2019 04 03 American Journalism - Vol 36 No 2 - Hutchison and Strentz

Magazine Overview

This document is an issue of "American Journalism," a journal focusing on media history. The primary article featured is "Journalism Versus the Flying Saucers: Assessing the First Generation of UFO Reportage, 1947-1967" by Phillip J. Hutchison and Herbert J. Strentz. The issue is Volume 36, Issue 2, published in 2019.

Journalism Versus the Flying Saucers: Assessing the First Generation of UFO Reportage, 1947-1967

This article by Phillip J. Hutchison and Herbert J. Strentz provides a historical analysis of how American news organizations covered Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) during their first two decades, from 1947 to 1967. The authors argue that journalism played a pivotal role in shaping the public's understanding of UFOs, not only by coining the term "flying saucers" but also by fostering a symbiotic relationship with the entertainment industry. This synergy, they contend, often led to UFO coverage that was superficial, redundant, and poorly coordinated, obscuring more significant issues related to science, national security, and culture.

The study posits that the postwar era, following World War II, was fertile ground for public fascination with UFOs due to several converging factors. These included the dramatic expansion of aviation technology, the heightened anxieties of the Cold War, a burgeoning science fiction craze, and a general cultural fascination with the paranormal. The US Air Force's establishment in 1947 and the increased presence of aircraft in the skies contributed to the phenomenon. Simultaneously, the development of nuclear weaponry and concerns about Soviet aerial threats made the skies a focal point for national security.

The article highlights the pivotal role of Kenneth Arnold's sighting on June 24, 1947, near Mount Rainier, Washington. Arnold described nine peculiar aircraft flying in a wedge-shaped formation, moving like a "saucer skipping across water." This description was rapidly adopted by journalists, leading to the widespread use of the term "flying saucers." This journalistic label quickly became a defining characteristic of the phenomenon, influencing both news coverage and popular culture depictions.

The authors critique the journalistic practices of the era, noting that while UFOs presented a significant news story, coverage often devolved into sensationalism or farce. They point out that journalists, driven by news values such as prominence, irony, and novelty, often emphasized the dramatic and mysterious aspects of sightings. Explanations ranged from mundane causes like bottle caps and seagulls to more speculative ideas of "space ships" and extraterrestrial visitors. This blurred the lines between news, entertainment, and science.

The study emphasizes that journalism scholarship has largely overlooked the role of media in the UFO phenomenon. Herbert Strentz's 1970 doctoral dissertation is noted as a significant early study, but the authors aim to provide a more comprehensive historical analysis. They utilize archival databases to trace the evolution of UFO reportage, identifying key storylines and trends.

The article discusses the "First Wave" of UFO sightings in 1947, noting how journalists quickly established interpretive frameworks that would influence coverage for decades. The label "flying saucers" was applied broadly, often as an adjective, to describe various phenomena. The news coverage capitalized on public curiosity, leading to commercial promotions and even hoaxes. The authors also touch upon how certain segments of the public, particularly African Americans, were often marginalized or ignored in mainstream UFO reporting, as exemplified by a satirical piece by Langston Hughes.

The research methodology involves examining twenty years of UFO news reports using archival databases. The authors acknowledge the limitations of digital archives, such as potential for false positives and negatives, but assert that they allow for greater precision in tracing terms and incidents over time. The study aims to incorporate the UFO phenomenon more fully into journalism histories and to understand its connection to broader cultural, social, and political contexts.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue of "American Journalism" revolve around the historical analysis of media coverage, particularly concerning significant cultural phenomena like UFOs. The journal's stance appears to be one of critical examination of journalistic practices, historical context, and the interplay between media, popular culture, and societal events. The featured article strongly advocates for a deeper integration of UFO reportage into the study of journalism history, highlighting how media narratives can construct and perpetuate phenomena, often at the expense of nuanced reporting on complex issues.

