[meteorite-list] Meteorite Men effects

From: meteorhntr at aol.com <meteorhntr_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2010 20:41:32 +0000
Message-ID: <1495676414-1269290459-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-518397755-_at_bda353.bisx.prod.on.blackberry>

Hey list,

Interesting topic. I thought I would change the Subject Line though.

Let me give you guys a little behind the scenes understanding of what happens in the making of Meteorite Men.

There is a production company that owns the show by the name of LMNO Productions. They have been around maybe for 20 years with 150 or so different programs under their belt. Some were long running series, some were just one-offs, but they have a very experienced staff of professionals that know what they are doing.

They came up with the idea of the Meteorite Men show after reading a front page story about me in the LA Times back in 2007. They had not seen anything about the earlier programs Geoff and I (nor anyone else) had been on when they called me that first time.

They made a short 4 min video and pitched it to a handful of networks, and Science Channel gave them the best offer for a pilot, so they took it.

Geoff and I were hired as the "Talent" and we were in show business!

Now here is how it works: there is an Executive Producer assigned by the network to oversee the production of the episodes. Geoff and I have a boss, that is the show's Executive Producer who has a boss that is the owner of the LMNO Production Company.

We all, in reality, have one customer, and that is the Science Channel's Executive Producer. If this one man is happy, we get paid. If he is not happy, they keep sending the video back to get it changed to how he likes it. Once it is adjusted to how he likes it, we get paid.

In theory, the Executive Producer on the Network side hopefully knows what his network's audience will like, and he directs us all in the right direction. If not, he gets fired.

Rest assured, nothing makes it onto your TV sets at home that is not exacly what he wants.

Now, we have been told that if we do get a second season, the network will send the episodes from the first season to some very exhaustive market research, where carefully selected participants will sit in dark rooms watching the episodes with a dial in their hands. When they like something on the show, they dial it one way. When they don't like something, they dial it the other way.

Sometimes this gets to be subconscious in the minds of the viewing research subjects. But it is very scientific, and it is the one way to actually trump the personal opinion of the networks EP.

If every time my face is on screen, most or all the people turn their dials to the right, and every time Geoff is on screen, they turn it to the left...well...then there might jkust be tryouts for a replacement Meteorite Man to take one of our spots.

If they don't like my Tshirt, or the way I go "Oh, oh, oh..." Right before each comercial. But rather they like how I say "Geoff, look what I found!" then we can rest ashured I will be instructed what to say or not say in the future, or by the magic of "post-production" I will say the right things before all the future commercial breaks.

Each of first 7 episodes were quite different in many ways. It will be interesting what the market testing might end up revealing.

If the key demographics don't like the values of the meteorite being revealed during the show, then I'm sure what our one "customer" wants will end up changing. And in turn, that will change the directives to our production company in how the put future shows together in post production.

Starting a letter writing campaign to Science Channel might be tempting, but unless you have a Nielson Box, on your TV, I don't think it will help.

Let me point out that about a dozen years or so ago, I did a promotional campaign in the media that generated 240 samples of suspected meteorites being sent to me. Out of that batch, 3 were genuine meteorites.

I could have complained about the 79 wrongs for each 'rite, but I didn't. It is a numbers game. Yes it can get frustrating dealing with the wrongs and the people who send them in. May I suggest that if you are such a person who easily gets frustrated, don't solicit that people send you samples to evaluate. I'm sure there are more than enough others to pick up the slack.

Who knows what all the good and bad will be from the Meteorite Men series? Let's have this discussion in 40 years, and if 20 of us talk then, we still will probably have 20 different takes on it then.

I understand in general, some people are "the glass is half empty" pessimistic types, and they often really enjoy being negative. While others are the "half full" optimistic types. And of course everyone is entitled to their opinion.

But, much, if not most of this is out of both Geoff's and my hands, not to mention anyone else reading this. What happens is going to happen anyway. So, my advice would be for people to plan to take advantage of the change(s) as best you can.

Last night the US Congress passed some radical changes that will dramatically effect a lot of people's lives in respect to Health Care in the US. Will it be good for everyone? Will it be bad for everyone? Who cares? What matters is to determine how it might effect you, your family, and if you are an entrepreneur, how it will effect your business; then make the best out of it.

