1998 CSICOP Summary Report

SkeptInq@aol.com
Fri, 23 Apr 1999 15:30:53 EDT 

Following is a brief summary of some of the activities we've been up to this
year. I hope you'll find it of interest.

Barry Karr
CSICOP


 CSICOP:  1998 IN REVIEW

 The following is a 1998 partial summary of publications, conferences,
programming, publicity, and activities for the Committee for the Scientific
Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal(CSICOP.)

 For more information, contact Matt Nisbet at 716-636-1425X219 or at
SINISBET@aol.com.

 Announcements, press releases, and additions to the CSICOP website for 1998
are listed at http://www.csicop.org/whatsnew/1998.html .

 CSICOP is a tax-exempt, non-profit organization based at the Center for
Inquiry-International in Amherst, New York. Founded in 1976, CSICOP
encourages the critical investigation of paranormal and fringe-science claims
from a responsible, scientific point of view and disseminates factual
information about the results of such inquiries to the scientific community,
the media, and the public.

 It also promotes science and scientific inquiry, critical thinking, science
education, and the use of reason in examining important issues.  To carry out
these objectives the Committee:

 --Sponsors publications
 --Conducts public outreach efforts
 --Maintains an international network of people and groups interested in
critically examining paranormal, fringe-science, and other claims, and in
contributing to consumer education
 --Encourages research by objective and impartial inquiry in areas where it
is needed
 --Convenes conferences and meetings
 --Conducts educational programs at all levels

 PUBLICATIONS

 The Skeptical Inquirer, The Magazine for Science and Reason, is the official
journal of CSICOP.  Published bi-monthly, each issue of Skeptical Inquirer
has an international distribution of over 40,000 copies with subscribers
across six continents. The magazine is sold in bookstores in the U.S.,
Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Israel.

 This past year, a dual marketing campaign took place between Skeptical
Inquirer and the German skeptics magazine Skeptiker, published by GWUP.
Special marketing promotions also took place in Canadian bookstores.

 Skeptical Inquirer is available at the one-year introductory rate of $17.95.
 The January/February issue features a cover article that puts dermo-optical
perception to the test, and includes other articles on magnetic water
treatment, dowsing, and anomalous gold.  The March/April issue features a
cover photo of magician Harry Houdini bound in chains with an article on the
relationship between Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  It includes a
special report on false memories and two articles on spontaneous human
combustion.  The May/June Skeptical Inquirer devotes a special section to
aliens with two articles on alien abduction as sleep phenomena with other
articles on the Roswell crash saucer myth, the Air Force Roswell report and
"Men in Black."  Magnetic Therapy headlines the July/August issue with a
special report on the "Face on Mars," and articles on therapeutic touch and
media depictions of the paranormal.  American presidents Lincoln and Kennedy
appear on the cover of the September/October issue as three articles in a
special section on chance examine coincidence, numerology, and calculated
risks.  The November/December issue closes the year with a cover story on
gaps in the fossil record and articles that include the Margaret Mead
controversy revisited, the Martian Panic sixty-years later, and an essay on
the perils of post-hockery. (For past issues and articles go to
http://www.csicop.org/si/ .)

 The Skeptical Briefs is the quarterly newsletter of CSICOP, available to
associate members at $20 per year.  The March 1998 issue features the
reincarnation case of Bridey Murphy by "Investigative Files" columnist Joe
Nickell.  In the June issue, CSICOP founding chair Paul Kurtz contributes an
essay on "The New Skepticism: A Worldwide Movement."   An article on the
Chinese practice of Qigong leads off the September issue.  Nickell closes out
the year in the December issue with an article on the origins of snake oil.
Besides receipt of the Skeptical Briefs, associate members of CSICOP receive
10% discounts on conference fees, selected books from Prometheus Books, and
audio/video tapes of past conferences.  (For past issues and articles go to
http://www.csicop.org/sb/)

 MEDIA OUTREACH

 Since its founding twenty-three years ago, CSICOP has served as the world
media's leading source for critical and scientific information on the
paranormal and the pseudoscientific.  CSICOP serves as a clearinghouse of
information, often directing the media to its prestigious and accomplished
roster of fellows and consultants for expert insight and commentary, or by
providing past or current articles from Skeptical Inquirer. Members of the
media should contact Matt Nisbet at 716-636-1425 X219 or SINISBET@aol.com.

 In 1998, CSICOP fielded over 600 media inquiries translating into over 1,000
print and electronic news stories.  Through regular press releases, media
issues of Skeptical Inquirer, phone contact, and opinion-editorials, CSICOP
keeps the media informed of the critiques of paranormal and pseudoscientific
claims.  Events and claims that gained major media attention in 1998 included
the comatose 'miracle-worker' Audrey Santo, the Phoenix UFO lights, psychic
sleuth Dorothy Allison, the Shroud of Turin, the Journal for Scientific
Exploration(JSE) UFO report, The X-Files major motion picture release, radio
host Art Bell, therapeutic touch, psychic medium James Van Praagh, Whitley
Streiber's _Confirmation: The Hard Evidence of Aliens Among Us_, psychic
phone networks, and a range of alternative medicine therapies.

 CSICOP staff, fellows, and consultants provided the major media with
scientific balance in their coverage of these events and claims.  Senior
Research Fellow Joe Nickell appeared on a number of major television news
programs and in print to counter claims surrounding the Shroud of Turin,
Audrey Santo, Whitley Streiber, and psychic sleuth Dorothy Allison.
Skeptical Inquirer editor Kendrick Frazier provided balance to Science
magazine's coverage of the JSE UFO report.       CSICOP chair Paul Kurtz
appeared on the NBC Today show to criticize Art Bell's paranormal
mystery-mongering.  CSICOP fellows Wallace Sampson and Stephen Barrett
provided critiques of alternative medicine in more than a dozen print and
electronic news stories.

