John Kelly of the Washington Post has been under attack by UFO enthusiasts over the last several days. If you haven’t been following his drama, here it is in a nutshell.

Kelly reluctantly attended the press conference in September, where retired Air Force men alleged that UFOs have interfered with nuclear weapons. Kelly didn’t have much to say about the press conference itself in his resulting article, except that he had a different motive for attending.

It seems that guests of the National Press Club receive some really delicious pastries and cookies.

So, as a result, many readers gave Kelly some really hateful comments on his original, and very bizarre, article. Kelly also received some really angry emails. On the other hand, some really nice readers offered to educate Kelly by sending him links to UFO websites and YouTube videos.

Kelly’s response to all this: a fresh article today that publishes few of these angry comments. Accompanying the article is a photo of the X-Files’ Scully and Mulder to further insult believers in UFO phenomena. To the helpful readers who attempted to educate him, he says he doesn’t have time to study. In other words, don’t waste your time, he won’t click through.

He added that with the allegedly advanced technology of aliens, he’s sure they can send him an email.

Personally, I’ve posted less since the press conference, and did not write about it, so I could gauge the reaction from various members of the media. I noticed a couple of things.

First, UFO reporting has increased, revealing some awkward reporting on the subject. I noticed this way back in July when the mainstream media “took over” the reporting of the China UFO/Xiaoshan Airport closure subject from bloggers. This was to ensure that the general public didn’t go into a panic, much to the relief of the Christian Science Monitor, who felt that bloggers weren’t as competent as the mainstream media. At the time, ABC News received accolades for their reporting, although it was late reporting. The reporting came full week after the incident.

Well, that brings up my next point, which is the late reporting. Suddenly, as a result of the conference, the media is finally reporting on the other airport shutdown in Inner Mongolia that occurred September 11th, that I reported on the 13th. I try to stay on top of these things. Yet, it is barely being picked up in the last couple of days by others. Better late than never, I guess.

However, the headlines should not imply breaking news. The headlines shouldn’t exaggerate the incident, either. ABC News to the rescue again with a video news report, posted today. More than three weeks after the incident. Enough said.

Not all members of the media have received criticism for their reporting. American Reporter gave praise to Gannett for the press conference reporting back in September. Gannett Company, Inc. owns dozens of daily newspapers in the U.S. and the UK, including the Tucson Citizen. The Tucson Citizen is no longer a newspaper. It is now a collection of blogs written by unpaid bloggers. Nevertheless, Gannett’s actual newspapers have covered the topic. Lately they have increased their coverage of all paranormal topics. Although many are still in the category of “Odd News”.

This is all okay. Baby steps. At least Gannett and other newspapers are covering the topic now. Better than nothing, I guess.

What is also okay is that some people will continue to poke fun, like Kelly. I have a couple theories about him. First, some people make fun of things because they feel uncomfortable or are very scared. Their only defense is to joke about it. Another thing I thought about is that he could be naturally ultra-skeptical. The CSICOP folks (The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry) are already trying to discredit the retired Air Force men.

Kelly hasn’t made reference to them, though.

Rather than attacking Kelly or trying to educate him over a subject that he has no interest in, I suggest a couple of alternatives:

1. Comment on today’s Washington Post article with all the love you can muster. Don’t be mean about it. Tell him that it is okay that he doesn’t believe and that it is no skin off your nose. Comment nicely. He’s baiting UFO enthusiasts to prove that they are irrational fanatics. Don’t give him fuel.
2. Don’t read Kelly’s UFO articles if you feel so strongly about it. He’s getting tons of page views because of his anti-UFO views. Don’t feed his attempt to rile you up…OR
3. Give him food and a different kind of fuel. He appears to have an unhealthy obsession for sweet treats and trans-fats. Why not send him a nice gift card to the Cheesecake Factory or some other sweets shop? I just may do that this holiday season. Some people are highly influenced by food. After all, food lured him to the press conference in the first place.

Then, he can see that we are nice people.

If the attacks on Kelly cease, it will be no fun for him anymore to poke when he can’t get a reaction.

****UPDATE: ABC News posts article on “Fresh” UFO sighting in China from last month.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 6th, 2010 at 10:42 am and is filed under UFOs. Tags for this post: mainstream media, ufo news, UFOs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.