Path: santra!tut!draken!kth!mcvax!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!rutgers!deimos.cis.ksu.edu!uxc!tank!shamash!sialis!rjg
From: rjg@sialis.mn.org (Robert J. Granvin)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: "Commonplace"
Message-ID: <1429@sialis.mn.org>
Date: 5 May 89 03:19:42 GMT
Reply-To: rjg@sialis.mn.org (Robert J. Granvin)
Organization: Dr. Ho Laboratory and Day Care Center
Lines: 63

During todays launch of the Atlantis, an interesting comment was made
during the "commentary" of the launch.

During the coverage of the launch by one network, it was noted that
they had passed the fateful "Go at throttle up" point, and that NASA
was being very cautious in its launches.  The comment was that what
essentially caused the Challenger accident was a feeling within NASA
that shuttle launches, and therefore space flight, had become
"commonplace".

Without even wanting to discuss that particular comment, it's my
opinion that if anyone considered shuttle launches as "commonplace",
it would be media itself, not NASA.

By the time the Challenger was launched, the media had effectively
discontinued coverage of the events.  National news networks no longer
routinely interrupted regular broadcasting to report on the launch.
Those that did, reduced it to the 5 or so minutes of actual "drama".
Some networks didn't cover it at all.  Cable news services were
better.

Regular news broadcasts noted the launches usually 5 or more minutes
into the broadcast.  Though they usually showed video of the launch,
this wasn't always the case.

Newspapers, local and national, stopped placing the launch news on
front pages.  It began to get buried deeper into the papers.

All news media formats reduced or stopped coverage completely of the
actual mission and mission status.

Local cable services may or may not have carried NASA Select during
the events.  Some of those that did in the past, reduced the carriage
to portions of the day, and not necessarily for the entire mission.

Coverage of the landings didn't diminish as much as the launches, but
they did diminish.  They weren't covered as well to begin with.

By the time of the Challenger accident, many people didn't realize
that some shuttles had recently launched.  Many people didn't realize
the Challenger was launching until they tuned in and saw the extended
national coverage of the accident.  If the accident never happened,
they may have never known of the launch.

It is my opinion that even if NASA did fall into a feeling that space
flight had become commonplace, it is the media who instilled that
opinion into the general public.  A large percentage of the public
will get their only information from the media, and will react to it
as the media presents.  If the media presents it as "not a big deal",
it will be responded to in that way.

Did NASA become complacent?  Some say yes.  But whether or not they
did, it's hard to conceive that the media can come out of those events
completely clean either, and comments such as todays, squarely placing
blame on NASA, could be perceived as hypocritical on the part of the
media.

And that's our commentary babble for tonite.  :-)

-- 
________Robert J. Granvin________   INTERNET: rjg@sialis.mn.org
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