Same goes here. If you are a curator, or a private collector, a dealer, or a hunter, change probably is coming.

You can choose to complain about the change, or prepare the best you can to take advantage of it.

One thing I have always loved about Robert Haag is that he is always up. Always blowing and going. He always is encouraging and there is something magnetic about his optimistic personality. And we all know other people that are the opposite of Bob, always complaining and bitching about something. Now, pessimistic can be nice people on some levels, but in general, they tend to be repelling rather than compelling.

How you choose to respond is your choice, but I will suggest that people should spend their energy doing something where there is at least a slight chance that something will change for their efforts. I would suggest that the values of meteorites shown on the Meteorite Men episodes is not going to be one of them. That decision is way above all our pay grades.

Meanwhile, I would like to thank everyone that has reached out in encouraging ways to me. I have always said the real treasures in this business are the friends I have gained.

And as the old saying goes "you can't please everyone" but it is still nice to know when you do please someone.

Godspeed,

Steve Arnold
Of Meteorite Men


 


Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel

-----Original Message-----
From: Adam Hupe <raremeteorites at yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:05:08
To: Adam<meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Rocks from Space Picture of the Day - March 22,
        2010

Dear List,

I guess I am a realist. I saw my last passion, Treasure Hunting destroyed by a few feeding the pigeons (the press.) At first, the news they reported was exciting. Later the press seemed to focus on the uglier side of the avocation with time realizing better ratings. They seemed to only report on those breaking the law instead of what good was coming from it. They would report people midnight gardening (illegally digging) on heritage sites instead of the amateur treasure hunter who helped somebody locate their lost and treasured wedding ring or a hobbyist helping the police department locate metallic evidence. They seemed to only focus on how valuable other finds were and that the public was being ripped off. A mostly positive hobby was nearly destroyed in a single decade. City, state and federal parks became off limits almost over night. Laws were twisted, become unclear and most hung up their metal detectors for good.

Others joined clubs, came up with a universal code of ethics and chose professional spokespeople to deal with the press when not avoiding it. It took decades to partially restore the reputation of this activity as a family type pursuit. Still, there are very few areas that are not off-limits like the heydays of the 70s when they were free to roam about. Thier number one unspoken but clear rule "Do not feed the pigeons, good or bad."

Here is a hypothetical scenario:

Somebody digs a hole looking for meteorites that are far more valuable than gold or even diamonds according to what they heard on TV and leaves it uncovered. Then some poor unsuspecting victim breaks their ankle in that uncovered hole and and then the word gets out. The press reports it and now this area is off-limits permanently to others. Then all meteorite hunters will be judged as disrespectful filthy treasure hunters who could care less about other people's rights even though the vast majority are good law abiding citizens. The motivation for digging was due to this unsavory person believing the monetary reward was worth the risks. It only takes one person who has little regard for other people to cause a lot of damage.

This has already happened at Meteor Crater but was cattle breaking their legs, not a human victim.

I see this hobby going the same way. The only reason I am engaging in this thread is that I really care.


Best Regards,

Adam

----- Original Message ----

From: Meteorites USA <eric at meteoritesusa.com>
To: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
Sent: Mon, March 22, 2010 10:51:09 AM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Rocks from Space Picture of the Day - March 22, 2010

Hi Adam, List,

You really have to take the bad with the good when talking about anything... Most of this can all be summed up in one word. Ratings. It's an unfortunate truth that most people don't like to be "educated". People want to be entertained.

When you concentrate on the education you lose a large portion of the viewing audience. For the Meteorite Men show to work they had to make some sacrifices for the benefit of the probable success of the show. The show, which most people I know really enjoyed, was a BIG hit in both the meteorite world and the main stream, was a good mix of adventure and science, but the network HAD to throw in the money thing. The ratings, the popularity, and the next season of the show depended on it. This of course is from a business stand point.

