[meteorite-list] Meteorite Media

From: Richard Kowalski <damoclid_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 6 Apr 2011 14:10:20 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <861902.30759.qm_at_web113617.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>

A lot of energy has been spent of this list and elsewhere in the past day or two about the sham article...

I'd be curious to know how many people actually saw or read the article. Of course that is unknowable. I would imagine that the total number will be vastly less that the numbers watching a highly popular TV program about a pair of meteorite hunters.

Since the program is seen by new people all of the time and not only in first runs, but by repeats, marathon sessions where an entire season is run in succession, wouldn't it seem strange to someone uniformed who read that article and then they see these two guys traveling around the world finding and pricing these stones? How can they be so overt in their illegal activities?

Obviously the answer is their activities aren't illegal, which we all know. Now that this program is gearing up for Season 3 (Congrats again on this Geoff & Steve) it is my hope that they will have the opportunity to teach their viewers a bit more about meteorites. Specifically a minute or two spent on the legality of hunting, selling and collecting meteorites. Of course anything they tape can end up on the cutting room floor never to be aired, but I can think of no better outlet to combat this horribly bad information that has cause such a flare up in the community and on this list.

There are also a number of excellent experts on their program. One has to wonder why, if this activity was illegal, why would any of them appear in the programs? The obvious answer is that they appear in the program because it isn't illegal. It would be great to see one or more of the expert meteoriticists on the program explain the great benefits that they, their colleauges have received along with some mind-blowing specimens available for research specifically because of legal meteorite hunting. It certainly wouldn't hurt to mention all of the benefits of the legal meteorite trade.

Obviously this a random, unsolicited input on their program and I expect it to be fully ignored, but I've said it before, no matter what your opinion of Geoff, Steve and their program, I doubt anyone can deny that they are currently the most influential and informative popular outlet for information about meteorites in the United States and other countries. I do hope they have and take the opportunity to address this issue on air.

Just my 2 Zibabwean cents worth...

--
Richard Kowalski
Full Moon Photography
IMCA #1081

Received on Wed 06 Apr 2011 05:10:20 PM PDT