 CSICOP was also able to collaborate with producers of a number of television
specials and programs.  Among several documentary appearances, Joe Nickell
served as a consultant for the BBC in their production of episodes for the
Discovery Channel's "Science Mystery" series.  Paul Kurtz provided interviews
for a Linda Ellerbee-produced HBO special on afterlife, spiritualism, and
near-death experience that will air in the fall of 1999. Several CSICOP staff
members provided mounds of research material and leads for producers of the
ABC John Stossel special "The Power of Belief."

 CONFERENCES

 CENTER FOR INQUIRY-INSTITUTE WINTER SESSION
 San Diego, Jan. 9-11
 Over 40 people attended the Institute courses "History& Philosophy of
Skepticism" and ""Evolution vs. Creationism" taught by Paul Kurtz, Muhlenberg
College philosopher Theodore Schick, National Center for Science Education
Executive Director Eugenie Scott, and UC-Berkeley Exobiologist Jere Lipps.
Several hundred people also attended lectures by Kurtz in San Diego and Los
Angeles.

 SKEPTICS TOOLBOX: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DECEPTION
 August 20-24, University of Oregon at Eugene, OR

 The 1998 Skeptic's Toolbox focused on scams, cons, swindles and other
 deceits.  Speakers included Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine Editor
Wallace Sampson, magician Jerry Andrus, Simon Fraser University psychologist
Barry Beyerstein, University of Oregon psychologist Ray Hyman, and clinical
psychologist Loren Pankratz.

 WORLD SKEPTICS CONGRESS
 July 23-35, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

 Some three-hundred skeptics, experts, scientists, and academics from North
America, South America, Australia, and Asia gathered in Heidelberg to discuss
and present on topics including alternative medicine, cosmic impacts,
critical thinking, recovered memories, global climate threats, and paranormal
investigations.  The conference received international media attention and
was co-sponsored by the German skeptic group GWUP.  (For a report on the
conference, go to http://www.csicop.org/si/9811/conference2.html .)

 EMBRACIING SCIENCE IN AN IRRATIONAL WORLD
 October 17, Seattle, WA

 The mini-conference featured "Science Guy" Bill Nye, CSICOP chair Paul
Kurtz, University of Washington psychologist Elizabeth Loftus, and Simon
Fraser University psychologist Barry Beyerstein.

 CONSPIRACIES AND HOAXES: A Skeptical Review
 October 23-25, Boston, MA

 Co-sponsored by the New England Skeptical Society(NESS), the two-day event
included best-selling author Gerald Posner, CSICOP Senior Research Fellow Joe
Nickell, Central Connecticut State archeologist Ken Feder, author Daniel
Pipes, and NESS founders Steven Novella and Perry DeAngelis.

 THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT: Hollywood, the Media, and the Supernatural
 November 14   Los Angeles, CA

 Bringing together members of the entertainment industry, communication
experts, and scientists, the conference featured presentations by Purdue
University communication professor Glenn Sparks, Georgia State University
communication professor William Evans, UC-Berkeley Exobiologist Jere Lipps,
author/entertainer Steve Allen, special-effects creator Trey Stokes, director
Peter Bonerz, and television reporter Justin Gunn.

 COUNCIL FOR MEDIA INTEGRITY

 Founded in 1996 at the first World Skeptics Congress, the Council for Media
Integrity is a network of scientists and members of the media concerned with
the balanced portrayal of science in the media.

 The Council was kept busy in 1998 responding regularly to media claims with
press releases, letters to the editor and producers, and opinion-editorials.
The Council also sent out e-mail bulletins urging skeptics to respond to
media presentations that sensationalized the paranormal and pseudoscientific.

 In a press conference at the start of the Los Angeles "That's Entertainment"
conference, the Council awarded its annual "Candle-in-the-Dark" award to
radio host Art Bell for his paranormal mystery mongering on the airwaves.
The Council also recognized producer David Huntley for the entertaining and
educational "Beyond Science" episode of PBS "Scientific American Frontiers"
by presenting him with the "Candle-in-the-Dark" award.
 (For a press release, go to http://www.csicop.org/articles/19981113-awards)

 In an attempt to have a voice in shareholder decisions of major media
conglomerates, the Council continued to receive contributions to its Media
Stock Fund.  Additional shares were purchased in media conglomerates News
Corp, Disney, and CBS.  (For more information, go to
http://www.csicop.org/cmi/stock.html)

 WWW.CSICOP.ORG

 With the emergence of the "new media" and the increase in internet use,
CSICOP's website at www.csicop.org continues to grow in organizational
importance.  Receiving over 350 hits-per-day, the site archives past articles
of Skeptical Inquirer and contains links to skeptical web resources. New to
the site in 1998 was the addition of the Council for Media Integrity pages
which contain updates, responses, and reviews of the latest media
presentations and links to web sources on media accuracy. (Go to
http://www.csicop.org/cmi)

 In 1998, the Skeptical Inquirer Electronic Digest gained popularity as a
bi-weekly e-mail update of CSICOP activities and skeptics news.  It currently
has over 3,000 original recipients and is forwarded to thousands more across
the globe. (To subscribe, go to http://www.csicop.org/list.)

 In recognition of the invaluable information found at www.csicop.org and the
outstanding efforts of CSICOP webmaster Patrick Fitzgerald, in 1998 the
CSICOP site was named one of the top ten science sites on the web by the
well-respected HOMEPC magazine.  (For more info, go to
http://www.csicop.org/aboutweb/)

 ***Links and a summary of 1998 press releases, announcements, and additions
to the CSICOP website can be found at
http://www.csicop.org/whatsnew/1998.html