Nov 25 2008

Binnall, Knapp & UFOs

I’ll be offline for a while from today (Nov. 24), as I’ll be driving to San Antonio,TX to speak for the city’s MUFON group tomorrow night on the subject of my expeditions to Puerto Rico in search of the Chupacabras. Then, I’ll be out of town for the Thanksgiving Holiday; so it’s likely to be next weekend (or maybe even a week from today) before I’ll be back online. If you’re in the US, have a good Thanksgiving! And I’ll catch up with all the latest news (and I’m sure there will be a lot with being offline for a week) on my return. However…I am timer-posting a few stories today that will ensure posts from me right here and up until Friday.

Tim Binnall has just posted a new interview with George Knapp - a name that will be familiar to most people within Ufology - to his Binnall of America.

As Tim says:

We kick things off with a little bit of background on George Knapp and his evolution as a TV reporter. We dive right into the UFO discussion by first talking about George’s investigation into Area 51. He begins by telling us about the background to his research into Area 51, including the influence of esoteric players like John Lear, Bill Cooper, and Bob Lazar in helping to fuel George’s discovery of the infamous esoteric landmark and the subsequent explosion of Area 51 as a paranormal meme.

This leads to us hearing some remarkable stories about the reaction to George’s Area 51 work from his colleagues in the news media. We get George’s fascinating insider perspective on the long-standing belief, in some Ufological circles, of a media coverup of the UFO subject. We also get his take on the apparent changes in the media in the last year with regards to UFOs and how the coverage seems to be getting more positive. He also talks about some of his dealings with the basic cable UFO shows and his disappointment with how some of them are put together.

Next we talk about George’s initial introduction to the world of Ufology, including attending the infamous 1989 MUFON convention which saw Bill Moore reveal his government connections and John Lear stage a mutiny and attempt to form his own convention within the convention. He also talks about the fallout from his reports on Area 51 and how various camps in Ufology used the story to their own ends. This leads to a general discussion on some of the problems of UFO studies today.

Looking at the future of Ufology, we ask George if there’s any way to “save” Ufology or if it has degenerated too far beyond the point of saving. He tells us about how organizations like NIDS might be the ideal scenario for serious investigation of the UFO phenomenon. This segues into a discussion on the “economy of Ufology” and how the problems of the field take their toll on the good researchers who need funds to continue their work.

Here’s the link to (a) the rest of Tim’s summary, and (b) all the info you’ll need to listen to the interview in full.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 at 7:00 am and is filed under Alien Encounters, Breaking News, Close Encounters, Conspiracies, Evidence, Guest Column, The Redfern Files, UFO Sightings, UFOlogists, UFOlogy. You can follow responses via RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your site.
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