- If you are reading this on one of the websites to which
I submit my writing, then you are probably well-acquainted with the general
subjects and personalities that permeate alternative news services. And
if you have at least some intelligence, discernment, and a desire to know
the truth, then you have surely developed some sense of whom among this
crowd is worthy of your trust and interest...and who is clearly not.
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- I don't think it is difficult to identify the untrustworthy
and non- credible "alternative" websites and radio shows. One
need only look for a couple of glaring "red flags" that give
these folks away:
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- 1) Does the website and/or radio show consistently feature
provably false information, and/or guests who are undeniable charlatans
and liars? We're not talking here about someone making an editorial mistake
and unintentionally presenting bad information, or providing a forum to
someone who turns out to be less than credible. We're talking about the
websites and/or radio shows that have over many years consistently presented
guests and/or information KNOWN to be non-credible and/or outright dishonest.
And little or no attempt is made to illuminate the audience on the false
or bad information.
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- 2) Do/does the personalities/personality behind the website
and/or radio show spend a large amount of their time attacking other alternative
media outlets, with little or no substantive basis? Do they make self-aggrandizing
claims of being the only one who can provide the truth, calling everyone
and his kid sister a "disinfo agent" or con artist? This is not
to say that all criticism of "alternative" personalities is unwarranted
-- a number of dishonest figures should be, and have been, exposed for
their charlatanry. But more than a few "alternative" figures
consistently attack their "colleagues" in a highly emotional,
immature, and often profane manner, with little or no basis in fact.
-
- I'm sorry to say that some of the most popular "alternative"
websites and/or radio shows consistently wave at least one or both of the
above "red flags," with no apparent negative effect on their
popularity. It is not a revelation that the most listened to, supposedly
"alternative" radio show in the world, Coast to Coast AM, developed
and maintains its massive fan base largely by presenting guests and information
that have little or no credibility or integrity. One of the most popular
guests in the shows twenty year history has been self-styled "futurist"
Gordon Michael Scallion. For reasons that are not easy to identify, Scallion
developed tremendous notoriety in the 90's for his supposed ability to
foretell future events. But as I've pointed out in more than one previous
essay, Scallion's actual ability to predict the future is abysmal, or non-existent.
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- In September of 2005, I composed a piece documenting
just how poor Scallion's "hit rate" really is, dating back over
ten years. I was compelled to do this after Scallion appeared on Coast
to Coast AM and apparently tried to take credit for having predicted the
terrible flooding associated with Hurricane Katrina. As I pointed out,
this was incredibly disingenuous, particularly since Scallion predicted
in 1994 that before the turn of the century, earthquakes and tsunamis would
ravage the ENTIRE PLANET, Japan would be completely swallowed by the ocean,
and the U.S. would be forced to re-structure itself as 13 COLONIES. And
oh, by the way, a few years after Scallion offered the prediction: "50%
of Florida will be inundated," he apparently bought real estate in
the Sunshine State valued at over a quarter of a million dollars (I received
a fax of the property transaction record with Scallion's name on it). I
attempted to get a response from Scallion through his website on this small
"problem," and to date, none has been received. And I sent the
information to the Coast to Coast people, but they were apparently not
bothered by it enough to cease featuring Scallion as a guest. (This full
expose may be read here: http:// www.ufowatchdog.com/absurdscallion.html)
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- On February 4th, 2007, Scallion was again featured on
Coast to Coast AM, to promote his new book "Notes from the Cosmos."
I didn't listen to the interview (which was conducted by Art Bell), but
according to the Coast to Coast website, Scallion "conceded that his
timeline for predicted earth changes was off, though he still believes
they will take place--..." (The full recap may be read here: http://www.coasttocoastam.com/shows/2007/02/04.html#b)
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- His TIMELINE is off, eh? I'm sorry to be cynical, folks,
but if you believe that, I have some real estate on the lost continent
of Atlantis to sell you (a portion of which old Gordo' predicted would
be discovered nearly a decade ago).
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- Given what we know about Scallion -- his astonishingly
poor "hit ratio" dating back over TWO DECADES, and the real estate
he apparently purchased in an area he had forecast as doomed -- it is fair
to wonder what kind of talk show producers and hosts would repeatedly and
deliberately EMPOWER the man to make more money off of his books and newsletter,
while never conveying to the audience just how lacking in credibility he
is.
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- On "red flag" number one, Coast to Coast has
been as guilty as any popular radio show in the history of broadcasting.
And on "red flag" number two, Art Bell (the show's original full-time
host) was guilty on many occasions, perhaps most notably when he labeled
the Jeff Rense website, Rense.com, "anti-semitic," and referred
to 9/11 skeptics and investigators as "wingnuts." And his unbending
devotion to his most dishonest and least credible guests was (and is) a
tad perplexing. For instance, frequent Coast to Coast guest Sean David
Morton (another self-styled future-teller with a "hit rate" close
to zero) filed a "libel" lawsuit against Royce J. Meyers III
(owner of the website Ufowatchdog.com) after Meyers wrote a series of devastating
essays on Morton's claims about his own background. The suit was thrown
out, and Morton was forced to pay Meyers' legal fees (a reported sum of
$16,000). Bell then provided a soapbox to Morton to discuss the matter,
and offered no invitation to Meyers for a rebuttal. (See Sean David Morton,
Put Up or Shut Up, http://www.ufowatchdog.com/sdmchallenge.html)
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- In my opinion, Coast to Coast AM's track record, established
by Art Bell and placidly maintained by George Noory, clearly demonstrates
that the shows producers and hosts have no real interest in conveying truth
to the listening public, nor do they have any apparent compunctions with
presenting information that is bad, fictional, and/or totally useless.
