whatever ... I think the best thing that us TIGHARs can do is keep cluttering up their Viewer Feedback In box, PITA though it is to do so, just to let them know that there is interest, a lot of interest, and it is ongoing interest. There is much to be said for the old "squeaky wheel gets the grease" saying.
And now I'm wondering ... if there are grassy knolls on NIku ... and Ric can't account for his whereabouts on Nov. 22, 1963 ... maybe the Discovery Channel's programming switch to Kennedy's Secret Service detail was just a teaser for even greater revelations to come?
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Maybe the next Niku expedition should keep an eye out for Elvis as well. ;)
Not to mention Jimmy Hoffa and Judge Crater! ;D
....TB
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- they did do a good job with this and I believe allowed TIGHAR to be well represented - much more than you can expect from typical Hollywood stuff.
Amen. The production people were attentive and easy to work with. We occasionally had to hold their feet to the fire about historical accuracy and we insisted on using our own cameraman Mark Smith who knows us and knows the island, having shot two previous expeditions to Niku. They, in turn, insisted on sending a cameraman of their choosing out with the second boat. Nice guy, but the island ate his lunch the first day out and after that he decided that his talents were best spent covering the ROV team.
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Speaking of the re-broadcast---any updates on the DNA findings? I'm kinda with Ted on this---postive results will give them a re-broadcast with enormous ratings--and a big grant-in-aid for TIGHAR for another NIKU trip. A negative result, makes a re-broadcast a moot point. But--even with a negative result, they might want to help fund a trip to survery off the reef ----to settle the Electra theory.
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I posted the following on our Facebook page earlier today:
DNA Update Coming Soon
We're working with the lab to put together an update on how it's going. It's a challenge to present a very complicated scientific situation in terms the rest of us can accurately grasp but the process is part of the story and we refuse to "dumb it down."
Once the press release is ready we'll put it on the TIGHAR website and put a link to it here.
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They, in turn, insisted on sending a cameraman of their choosing out with the second boat. Nice guy, but the island ate his lunch the first day out and after that he decided that his talents were best spent covering the ROV team.
Idle curiosity here. What was it that got to him? Heat? Seasick? Bugs? Crabs? Sharks?
....TB
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What was it that got to him?
Heat. He had done quite a bit of work in Africa and I guess he thought Niku would be no big deal. In all fairness, he was operating at a disadvantage. Some of his personal gear had not arrived in Samoa so he came ashore at Niku the first day with a make-shift water bottle and no hat. I was giving the new people who had just arrived on the second boat a tour of the abandoned village and I was taking it easy because it does take time to acclimate (the rest of us had already been there for two weeks). He was carrying a big camera and rushing around trying to shoot everything and it was just too much. He was shooting an interview with me beside Gallagher's tomb and had to stop because he was about to pass out. After that, the ROV team aboard ship became a much more attractive subject for filming.
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What was it that got to him?
Heat. He had done quite a bit of work in Africa and I guess he thought Niku would be no big deal. In all fairness, he was operating at a disadvantage. Some of his personal gear had not arrived in Samoa so he came ashore at Niku the first day with a make-shift water bottle and no hat. I was giving the new people who had just arrived on the second boat a tour of the abandoned village and I was taking it easy because it does take time to acclimate (the rest of us had already been there for two weeks). He was carrying a big camera and rushing around trying to shoot everything and it was just too much. He was shooting an interview with me beside Gallagher's tomb and had to stop because he was about to pass out. After that, the ROV team aboard ship became a much more attractive subject for filming.
When I read what you write, I find it amazing that AE lasted more than a few days on that island, especially since she had no ready source of water.
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that is the most probable answer for their demise. 3 or 4 days in that environment with little to no water or food, the heat, and other obstacles. Little wonder why the overflight on the 9th didnt yield any castaways.
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The castaway who lived and died at the Seven Site had figured out how to get sufficient food and water to survive long enough to find the site, set up housekeeping there, and leave behind considerable evidence of their residence. That's not 3 or 4 days.
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The castaway who lived and died at the Seven Site had figured out how to get sufficient food and water to survive long enough to find the site, set up housekeeping there, and leave behind considerable evidence of their residence. That's not 3 or 4 days.
Tom King's fictionalized version in "Thirteen Bones" has at least one person surviving until October 13, 1937 -- over three months. I assume this was not just an arbitrary guess on his part but was an informed estimate based upon the available evidence. :)
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Tom King's fictionalized version in "Thirteen Bones" has at least one person surviving until October 13, 1937 -- over three months. I assume this was not just an arbitrary guess on his part but was an informed estimate based upon the available evidence. :)
We don't yet have enough information to make an informed guess about how long the castaway(s) survived. My uninformed guess based on what we've found would be at least several weeks and perhaps a few months. I don't know why Tom chose October 13, 1937 but it's not based on any kind of calculation. I suspect he chose that date for artistic purposes. The first British expedition to evaluate the island for future settlement arrived on October 11 and departed on October 13, 1937. Having Amelia expire on the 13th let him describe his imagined circumstances of her death and introduce his characters in the same opening chapter.
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Tom King's fictionalized version in "Thirteen Bones" has at least one person surviving until October 13, 1937 -- over three months. I assume this was not just an arbitrary guess on his part but was an informed estimate based upon the available evidence. :)
We don't yet have enough information to make an informed guess about how long the castaway(s) survived. My uninformed guess based on what we've found would be at least several weeks and perhaps a few months. I don't know why Tom chose October 13, 1937 but it's not based on any kind of calculation. I suspect he chose that date for artistic purposes. The first British expedition to evaluate the island for future settlement arrived on October 11 and departed on October 13, 1937. Having Amelia expire on the 13th let him describe his imagined circumstances of her death and introduce his characters in the same opening chapter.
Artistic Licence but a crude quess based on a fire a day would give them a fair few days after they have moved to the seven site from the post loss radio landing site. Not taking into account any other camp sites that they may have had before settling down at the seven site.
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The number of fires and especially the amount of food represented by the bones found in and around the fires should be an indication of how long someone was in residence. The tricky part is figuring out which fires and bones are attributable to the castaway(s). Not every little chunk of charcoal is necessarily a campfire and we're beginning to see some evidence that at least some of the fires were made later. The bird and fish bones are still out for analysis. We should know more when we know what species and methods of preparation they represent. If we're lucky we'll get a clearer picture that might enable us to say something like, "These fires over here are clearly castaway-related and these over here were not."
It's a complex site.