THE PARACAST NEWSLETTER
June 28, 2015
www.theparacast.com
Richard Dolan Responds to Listener Questions on The Paracast
The Paracast is heard Sundays from 3:00 AM until 6:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, the Boost Radio Network, the IRN Internet Radio Network, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
Announcing The Paracast+: We have another radio show, and for a low monthly or annual subscription fee, you will receive access to After The Paracast, plus a higher-quality version of The Paracast without, the network ads, and chat rooms. NEW! We’ve added an RSS feed for fast updates of the latest episodes, and The Paracast+ video channel is coming soon. For more information about our premium package, please visit: Introducing The Paracast+ | The Paracast — The Gold Standard of Paranormal Radio.
Attention U.S. Listeners: Help Us Bring The Paracast to Your City! In the summer of 2010, The Paracast joined the GCN radio network. This represented a huge step in bringing our show to a larger, mainstream audience. But we need your help to add additional affiliates to our growing network. Please ask one of your local talk stations if they are interested in carrying The Paracast. Feel free to contact us directly with the names of programming people we might be able to contact on your behalf. We can't do this alone, and if you succeed in convincing your local station to carry the show, we'll reward you with one of our special T-shirts, and other goodies. With your help, The Paracast can grow into one of the most popular paranormal shows on the planet!
Please Visit Our Online Store: You asked, and we answered. We are now taking orders for The Official Paracast T-Shirt and an expanded collection of other specially customized merchandise. To get your T-Shirt now featuring our brand new logo, just pay a visit to our online store at The Official Paracast Store to select your size and place your order. We also offer a complete lineup of other premium merchandise for your family, your friends and your business contacts.
About The Paracast: The Paracast covers a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions across the planet.
Set Up: The Paracast is a paranormal radio show that takes you on a journey to a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions. The Paracast seeks to shed light on the mysteries and complexities of our Universe and the secrets that surround us in our everyday lives.
Join long-time paranormal researcher Gene Steinberg, co-host and acclaimed field investigator Christopher O'Brien, and a panel of special guest experts and experiencers, as they explore the realms of the known and unknown. Listen each week to the great stories of the history of the paranormal field in the 20th and 21st centuries.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Chris present everyone's favorite UFO historian, Richard Dolan. We focus heavily on listener questions about such subjects as the history of UFOs and other aspects of the phenomenon. We briefly cover his decision to participate in the recent Cinco de Mayo dustup, which we refer to as Slidegate or the "topic that shall not be named." During this episode, Dolan also focuses on the state of UFO research, reverse engineering alleged alien technology, so-called breakaway civilizations, the schemes skeptics use to debunk UFOs, and his upcoming book about so-called "false flags" and how they influenced our history. He'll also respond to a listener question about what he'd do if he had $100 million with which to investigate the mystery.
Chris O’Brien’s Site: Our Strange Planet
Richard Dolan’s Site: rdpress
Available exclusively to Paracast+ subscribers on June 28: Gene and Chris discuss Richard Dolan’s appearance on The Paracast, and his eagerness to cut people slack when controversies arise, such as in a certain “topic that shall not be named.” Also on the agenda: So-called false flag operations, such as whether some of the elements of 9/11 had questionable aspects. A put-up job, or did the U.S. government take unfair advantage of this tragedy? Gene and Chris discuss conspiracy theories and curious coincidences, and mind control schemes, in anticipation of the next episode of The Paracast, which features Marie D. Jones, co-author of “Mind Wars.” The subject matter is implicit in the title. You’ll also hear a brief discussion about so-called subliminal advertising and whether it’s still being used despite being technically banned.
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums.
Can You Believe the News Anymore?
By Gene Steinberg
In the days when I worked in broadcast news, I had only one prime directive, which was to cover the news as fairly as possible for the most part. Well, let me make an exception to that. I once worked as an Assistant News Director for a country music station in Charleston, SC. When I first interviewed for the position, the general manager of the station warned me not to broadcast any story that would upset the “vested interests.” No, that’s not the way he expressed it, but you get the picture.
Now one day I innocently entered the office of a county official trolling for news. I happened to glance at a large table in which a document was prominently displayed, one that listed promotions for key county officials. The table was in plain sight, impossible to miss unless I closed my eyes. So I asked the official about it. He feigned surprise, but must have realized that there was no way I could avoid discovering what they were planning to do.
Or at least that’s what I thought.