This issue of "American Journalism" (Volume 36, Issue 2) delves into the complex and evolving relationship between journalism and the UFO phenomenon, primarily focusing on the period from 1947 through the late 1960s. The article examines how news coverage shaped, and was shaped by, public interest, government investigations, and the entertainment industry.

Early UFO Coverage and the Roswell Incident

The article begins by noting that not all journalists facilitated UFO hoaxes; many addressed significant public affairs aspects. From the outset, the U.S. military was involved, initially issuing vague responses. On July 4, 1947, Army and Navy officials denied their experimental aircraft were the source of flying saucer reports. However, on the same day, an Army Air Force public information officer at Roswell, New Mexico, confirmed a local rancher had turned over pieces of a crashed "flying disc." This report generated interest until Eighth Air Force officials explained it was a crashed weather balloon. While the Roswell incident had little fanfare in 1947, it gained notoriety decades later with claims of a government cover-up of extraterrestrial beings. Similarly, in August 1947, Army Air Force officials in Washington state addressed rumors of a B-25 bomber crash carrying flying saucer debris, which was actually a hoax investigation.

Conspiracy narratives took decades to materialize. In late 1947, sightings and coverage waned but did not disappear. News coverage featured sporadic local reports and continued attention to UFOs and national security. Representative Harris Ellsworth suggested flying saucers related to Soviet rocket tests, a theory that resonated with Cold War anxieties.

Continuing Waves and Journalistic Practices

In the two decades following the 1947 wave, UFO sightings continued, with heavier waves in 1952, 1957, and 1965–66. These waves, none of which involved extraterrestrial encounters, had distinctive circumstances and reflected evolving journalistic practices. The Air Force became the focal point for investigations, which proved controversial. Simultaneously, UFO "believer" groups emerged, and the entertainment industry capitalized on public fascination, leading to UFO themes in cinema, comic books, and toys.

Journalists were implicated in these developments. The article highlights a problematic affiliation between journalists and government UFO investigators, particularly the U.S. Air Force. News archives show journalists often failed to scrutinize the Air Force's UFO investigation programs (Project Sign, Project Grudge, Project Blue Book) from 1948 to 1969, which were criticized for being minimalist, skewed toward debunking, and serving as public relations efforts.

The Rise of Believers and Media Influence

Despite the Air Force's shortcomings, the public was largely unaware due to mainstream news reports. Post-1947 UFO reportage was descriptive rather than analytical. In the early 1950s, UFO believer communities became vocal, notably with Donald Keyhoe's 1949 article "Flying Saucers Are Real," which claimed Earth had been under examination by extraterrestrials for 175 years. This article, widely discussed, was amplified by Hearst's International News Service, influencing mainstream news outlets.

Keyhoe's book publisher exploited the idea of a government cover-up. Journalists acknowledged the UFO believer community but offered little independent perspective. Niche publications like "Flying Saucer Review" emerged. The supernatural implications of flying saucers captivated the public, leading to their incorporation into cinema (e.g., "The Day the Earth Stood Still," "The Thing from Another World"), broadcast media, and toys. The Frisbee flying disc originated from a saucer-shaped toy named "Flyin-Saucer."

Human-Interest Journalism and Misidentification

These developments fostered a symbiotic relationship between news and entertainment industries. Human-interest journalism emphasized dramatic qualities, catering to reader interest. By the early 1950s, features began to suggest UFO reports might correspond to extraterrestrial visitors, exemplified by a 1952 Life magazine feature, "Have We Visitors from Space?" This feature posed numerous questions about the nature and origin of UFOs.

The 1952 UFO wave saw a dramatic increase in reports to Project Blue Book, jumping from 170 per year to 1,500. A heavily publicized series of sightings over Washington, D.C., in July 1952, involved objects tracked by radar and moving at high speeds, though some were later explained as optical illusions. Hundreds of other 1952 sightings defied clear explanation. From 1953 to 1956, public reports averaged 550 annually, doubling in 1957.

