Bigfooters: Media Targets
Posted by: Loren Coleman on January 20th, 2007
You’re a hard-working Bigfoot investigator and get a call from a "newspaper" in Florida, something with a forgettable and simple name. They want to do a story about you and a possible discovery you were looking into, regarding a unique piece of evidence.
You are open, trusting, and sharing. But today, you receive a copy of the issue of the publication, and are surprised, nay shocked, to find out the article is in…the Sun, one of the sister tabloids of the National Enquirer of America Media, Inc.
That’s what happened to Bart Nunnelly, who first shared with Cryptomundo his story about the "Bigfoot tooth."
But it gets worse. Yes, there is a lot of free sharing on the internet and between researchers. When it comes to letting books, television companies, and big publications, which are going to make the big bucks, use your stuff, however, a minimal fee is standard. It is generally agreed some fiscal agreements need to be made for the use of images and other materials. How much money did Bart make from the Sun for his Bigfoot tooth picture? Nothing. How much did he ask for, for the use of his photograph? Well, sadly, nothing.
I had a long discussion with Bart today. He did things out of a trusting nature, and had never done much public media work during his 20 years of Bigfoot research. It happens. It’s a lesson learned.
But it got me to remember to suggest to Craig that at his next Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy annual symposium (and to organizers of similar forthcoming conferences), I and others should give workshops called "Working With the Media."
Cryptozoologists and Bigfoot hunters can have a friendly and mutually respectful relationship with the media, but certainly several people, especially Bigfooters, are taken advantage of every year. It does not have to be that way. It is time to actively share within our community what is known and how to discuss what our requirements should be, as well as listening and being responsive to a publication’s or production company’s needs.
We approach cryptozoology as a science, and yet, we must realistically understand that the media is using and targeting researchers as entertainment, during most of their reporting. There is no reason someone like Bart couldn’t do things to protect himself, as well as getting a few of his research expenses covered by a multimillion dollar organization that is going to use his photograph.
I better get those slides ready for that PowerPoint presentation, humm.
- Similar Phenomena:
Truly unscrupulous. It is really disappointing to me to see the way there are those lurking out there circling like vultures, dollar signs in their eyes, just waiting to take advantage of people. It has happened to a lot of people I know. It is a sad fact of life. And to add insult to injury, it does not help the image of cryptozoology to have these silly articles written up in The Sun. I am sure that Mr. Nunnelly had the best intentions and I was impressed to see that he had not asked for any money for the pictures. I hope that in the future, people will make sure that they take adequate steps to protect themselves from this kind of thing. Unfortunately, most people, myself included, just don’t know how to go about it.
Testing