MIAMI, Florida -- The following is an open letter send to the Discovery Network by The Shark Group:
From: *The Shark Group*
September 3, 2009
Open Letter to the Discovery Network
Object: Shark Week 2009, Discovery's Tribute to The Year of the Shark
Mr. John Hendricks, Founder & Chairman, Mr. David Zaslav, President & CEO
Sirs,
We, The Shark Group, wrote to you in June, about the nature of the new programs created for Shark Week 2009. We were concerned that you were focusing once more on sharks as dangerous man-eaters, thus misleading your viewers about their true nature, and facilitating their mass slaughter with almost no public sympathy, nor protest. Not only did we not receive a reply, but the programs themselves were worse than their titles and advertising.
You have misread and discounted your viewers in presenting such an extreme shark horror show, with absurd special effects. The contrast with your conservation message was so blatant that it has lost you your credibility.
The reports received predominantly reflect viewer's disgust with its lack of scientific content, its boring, repetitive theme of blood and teeth, and its hypocrisy. People then add that it was too stupid to watch.
Check this link for a typical summary of public judgement: http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=138322
If your sole interest is presenting blood and horror for profit, why not have a Car Accident Week? That would be more relevant for a majority of viewers, since it would touch each one's daily life. You could be credited by increasing driving safety instead of being black listed as the company who profited unethically by demonizing the ocean's top predators while they went extinct.
As we have tried to convey to you in the past, the public is not so ignorant of the facts about sharks as you have apparently assumed.
Your tribute to The International Year of the Shark, Shark Week 2009, was a big mistake, which will discredit your company and affiliates, and increasingly damage your reputation as time passes.
We are greatly increasing our efforts to publicize the lack of ethics Discovery displays in presenting Shark Week. So perhaps you should start taking our concerns seriously, because ignoring this problem is not going to make it go away.
We will be waiting to see what you have planned for 2010.
Yours truly,
Ila France Porcher Alex Buttigieg
for
The Shark Group
Reader Comments
5 people have commented so far.I want to say that I fully support shark preservation, but isn't this putting energy into a unnecessary fight? Did the shows focus a little more on human attacks? yes they did. but its TV, and the general public want to know about man and people. The majority of the shows if not all concluded that most attacks were prob just mistaken identity or test bites and not predating on humans. As long as the general public likes and wants sharks to exist but don;t fear them, the more likely people will care about them being fished/netted to extinction.
- matt · los angeles usa · Sep 5, 2009 @ 2:37am
This is a teachable moment. Let's all talk about this over a barbecue - I'll bring the shark fin soup and marinated shark steaks.
- Alvarez Castillo · Honolulu, HI · Sep 5, 2009 @ 3:48pm
I totally agree with this letter. During the entire week, nothing was broadcast about the endless slaughter to sharks. What a waste of a week.
- Bren Keller · Troy, Michigan · Sep 8, 2009 @ 6:26am
Ironic, isn't it, the "Shark Group" cries foul when TV shows recount facts. Please add this to the list: there is no "scientific proof" for "mistaken identity." Conspicuously, there is likewise no mention by the "Shark Group" as to how the Discovery Channel's programming is false and misleading- let alone how shows that describe personal experiences of being attacked and/or partially consumed by a Tiger, Bull or White shark are "unscientific." The experiences described therein constitute the data of human/shark interaction that scientists and, indeed, the public should analyze to understand shark behavior. Hokey experiments with wooden dummies or mechanical swimmers prove nothing- certainly not that said species of shark's "true nature" does not include realizing a feeding opportunity at a hapless human being's expense as demonstrated by factual events, e.g., after maritime disasters. Reduced to its essence, these sharks occupy a unique ecological niche that, by definition, makes them eaters of anything- including people- caught in an uncompromising position. But this self-evident scientific fact makes sharks no less magnificent. My dear "Shark Group." Anything factual certainly does not offend Science. Particularly when res ipsa loquitur: 'the thing speaks for itself.'
- dru · Solana Beach, CA · Sep 8, 2009 @ 9:15am
I totally agree that Discovery's Shark Week presentation was an extremely one sided view and was more concerned about dramatic recreations of shark attacks V's actually providing greater context and understanding of the animals. I was not impressed with this seasons efforts and feel that they have now only added to the fear and hatred of these majestic creatures.
- Brett Smith · Toronto · Sep 9, 2009 @ 8:33am