Well, although we ran with the story – and my boss fleshed it out with more details that he got officially – the official complained to the station about my “offensive” behavior, how I dared to rub them the wrong way in digging for news. I suppose the only logical complaint would be for being able to see the things in front of me. Regardless, one fine evening the program director walked over to me as I was finishing my shift, handed me an envelope containing my final check, and bid me goodbye.
Now maybe my innocent inquiry in search of news did upset the wrong people, although I felt I rigorously observed the subtle limits on my coverage. Or maybe I just didn’t get the memo and pushed too hard in the wrong direction.
Regardless, I did, eventually, locate another radio job, with a much higher salary, at a regional station near Philadelphia. Management took the evidence of my reporting skills as a positive trait. They wanted me to dig for the news without regard to where the story took me. Yes, I did get a few instructions about which stories to emphasize in a newscast, but I’ll get to that later.
Over the next few years, I occasionally managed to upset some people in my coverage of local events. But I played it straight down the middle, trying my best to be fair to all sides – within reason. Nowadays journalists often take the lazy approach and provide a false balance. Even if one side of a story is patently absurd, it will often be quoted and given equal weight. It gets them off the hook.
Even newspapers and broadcast outlets that claim to be fair and balanced may have a political point of view to protect or boost. Without naming the culprits, a story can be slanted in many ways. Sometimes it’s about emphasizing the parts of a report that appear to advance an editorial position, and I’ve known of a certain cable TV news network to actually crop or edit someone’s statement to convey a different and sometimes false meaning. Even when other members of the media broadcast or publish the correct version, or comment on the false version of the story, it is never corrected.
While newspapers and magazines will always be concerned about getting enough advertising revenue to pay the bills, there is supposed to be a firewall between editorial and the ad salespeople. That means that coverage should not, in theory, be altered to boost or protect the interests of a company that’s paying the bills. But it does happen. I ran into a situation of this sort in the 1990s when I wrote for Macworld, a magazine that catered to users of Apple Mac computers and, later, to iPhone and iPad users (it’s only published digitally these days).
Early own, the editors told me it was best not to fraternize with the advertising department. I was reminded of the editorial/advertising firewall, so I once tried to get the editors to cover the known defects in a certain product that that was regularly promoted with full page ads. These were defects that could destroy your data, but not long thereafter, they found an excuse to suggest I find another outlet for my writings, which I did, but that’s another story.
So how does all this relate to our paranormal corner of the world?
It’s simply this. As you know, most news outlets of whatever sort, and more and more of them post or publish their content online, depend on advertisers to cover all or most of their revenue. Even when you pay a subscription fee for digital content, it’s often a fraction of the actual costs of running the operation. If advertisers aren’t pleased with the content, they can find plenty of other outlets who might be more amenable to their needs.
The long and short of it is that it may be near impossible to get an accurate picture of the events of the day, let alone a fair presentation of the meaning of those events. There may be too much emphasis on violence, such as shootings, crashes and certainly terrorist activities. The age-old motto of the tabloid journalist, “if it bleeds it leads” was never more true.
Indeed, one of the managers at a radio station I worked t provided the very same marching orders, so I often would lead a newscast with a story about an auto accident involving an injury, and certainly a robbery or violent act, such as a shooting. It didn’t matter if there was a local, regional, state or national event from the world of politics that was far more important. Or even a UFO sighting.
These days, even the traditional newspapers who garner Pulitzer prizes are strapped. As advertising revenue decreases, there are staff cutbacks, quite often in the editorial department. Investigative reporting is a rarity simply because newspapers and TV networks won’t invest in staff or stories without an immediate payback. The long-term investment in covering Watergate back in the 1970s might never have happened in 2015.
Worse, broadcast news departments are often run by the entertainment divisions that expect ratings and profits.
So if you’re hoping for accurate coverage of the news, especially if it involves a UFO or other paranormal event, it’s probably not going to happen. Such stories are usually treated as filler, to flesh out a news block when more “important” stories are scarce, or to generate a few laughs.
When TV networks present so-called documentaries on UFO hunters, ghost hunters, or those seeking evidence of ancient aliens, it’s about filling 43 minutes (plus the spots) with exciting, provocative content; facts be damned. It’s all about the ratings.
The radio stations at which I covered news – with that lone exception that cost me a job – would not exist these days. Local news? Not when they can just broadcast a network feed and not invest in a full-time news staff.
Copyright 1999-2015 The Paracast LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!