>From my perspective, I was a bit disappointed in the amount of "cha-ching" moments there were versus the hard science or even the adventure. I would have personally liked to see more science but realistically speaking most people will tune it out. We, as meteorite people, are interested in it because it's what we do, we love it! We could watch a full hour on the "Science of Meteorites". Hell, I could watch a mini-series of 6, 2 hour long shows dedicated to the science or meteorites. But that's freaking BORING to most people!

The short of it is, the Science channel had to make a business decision. I think the Meteorite Men is a good show "for the masses". It works, people love it, and it's probably going to result in a second season. Here's hoping!

I believe you can have a good balance of science, adventure, and treasure hunting in the world of meteorites. It's all related, to exclude one from the other would not be fair nor realistic.

Realistically speaking, how many people are going to drop what they are doing and become meteorite hunters? They may get all pumped up after watching the show and go buy a detector and meteorite cane, but once they get in the field and wander the desert or farm fields for a few days with no finds, they'll realize how hard it really is. The difficulty will weed out those who are serious about it. As for the scammers, they're everywhere. You can't make something that reaches millions and promotes "$" without scammers jumping in to take advantage. It happens, and they will also weed themselves out.

The Meteorite Men show has also grown the collector base! Lest we forget. More collectors divided by same amount of material for collecting, creates higher demand equals market growth. Some people don't want to see this growth as the believe it will undermine the science, but I believe it will be an ultimate boon to science by interesting more people about meteorites, and the knowledge one can learn. It's hard to say how many people will be motivated to become next generation scientists, but the simple fact is MILLIONS of people now have a chance to own a meteorite and they are becoming more interested in the science.

Regardless of how you feel about the Meteorite Men show, I think this will be a positive thing in the future. People are becoming more aware of their world, the science, and the adventure. If people can make a living doing it too, then I say go for it! Keep in mind there are lots of kids and young adults that watch too, they are in school and will be motivated to become meteoriticists, astronomers, astrobiologists, or even astronauts. They could become the next generation engineers which launch toward a manned asteroid discovery team which may land a human being on an asteroid! Manned space flights to a nearby comet anyone?

I say yell it from the rooftops! Stream live video around the world. Let everyone know about meteorites, and the wonders they bring to human kind!

Oh yeah, meteorites are cool... ;)

Regards,
Eric Wichman
Meteorites USA




On 3/22/2010 9:59 AM, Adam Hupe wrote:
> A lot of viewers are clinging to the hope they will become overnight millionaires. Most of them will not listen when you tell them their prized new "Moon rock" is a piece of quartz or their new "Pallasite" is nothing more then slag. They will become increasingly angry when you try to explain why. They know it is real because it looks just like the one they saw on TV and will not be told otherwise.
>
> I do not even respond any more as I do not like to be put in a position as the bay guy who has to break the news that their worthless rock will not make them the latest millionaire. This is what happens when the media focuses too much on the monetary aspect of meteorite collecting. It out weighs any educational benefit this type of show may have provided. The state Washington and Oregon suddenly announced their no collecting policy on federal land; the timing is uncanny. A lot of scam artists will also attach themselves if the smell of easy money is present. One just has to look at the most expensive "meteorites" on eBay to see this effect. Now, there is always a few fakes listed in the top dollar page.
>
> I would hate to see meteorite hunting/collecting go the way treasure hunting did 25 years ago when the avocation almost went extinct, mainly due to the press. Professional treasure hunters now avoid the press when values are put up. Just look at the Mel Fisher group who had to fight for a decade to keep a good portion of their major find due to the fact the press attached a billion dollar price tag to it. Everybody seemed to have a claim on it when they didn't lift a finger to find it. The press made it look easy when in fact Mel suffered many hardships including the loss of his sons life.
>
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Adam
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: "michael at rocksfromspace.org"<michael at rocksfromspace.org>
> To: "meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com"<meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Sent: Mon, March 22, 2010 6:20:26 AM
> Subject: [meteorite-list] Rocks from Space Picture of the Day - March 22, 2010
>
> http:www.rocksfromspace.org/March_22_2010.html
>
>
>
>
> ---
>
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>
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> Thumbed On My BlackBerry
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Received on Mon 22 Mar 2010 04:41:32 PM PDT