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Christopher O'Brien

Back in the Saddle Aginn
Staff member
Article HERE:

By Christopher O'Brien

bell-hat.jpg


[Earlier in the week I posted this as it's own stand alone thread and it mysteriously was folded in to the AB Has Died thread as a comment. This re-posting was down w/o my title and w/o my permission, Please leave this thread where it is, thank you —chris]

The news last week of legendary late night radio broadcaster Art Bell’s passing generated a deluge of social media posts that mourned his death, extolled his virtues as a groundbreaking broadcaster and acknowledged his role as a fringe subject pioneer. There’s no denying the impact of Bell’s presence on late night talk radio that helped fuel public acceptance of UFOs and so called ‘paranormal’ subjects in the 1990s. Almost single-handedly, Bell transformed fringe subject radio ‘entertainment’ with his resonant voice, even keeled demeanor and a constant colorful parade of guests who addressed everything, anything, paranormal, ufological, conspiratorial—and much more....

Covering controversial fringe subject matter comes with journalistic responsibility and this is where the fabled Bell saga becomes problematic...

...Skeptics of all things ‘paranormal’ at the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CICOP) have cynically suggested that you can literally trace back “every woo-woo claim, urban myth, and conspiracy theory of the 21st century to its appearance on Coast to Coast AM.” On the surface, this sounds like a gross exaggeration but when you track many of these memes back to their origins and ascertain where they were first propagated, in many cases, you’ll find the naysayers are surprisingly correct. The list of tall-tale tellers, self-proclaimed ‘experts,’ conspiracy nuts, hoaxers, charlatans, snake oil salesmen, time-traveling alarmists, reptoid rape victims, intelligence agency disinformation specialists (and other ‘spooky types’) etc., is endless and many of these memes are alive and well and doing fine today. It is important to note that most, if not all of these above mentioned questionable guests, were given the same treatment, respect and gravitas by Bell as the many serious researchers, real astronauts, cutting edge scientists, respected investigators, scholarly academics and real life witnesses who also graced the program. This evenhanded approach combined w/ Bell’s manner did make for entertaining, sensational late night talk radio, but his style did little, if anything, to help separate the proverbial ‘wheat from the chaff.’ The rapidly growing, gullible Coast to Coast AM listening audience newly addicted to the X-Files television series and that poster in Mulders office: “I Want to Believe”were never properly educated on how to discern between fact and fiction and Art Bell’s credulous style of entertainment, while an advertiser’s and sociologist’s dream, became a real-life researcher’s nightmare...
FULL ARTICLE HERE
 
Yes. Perhaps. But Art Bell and Coast to Coast were, above all, so much fun ! I suspect most people enjoyed the fun of it, the speculative "maybe it's true... maybe it's not.." nature of it all.
 
That is an excellent article Chris; I can’t argue with your core thesis.

But honestly I find the timing of this article to be a bit insensitive. I mean, the man has just died, and whatever you can say about the failings of his judgment, he was one of the greats, and those of us who loved his best work are mourning his death right now.

I think this is a more appropriate time to celebrate the good that he accomplished with his work (revitalizing the field of ufology, helping to mainstream public discussion of paranormal topics, giving a fabulous long-form platform to some of the best researchers and professional scientists and astronauts etc.) –in other words, to have a kind of virtual wake in honor of his memory, rather than castigating him for his failings mere days after his demise.

It just seems cold to me. Art Bell was above all a consummate professional for many years; an excellent companion in the wee hours of the night with a sharp mind and a big heart and a quick wit, and he was one hell of an entertainer. I was a fan. He had millions of fans like me – and we’ve probably enjoyed hearing him talk on his show for more hours than anyone else we know. So it feels like losing a close friend.

There will be plenty of time in the months and years ahead to debate the merits and demerits of his legacy. It would’ve been more meaningful and poignant at this moment to speak to those of us who are pained that he didn’t live longer - to see some real answers to these mysteries that intrigue us all in this community.

The time will come to settle our gripes with his historic show. And this moment wasn’t it.

I'm sorry to say this to you because your honesty and intellectual integrity are impeccable, and your knowledge of this field stuns me on a regular basis. I just wish that you could relate to how his fans are feeling right now; because even if you only consider his technique and his accomplishments, he taught us so much about the art of radio - and that alone merits a proper eulogy, imo.
 
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