June 28, 2015
www.theparacast.com
Richard Dolan Responds to Listener Questions on The Paracast
The Paracast is heard Sundays from 3:00 AM until 6:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, the Boost Radio Network, the IRN Internet Radio Network, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
Announcing The Paracast+: We have another radio show, and for a low monthly or annual subscription fee, you will receive access to After The Paracast, plus a higher-quality version of The Paracast without, the network ads, and chat rooms. NEW! We’ve added an RSS feed for fast updates of the latest episodes, and The Paracast+ video channel is coming soon. For more information about our premium package, please visit: Introducing The Paracast+ | The Paracast — The Gold Standard of Paranormal Radio.
Attention U.S. Listeners: Help Us Bring The Paracast to Your City! In the summer of 2010, The Paracast joined the GCN radio network. This represented a huge step in bringing our show to a larger, mainstream audience. But we need your help to add additional affiliates to our growing network. Please ask one of your local talk stations if they are interested in carrying The Paracast. Feel free to contact us directly with the names of programming people we might be able to contact on your behalf. We can't do this alone, and if you succeed in convincing your local station to carry the show, we'll reward you with one of our special T-shirts, and other goodies. With your help, The Paracast can grow into one of the most popular paranormal shows on the planet!
Please Visit Our Online Store: You asked, and we answered. We are now taking orders for The Official Paracast T-Shirt and an expanded collection of other specially customized merchandise. To get your T-Shirt now featuring our brand new logo, just pay a visit to our online store at The Official Paracast Store to select your size and place your order. We also offer a complete lineup of other premium merchandise for your family, your friends and your business contacts.
About The Paracast: The Paracast covers a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions across the planet.
Set Up: The Paracast is a paranormal radio show that takes you on a journey to a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions. The Paracast seeks to shed light on the mysteries and complexities of our Universe and the secrets that surround us in our everyday lives.
Join long-time paranormal researcher Gene Steinberg, co-host and acclaimed field investigator Christopher O'Brien, and a panel of special guest experts and experiencers, as they explore the realms of the known and unknown. Listen each week to the great stories of the history of the paranormal field in the 20th and 21st centuries.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Chris present everyone's favorite UFO historian, Richard Dolan. We focus heavily on listener questions about such subjects as the history of UFOs and other aspects of the phenomenon. We briefly cover his decision to participate in the recent Cinco de Mayo dustup, which we refer to as Slidegate or the "topic that shall not be named." During this episode, Dolan also focuses on the state of UFO research, reverse engineering alleged alien technology, so-called breakaway civilizations, the schemes skeptics use to debunk UFOs, and his upcoming book about so-called "false flags" and how they influenced our history. He'll also respond to a listener question about what he'd do if he had $100 million with which to investigate the mystery.
Chris O’Brien’s Site: Our Strange Planet
Richard Dolan’s Site: rdpress
Available exclusively to Paracast+ subscribers on June 28: Gene and Chris discuss Richard Dolan’s appearance on The Paracast, and his eagerness to cut people slack when controversies arise, such as in a certain “topic that shall not be named.” Also on the agenda: So-called false flag operations, such as whether some of the elements of 9/11 had questionable aspects. A put-up job, or did the U.S. government take unfair advantage of this tragedy? Gene and Chris discuss conspiracy theories and curious coincidences, and mind control schemes, in anticipation of the next episode of The Paracast, which features Marie D. Jones, co-author of “Mind Wars.” The subject matter is implicit in the title. You’ll also hear a brief discussion about so-called subliminal advertising and whether it’s still being used despite being technically banned.
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums.
Can You Believe the News Anymore?
By Gene Steinberg
In the days when I worked in broadcast news, I had only one prime directive, which was to cover the news as fairly as possible for the most part. Well, let me make an exception to that. I once worked as an Assistant News Director for a country music station in Charleston, SC. When I first interviewed for the position, the general manager of the station warned me not to broadcast any story that would upset the “vested interests.” No, that’s not the way he expressed it, but you get the picture.
Now one day I innocently entered the office of a county official trolling for news. I happened to glance at a large table in which a document was prominently displayed, one that listed promotions for key county officials. The table was in plain sight, impossible to miss unless I closed my eyes. So I asked the official about it. He feigned surprise, but must have realized that there was no way I could avoid discovering what they were planning to do.
Or at least that’s what I thought.
