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Date: | Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:17:27 -0500 |
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Hi All,
I briefly read the article and it sounds like this person is still in
the "pitch" stage of the show. What this means is that it is not even
funded for production. This is type of show would cost at least half a
million dollars to produce. The idea that they will film the show and
THEN try and sell it to the networks (e.g. Discovery, History, Nat. Geo)
may be a misquote since that is not how documentary series are made
today.
There are hundreds of production companies out there fishing for show
ideas....I am sure many of you out there have had the random cold call
from a producer wanting to do a show on archaeology....perhaps even
offering you a role on it. Before going to battle or becoming too upset
about this series, I suggest contacting the production company and
finding out exactly what they plan to do.......the information was after
all in a newspaper article. If you make contact with them, a
professional and polite lesson on what the archaeology community would
find offensive would be best. These people do not know any better...they
are simply our uneducated public. Their goal is not to advance or
educate the masses about archaeology, they simply know that
archaeology/history/dare I say "treasure" shows are interesting to their
viewers.
Julie
On Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:19:50 +0800, Gaye wrote:
> Well it seems clear to me that archaeologists need to do something.
> There
> would appear to be two lobbying angles which could usefully be
> applied.
>
> Firstly lobby the City and the Florida Film Commission regarding the
> unethical approach and damage to American heritage and urging them
> not to
> support/allow unless an proper archaeological approach is taken.
>
> Secondly lobby the film production company to make them see what they
> are
> planning is unethical and damaging and urge them to change the
> approach
> slightly to turn it from looting for artefacts to well-grounded
> public
> archaeology. At the same time letting them know that if they don't
> lobbying
> will be done with the TV channels not to air their program on the
> grounds
> that they are destroying American heritage.
>
> Having gone through a major lobbying campaign in Western Australia to
> save
> Cossack (thanks to all those who helped with that) I also know that
> you need
> to get SHA involved in the lobbying and any other archaeological
> associations you have, plus any of the history, heritage or
> re-enactment
> organisations that care about heritage (even politicians), from all
> over
> America, they don't have to be just local, in fact its better if the
> protest
> is widespread geographically and across disciplines, then it can't be
> seen
> as just an archaeological turf war.
>
> All of you archaeologists should e-mail all of your likely contacts:
> get
> them to send e-mails to the lobbying targets (make sure the
> production
> company is cc'd in to any protest e-mail sent to people in power/TV
> channels
> and the Film Commission), you can offer a written pro-former protest
> for
> them to personalise and forward. I started out with an open letter of
> protest put out on discussion lists and sent to heritage
> organisations of
> various sorts (our historians really got on board to help Cossack,
> our
> architects didn't) then went onto doing the above e-mail campaign.
> The back
> lash stunned our Heritage Council and the government (who were the
> developers). I also got the media involved to let the public join in
> the
> protest but that is hard to do until the protest is well underway.
>
> I don't think you will stop the production company making a program
> but you
> have a chance to make them rethink their methods - particularly as
> they have
> not pre sold this program to any of the channels. They are making it
> on
> speck.
>
> Cami the original message and link is below
>
> This is something all archaeologists should be pretty concerned
> about, in my
> humble opinion:
>
>
> http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/2012-01-05/crews-dig-backyards-tv-sho
> w-raising-objections-city-archaeologist#.TwtNrYHNk_Q
>
> Cheers Gaye
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