Out of Balance

Even with respect to extraordinary and absurd claims, ABC and Peter Jennings listen to "both sides."

Chris Mooney; March 7, 2005

How should a self-respecting journalist, one who wants to be deemed credible, cover UFO claims, whether of the roadside sighting variety or those involving alleged abductions and (I can't resist) sexual molestations? That's the core issue raised by ABC's decision last week to air a two-hour primetime special, hosted by Peter Jennings, on precisely this topic. Entitled "Peter Jennings Reporting: UFOs -- Seeing is Believing," the show provides a pretty good example of what not to do. But it does make a few token attempts at serious reportorial skepticism, and while these efforts ultimately fail, they're instructive for precisely that reason.

"Seeing is Believing" begins, in true mystery-mongering fashion, with a quick opening montage presenting various firsthand UFO stories. Soon Jennings appears, telling us that millions of Americans believe this stuff (ABC's apparent justification for devoting its energies to UFOs at a time when soldiers are dying in Iraq and Social Security is on the chopping block). Before long we're introduced to UFO radio guru Art Bell and--in a pattern that will recur throughout the program--witness an artist's rendition of Bell's alleged encounter with a big triangular alien spaceship.

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