The subjects discussed are (again, in my opinion) almost totally lightweight,
with the occasionally featured Alex Jones being the closest proximity of
a hard-hitting guest (I say this as a fan of Alex Jones.) A visit to the
Coast to Coast website rewards one with countless pictures of orbs and
faces in trees and weird cloud formations and other "data" that
cannot by any means that I would agree with be described as meaningful
or even entertaining. I'm sorry if my comments offend the show's fans,
but if you are angry with me, I would like to know what justification you
can offer for a media personality EVER presenting information that he KNOWS
to be distorted, useless, or completely false.
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- This is not a small matter, given the extraordinary reach
and influence the show has on alternative media. As a former co-host of
a popular late night show in a medium/large market (the Ground Zero show,
hosted by Clyde Lewis in Portland, OR) and having worked for years behind
the scenes trying to get smaller, GENUINELY alternative shows more broadly
distributed, I can tell you that most station programmers offer one of
two responses when approached about a program that is even remotely similar
to Coast to Coast in style and content: 1) We already carry Coast to Coast
and don't need anything similar; or 2) I've heard Coast to Coast, and don't
wish to carry anything like it on my station.
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- So on "red flag" number one, Coast to Coast
is, in my opinion, the worst and most damaging offender. If you do not
agree with me, that is fine, but the reasoning behind my opinion is well
documented, and, I think, totally reasonable.
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- On "red flag" number two, I don't think I need
to enumerate any specific examples -- the guilty parties are not exactly
subtle in their approach. A handful or two of unfortunately VERY popular
alternative personalities have spent an enormous portion of their public
lives calling people names, making baseless accusations, and pounding their
own chests like rabid gorillas. As many others have pointed out, this has
always been very prevalent in the "9/11 truth movement," with
a number of "researchers" continuously accusing their "colleagues"
of being paid government disinformation agents, and/or con artists. These
seemingly troubled individuals sing a one- note siren song: "PAY NO
ATTENTION TO ANYONE BUT ME!" If this style of "presentation"
is appealing to you, I dare say that a visit to a qualified mental health
specialist is in order.
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- It's one thing to question a person's credibility with
solid, factual evidence. For example, the aforementioned Royce J. Meyers
III at UFO Watchdog has conducted a number of exhaustive investigations
into some of the least credible "alternative" figures, and to
my knowledge, no one to date has successfully demonstrated a SINGLE FACTUAL
ERROR in any of his exposes. In my opinion, Meyers is performing a good
and necessary service to the public. But it is something quite different
to spend most or all of one's time attacking one's "competitors,"
usually with no meaningful supportive evidence that they've done anything
wrong. Author Judy Andreas wrote a particularly relevant piece on this
problem some time back, entitled "Backstabbing and Name Calling Weaken
The Alternative Media," http://www.rense.com/general69/ bstab.htm
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- I have followed the alternative media closely for the
last 13 years, contributing as an essayist, occasional radio show guest,
and former radio personality. I've come to feel very comfortable with a
number of alternative news services, and consider them reliable presenters
of much (but not ENTIRELY) good information. These include talk-show host
Jeff Rense's rense.com (to which I have contributed over one hundred essays
over 7 years), Michael Rivero's whatreallyhappened.com, Alex Jones' prisonplanet.com,
Rayelan Allen's rumormillnews.com (which I have been contributing to as
an agent for about three years), Theresa De Veto's surfingtheapocalypse.com
(which provides a forum for members of the general public to post a wide
variety of information), Henrik Palmgren's redicecreations.com (a visually
very appealing site with a broad variety of stories, and an internet talk
show), and UFOwatchdog.com (perhaps the best database of genuinely skeptical
and balanced writings on the UFO subject anywhere on the internet.) Of
course, there are many other fine alternative news services on the net
that I've omitted -- I've just listed the ones that I habitually visit
out of personal fondness and a sense of trust.
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- I'm sure that most or all of the above news services
has at one time or another carried a story or presented information that
later proved to be inaccurate. And I find plenty of the material they present
silly or uninteresting. But I've NEVER ONCE seen any of these sites display
either of the "red flags" that would make me uncomfortable. As
far as I know, they have never KNOWINGLY and WILLFULLY presented false
information, nor have they have engaged in baseless personal attacks against
their colleagues/competitors.
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- If you care about the issues with which alternative media
are concerned, you should choose carefully and soberly to whom you give
your time, readership, listenership, and/or money. If you view certain
members of the "alternative" scene as misleaders or abusers (and
as I stated, I believe the guilty parties are easy to identify), do not
provide them tacit assistance. More than anything, they fear anonymity.
Stop giving them attention and they'll be forced to retreat into darkness
and isolation, an appropriate place for one to wrestle with his own inner
demons.
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