Journalists from major newspapers addressed UFOs but often did not delve deeply into scientific or social implications. While the term "unidentified flying objects" (UFO) began to be used, "flying saucers" remained the more popular moniker in newspapers. The term "little green men" also became a staple of human-interest journalism.

Skepticism and Shifting Media Landscape

In 1968, a survey of journalists revealed difficulties in maintaining reader interest, the issue being mired in hoaxes, and a lack of solid information from government investigations. Science writers often avoided UFO topics in favor of more tangible subjects. UFO news was episodic and unpredictable, deterring in-depth reporting. Smaller local newspapers, often less equipped to handle complex issues, combined with wire services to shape national perception, creating an illusion of a national trend.

By the mid-1960s, journalists grew more skeptical of Project Blue Book. A tipping point occurred in March 1966 when Project Blue Book officials dismissed Michigan UFO incidents as "swamp gas," leading to widespread public and media challenges to their credibility. Walter Sullivan of The New York Times noted public "disquiet" and charges that the Air Force was concealing truth to avoid panic. The Air Force's dismissive attitude was highlighted by the small staff assigned to investigate UFO reports.

Kenneth Arnold, whose 1947 sighting initiated the phenomenon, called the "swamp gas" explanation idiotic. Political columnist Roscoe Drummond argued Air Force investigators had lost credibility. Calls for a congressional investigation led to the University of Colorado UFO Project (1966-1968), which concluded UFOs merited no continued federal funding, leading to Project Blue Book's termination in 1969.

Television news, initially slow to cover UFOs, became significant in the mid-1960s with primetime documentaries. CBS Reports aired "UFO: Friend, Foe or Fantasy?" in May 1966, which, despite its reasoned presentation, emphasized skepticism of UFOs as an extraterrestrial phenomenon and depicted "contactees" as eccentric.

Contactees, Mutilations, and Evolving Narratives

Mainstream journalists had largely ignored the "contactee" community until October 1965, when the Portsmouth Herald featured Betty and Barney Hill, who claimed abduction in 1961. Their story, initially shared publicly in 1963, gained national attention through wire services and features in Look magazine and a book, "Interrupted Journey." These reports were largely descriptive, lacking scrutiny of hypnotic memories or physical evidence.

In October 1967, animal mutilation by "unworldly sources" became a news storyline, starting with the "Snippy" horse case in Alamosa, Colorado. Despite initial reports of tracks, exhaust marks, and radiation, the Colorado UFO Project concluded the horse died of natural causes, attributing the false claims to "the absence of reliable sources" and the owner's UFO enthusiasm.

By the end of 1967, UFO reportage became diffuse and lacked solid information. The University of Colorado UFO Project's transitional period reflected this. After its final report and Project Blue Book's termination, there was no central government agency to direct UFO inquiry, decentralizing the field. The last major UFO wave occurred in 1973, with reports largely presented as local news items. The phenomenon evolved beyond legacy news frameworks into diverse information niches.

Conclusions

The article concludes that while some blamed journalists for hyping the UFO phenomenon, the study situates this within broader social and media contexts. Journalism played a role in shaping and obfuscating the phenomenon, but it was part of a dynamic interplay of media, culture, and society. The phenomenon did not emerge or transpire in isolation, reflecting Carey's argument that journalism should be viewed as a corpus.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes include the evolution of UFO reporting from sensationalism to more analytical (though often skeptical) approaches, the influence of government agencies and their investigations, the role of the entertainment industry in shaping public perception, and the changing dynamics of media coverage from print to television. The editorial stance appears to be one of critical historical analysis, examining the interplay of journalistic practices, societal factors, and the UFO phenomenon without definitively asserting the reality of UFOs themselves, but rather focusing on how they were reported and perceived.

This issue of *American Journalism*, Volume 36, Issue 2, published by Transaction Publishers, focuses on the journalistic treatment of the UFO phenomenon in the post-World War II era. The issue, identified as 36:2, likely corresponds to a 2017 publication date, given the cited sources and the ISSN 0882-1127. The cover headline, "The UFO Phenomenon: A Journalistic Hoax?", suggests a critical examination of how news organizations covered UFO sightings.