Well, although we ran with the story – and my boss fleshed it out with more details that he got officially – the official complained to the station about my “offensive” behavior, how I dared to rub them the wrong way in digging for news. I suppose the only logical complaint would be for being able to see the things in front of me. Regardless, one fine evening the program director walked over to me as I was finishing my shift, handed me an envelope containing my final check, and bid me goodbye.
Now maybe my innocent inquiry in search of news did upset the wrong people, although I felt I rigorously observed the subtle limits on my coverage. Or maybe I just didn’t get the memo and pushed too hard in the wrong direction.
Regardless, I did, eventually, locate another radio job, with a much higher salary, at a regional station near Philadelphia. Management took the evidence of my reporting skills as a positive trait. They wanted me to dig for the news without regard to where the story took me. Yes, I did get a few instructions about which stories to emphasize in a newscast, but I’ll get to that later.
Over the next few years, I occasionally managed to upset some people in my coverage of local events. But I played it straight down the middle, trying my best to be fair to all sides – within reason. Nowadays journalists often take the lazy approach and provide a false balance. Even if one side of a story is patently absurd, it will often be quoted and given equal weight. It gets them off the hook.
Even newspapers and broadcast outlets that claim to be fair and balanced may have a political point of view to protect or boost. Without naming the culprits, a story can be slanted in many ways. Sometimes it’s about emphasizing the parts of a report that appear to advance an editorial position, and I’ve known of a certain cable TV news network to actually crop or edit someone’s statement to convey a different and sometimes false meaning. Even when other members of the media broadcast or publish the correct version, or comment on the false version of the story, it is never corrected.
While newspapers and magazines will always be concerned about getting enough advertising revenue to pay the bills, there is supposed to be a firewall between editorial and the ad salespeople. That means that coverage should not, in theory, be altered to boost or protect the interests of a company that’s paying the bills. But it does happen. I ran into a situation of this sort in the 1990s when I wrote for Macworld, a magazine that catered to users of Apple Mac computers and, later, to iPhone and iPad users (it’s only published digitally these days).
Early own, the editors told me it was best not to fraternize with the advertising department. I was reminded of the editorial/advertising firewall, so I once tried to get the editors to cover the known defects in a certain product that that was regularly promoted with full page ads. These were defects that could destroy your data, but not long thereafter, they found an excuse to suggest I find another outlet for my writings, which I did, but that’s another story.
So how does all this relate to our paranormal corner of the world?
It’s simply this. As you know, most news outlets of whatever sort, and more and more of them post or publish their content online, depend on advertisers to cover all or most of their revenue. Even when you pay a subscription fee for digital content, it’s often a fraction of the actual costs of running the operation. If advertisers aren’t pleased with the content, they can find plenty of other outlets who might be more amenable to their needs.
The long and short of it is that it may be near impossible to get an accurate picture of the events of the day, let alone a fair presentation of the meaning of those events. There may be too much emphasis on violence, such as shootings, crashes and certainly terrorist activities. The age-old motto of the tabloid journalist, “if it bleeds it leads” was never more true.
Indeed, one of the managers at a radio station I worked t provided the very same marching orders, so I often would lead a newscast with a story about an auto accident involving an injury, and certainly a robbery or violent act, such as a shooting. It didn’t matter if there was a local, regional, state or national event from the world of politics that was far more important. Or even a UFO sighting.
These days, even the traditional newspapers who garner Pulitzer prizes are strapped. As advertising revenue decreases, there are staff cutbacks, quite often in the editorial department. Investigative reporting is a rarity simply because newspapers and TV networks won’t invest in staff or stories without an immediate payback. The long-term investment in covering Watergate back in the 1970s might never have happened in 2015.
Worse, broadcast news departments are often run by the entertainment divisions that expect ratings and profits.
So if you’re hoping for accurate coverage of the news, especially if it involves a UFO or other paranormal event, it’s probably not going to happen. Such stories are usually treated as filler, to flesh out a news block when more “important” stories are scarce, or to generate a few laughs.
When TV networks present so-called documentaries on UFO hunters, ghost hunters, or those seeking evidence of ancient aliens, it’s about filling 43 minutes (plus the spots) with exciting, provocative content; facts be damned. It’s all about the ratings.
The radio stations at which I covered news – with that lone exception that cost me a job – would not exist these days. Local news? Not when they can just broadcast a network feed and not invest in a full-time news staff.
Copyright 1999-2015 The Paracast LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!
