Hi Tony & All,
Quote:
Originally Posted by firstlight
I am not sure what the purpose of the press release from NASA was intended to do. It's tantalising wording has caused speculation from discovery of microbes on Mars to an alien airport at Area 51to invasion by a warlike extragalactic race.
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Well to divert back somewhat to topic, the answer
I think is reasonably obvious. NASA and all their programmes are almost entirely dependent upon the public purse. In order to gain public support for all the programmes they run (remembering it's the public who vote) they have to gain popular media exposure.
Now if NASA puts out a bland press release to the effect that they'd discovered some microbe that thrives in an arsenic laden environment, that story will promptly end up on the spike and in all likelyhood few (if any) popular media reps will attend a press-conference and it will all pass under the radar. Most of us here appreciate that this finding is a moderately interesting if not moderately important story. The popular media and the public at large won't or don't -- so it won't be reported. The extent of science literacy in the mainstream media is appalling.
However, NASA know as well as anyone that over the last 70-odd years, nearly all of us have become conditioned to believe that E.T is out there, E.T is good, we must make contact with E.T etc etc. Not for one single solitary moment am I accusing anyone of being in an unlawful or immoral conspiracy -- it is just a natural result of the media and entertainment industry and the ideal being sold to us. They're (the media and enterntainment industry) not doing an evil thing in doing this -- all they are setting out to do is make a buck (Star Trek, E.T, X-Files, Area 51 etc etc). Its a good story, its a popular story, there's a buck to be made out of it -- push it while it's turning over a dollar.
Most people, purely as a result of popular culture (and without any empirical evidence)
want to believe. They are eager for news that science fiction in this regard is become science fact.
The practical upshot of this is that NASA can gain exposure and wide public support by being seen to pursue the quest for finding E.T -- because everyone wants that question answered and a large majority want it answered in the affirmative (rightly or wrongly).
To then do it the way they do it gains them media attention, which in turn enhances public support (people now know NASA is actively pursuing the E.T question), which ensures the money (from government) keeps flowing into
all their programmes.
In the end it's just sensible P.R. I reckon.
The popular media (by and large) loves it too. For two days speculation has run rife all over the world. Speculation about exceptional news makes headlines that sells copy and boosts circulation/ratings. Hot copy generates advertising revenue. Advertising revenue boosts the bottom line -- get it!
If instead NASA had gone the conservative route, the story would probably have been immediately spiked in favour of a "Man bites dog" expose or a story about how some revolutionary new herbal tea makes your bottom look smaller or what Paris Hilton is up to with that fellow in the dark glasses. NASA gets no exposure. Their public profile drops, their relevance to the voter drops and then ultimately, their budget drops when the time comes to slice-up the pie. Feed that on ... what then happens to the grants that several members of this forum (Anthony & Trevor + ors) are in receipt of to carry on important work when NASA's budget is cut ??
FWIW, that's the way I see it.
Best,
Les D