The UFO Phenomenon: Not a Journalistic Hoax

The central argument presented is that the postwar UFO phenomenon was not a journalistic hoax, distinguishing it from earlier events like the New York Sun's Great Moon Hoax of 1835 and Orson Welles's 1938 radio broadcast of *The War of the Worlds*. While acknowledging that some UFO news coverage involved public-generated hoaxes, the article asserts that the broader news phenomenon reflected genuine and significant journalistic concerns. The interest in UFOs was not primarily driven by fears of extraterrestrial invasions, as often depicted in popular culture, but rather by anxieties related to communism, the perceived threat of Soviet invasion, and the specter of nuclear attack. This context elevated the UFO issue to a matter of significant interest at the highest levels of the U.S. government and made it a legitimate subject for public affairs reporting and science journalism.

Unlike the more ephemeral Moon and War of the Worlds hoaxes, reported UFO sightings constituted a persistent phenomenon that has endured and evolved for over seven decades.

Journalists' Role in Legitimizing and Misinterpreting UFOs

The article highlights the complex relationship between news organizations and the UFO phenomenon. Journalists played a key role in naming the phenomenon, and their subsequent coverage served to legitimize what might have otherwise been ambiguous or problematic situations and viewpoints. Furthermore, news reports naturally drew the public's attention skyward, to phenomena that, in the absence of a strong scientific background, could be easily misinterpreted. The process of public reporting of experiences, combined with journalistic practices, sometimes led to the creation of a "faux national phenomenon."

James E. McDonald, an atmospheric physicist, is quoted lamenting in 1967 that news organizations not only failed to adequately investigate these reports but also exhibited a "propensity to poke fun and to twist into feature-story humor the seriously reported sightings that many citizens have made."

Critiques of Journalistic Coverage

The research underscores problematic issues that emerged from the journalistic handling of UFOs. While journalists helped establish the UFO issue as a compelling social-scientific topic, they often failed to follow up on relevant news angles. In general, news organizations did not approach the issue strategically, and comprehensive, "big picture" coverage was rare. Consequently, most UFO coverage was tactical, poorly coordinated, and reactive. The article also notes a lack of ethical or professional reflexivity among journalists in these contexts.

However, not all publications succumbed to these shortcomings. The *Saturday Review*, for instance, produced insightful features on UFOs throughout the 1950s. Despite this, many news organizations did not follow suit, leading to the overlooking of several important public affairs issues related to UFOs. These include the need to better define the roles of science and government, weaknesses in science education, and the insufficient nature of Air Force UFO investigations.

At a practical level, the article acknowledges that researchers estimate at least ninety-five percent of UFO reports involve the misidentification of natural or human-made objects. The reliance on unnamed or inexpert sources was also common, particularly in stories appearing in smaller local newspapers.

Historical Significance and Future Research

These insights point to broader challenges and opportunities for journalism historians. The early decades of UFO journalism reveal the critical affiliations between local newspapers and wire services in the mid-twentieth century, which were instrumental in shaping coverage of scientific phenomena that transcended geographical and temporal boundaries. The study emphasizes the value of examining journalism history through appropriate conceptual frameworks, suggesting that future research into related phenomena should acknowledge historical shifts, such as those progressing through the 1970s, and employ diverse lenses, like theories of postmodernism.

Ultimately, the flying saucer phenomenon is presented as a revealing cultural mirror, reflecting more about societal conditions than about mysterious phenomena in the sky. The topic warrants continued historical inquiry.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue revolve around the intersection of journalism, public perception, and unexplained phenomena. The editorial stance appears to be critical of journalistic practices that may have sensationalized or failed to adequately investigate UFO reports, while also recognizing the genuine public concern and the phenomenon's reflection of broader societal anxieties, particularly those related to the Cold War. The issue advocates for a more rigorous and historically informed approach to understanding how media shapes public discourse on complex and often controversial topics.