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Conference 7.286::space

Title:	Space Exploration
Notice:	Shuttle launch schedules, see Note 6
Moderator:	PRAGMA::GRIFFIN

Created:	Mon Feb 17 1986
Last Modified:	Thu Jun 05 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	974
Total number of notes:	18843

183.0. "The Rogers Report and the Media" by MREASY::CROWLEY (Paul DTN 261-2368) Wed Jun 11 1986 09:23

    I for one am getting steamed at how the media is handling the aftermath
    of the release of the "Rogers Commission" report.  In particular,
    I was listening to a morning talk show on WRKO 680AM where Ted O'Brien
    was asking for listener's comments on the report.  He was asking
    leading questions such as "Don't you think that somebody should
    be charged with manslaughter?" and "Do you think that the entire
    management of NASA should step down and be replaced?".  He made
    it clear that these were his thoughts and he wanted the ordinary
    citizens who were calling in to echo his feelings.
    
    He may be right but I feel that it is impossible for these ordinary
    citizens to totally understand the situation without having even
    read the report.  How can people totally condemn the entire space
    program when they know so little about the actual details.  I agree
    that some changes have to be made but I think that this Ted O'Brien
    and others in the media are trying to break the spirit of the public
    and cause mass hysteria.  This type of overreacting can only cause
    more harm to a space program which is already having difficulties.
    
    Is is my imagination or is the media mishandling this issue as it
    has mishandled so many sensitive issues in the past?
    
    
    Any comments?
    
    Thanks,
    Paul Crowley, former understudy of "Bob the Programmer"

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
183.1	More of the same	BLITZN::FORBESM	He who dies with the most toys wins.	`Wed Jun 11 1986 09:49`	3
	Sounds like another case of "media hype". Mark
183.2		ALAGSH::BOTTOM_DAVID		`Wed Jun 11 1986 10:41`	7
	typical case of the media abusing their position......but most talk shows are like that.... the damage these people do is immeasurable, all to satisfy their ego and their ratings. dave
183.3	A Modest Proposal	LYMPH::INGRAHAM	Programmer Bob	`Wed Jun 11 1986 11:52`	17
	I'd like to propose to NASA a combined 'Journalist-in-Space/Long-Duration-Exposure-Facility-#2' mission and it sounds like O'Brien should be a leading contender for the flight, right up there on the list with Lynn Scherr and Bryant Gumball (sp?). Any other 'journalists' (translation: yammerheads) we should add to the list? ;^) Seriously, it is hard to blame most Americans for being uninformed about the space program when one examines the coverage the program usually gets from the electronic media. If anything bad happens then coverage is immediate, sensational, and usually incorrect. If something good happens, there is either no coverage, or it is incorrect. What a choice! Thank goodness for Aviation Week!
183.4	Can I Read It?	DSSDEV::SAUTER	John Sauter	`Wed Jun 11 1986 17:33`	3
	Speaking of being uninformed, does anybody know where I can get a copy of the commission's report? I heard it's 1500 pages long. John Sauter
183.5	More like 256 than 1500	LATOUR::AMARTIN	Alan H. Martin	`Wed Jun 11 1986 19:57`	14
	Re .4: The initial copy given to the president is 256 pages long, with about two dozen color photographs. Additional stuff will be released later (for instance, Feynmann's dissenting opinions on the investigation). And 10000 pages of testimony, etc. will eventually be stored at the National Archives. Look through back articles in the AP newswire on PYGMY's VTX database for exact page counts. And if anyone gets a copy, let us know how much it cost, etc. I'm hoping some local library will order one. /AHM/THX
183.6	Ordering Roger's Commission Report	LATOUR::DZIEDZIC		`Fri Jun 13 1986 11:03`	3
	Please read note 184 for details on how to obtain a copy of the Roger's Commission report.