Committee for Skeptical Inquiry

[Barry Karr <SkeptInq@aol.com>]

Special Pre Message:  Paul Kurtz will be on the nationally syndicated "Jerry
Strout" Show at 7:30 pm Eastern time (4:30 pm Pacific). The "Jerry Strout"
Show has the widest distribution in the Pacific North West. Check your
listings



From Kevin Christopher,
CSICOP Director of Public Relations
press@csicop.org

Amherst, NY (August 6, 2002)-- It's easy for skeptics to feel beleaguered
when faced with the flood of credulous reporting in print, on the radio and
on TV. That's why I think it's important to let you know about some of the
great media coverage CSICOP has been getting lately.

In anticipation of the new Hollywood movie, "Signs," CSICOP has been on a
marathon crop circle media blitz over the past eight days; In addition, the
past three weeks have kept Paul Kurtz, Joe Nickell and other CSICOP staff
busy on studio phone lines for morning and afternoon talk radio shows across
the United States. The CSICOP Announcement List recently tallied several
interviews Paul Kurtz has given to media worldwide.

Adding to this the media successes of the Burbank skeptics conference in
June, which included taped interviews of dozens of CSICOP fellows by BBC
Radio and a production company for The Learning Channel, it becomes clear
that CSICOP and Skeptical Inquirer have been effectively getting the word
out on a slew of paranormal and junk-science claims. I can also guarantee
that in coming weeks, we'll be announcing even better news about our media
outreach.

Here's a list of some of the great coverage we've enjoyed in the past few
weeks:

U.S. NATIONAL TELEVISION:

August 2, 2002
CNBC
"The News with Brian Williams" 7:00 PM EDT (GMT - 4 hr)
Joe Nickell interviewed on crop circles. Joe, Ben Radford and Kevin
Christopher demonstrate the techniques to create crop circles.



NEWSPAPER CROP-CIRCLE MEDIA BLITZ: (Boston, Indianapolis, New York, Salt
Lake City, San Francisco, New Jersey State, National)

July 28, 2002
New York Daily News
"HARVESTING A HOAX:
The new movie 'Signs' exploits the corny crop-circle phenomenon"
by Jami Bernard
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/nydailynews/index.html?ts=1028300309 (FEE for
FULL ARTICLE)


August 1, 2002
Boston Globe
"CIRCULAR LOGIC:
CROP FORMATIONS MAY BE SHROUDED IN MYSTERY, BUT THE MEDIA ARE BETTING
THEY'LL MAKE SENSE AT THE CASH REGISTER"
by Vanessa E. Jones, Globe Staff
http://nl12.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=0F5252BF
5A9ADAFB&p_docnum=1


August 1, 2002
Indianapolis Star
"Mystery or mischief?
Crop circle phenomenon preys on our imagination."
By John J. Shaughnessy"
http://www.indystar.com/article.php?cropcircles01.html


August 1, 2002
Salt Lake Tribune
"Film Opening Triggers Memories of Utah's Crop Circles"
By Vince Horiuchi
http://www.sltrib.com/08012002/thursday/758144.htm


August 1, 2002
San Francisco Chronicle
"Cereal spin doctors
Crop circles: Precursors to a close encounter with ET or merely catering to
the public's appetite for 'occult metaphors'?"
by Rick DelVecchio SF Chronicle Staff Writer
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/08/01/MN42887.DTL


August 2, 2002
MSNBC.com
"It's harvest time for crop-circle hype"
by Alan Boyle
http://www.msnbc.com/news/787696.asp


August 2, 2002
Denver Post
"Circular argument crops up yet again
Skeptics, believers continue debate"
By Michael Booth, Denver Post Staff Writer
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E53%257E769052,00.html?search
=filter


SUMMER RADIO BLITZ:

Paul Kurtz, Joe Nickell and other CSICOP staff have been guests on the
following radio stations:

July 18, 2002
WKVL
Knoxville, TN

July 22, 2002
KXNA
Fayetteville, AR

July 22, 2002
KXEL
Waterloo, IA

July 24, 2002
KTKT
Tucson, AZ

July 25, 2002
WROW
Albany, NY

July 26, 2002
"Hilly Rose Show"
Sirius Satellite Radio

July 29, 2002
WGCH
Greenwich, CT

July 30, 2002
WFOB
Fostoria, OH

July 31, 2002
WASO
New Orleans, LA

August 1, 2002
KOA
"Mike Rosen Show"
Denver, CO

August 2, 2002
KGO Radio: Morning Show hosted by Ed Baxter
San Francisco, CA

August 2, 2002
WTNT
Washington, DC
###