[Coral-List] Did you see that sexy scientist on the news last night? Resiliency continued... really

[Ellen Prager]

James - Reality TV sounds like an interesting vehicle, but
as a scientist approached by Hollywood to do one, I'm not sure it is 
the way to go.
As soon as I said I did not want to share my personal life or subject
myself to any humiliating situations that could impact my professional
credibility - it was thanks, but no thanks.

As usual I agree with much of what Steven Miller has said, there are 
real
obstacles we face in getting public visibility.  For example, who pays 
someone for speaking
for the community? When you work with the media, they do not pay you.
I've been on most of the major networks and cable stations and have
pitched the idea of them having an "earth analyst" similar to their 
military
or legal analysts, I was even brought up to CBS in NY to discuss the 
idea.
However, the bottom line was they did not see the public interest, 
relevance or
newsworthiness of the oceans, earth or related science - unless related 
to a
disaster of course.  And they did not want to pay for it.

And when you work for a specific organization, in the main you are 
expected to promote
their program, not large community issues such as coral reef decline in 
general,
global warming or large scale ocean issues.

Finding effective vehicles to reach the mass public in an entertaining, 
relevant, and scientifically
accurate manner is one of our largest challenges in ocean outreach and 
education today.
At least in my opinion. And it is something I'm working on (e.g. why I 
wrote my latest
fiction book for young readers, Adventure on Dolphin Island, that 
combines fun reading
with ocean science and issues (including coral reefs), but finding 
support for innovative
projects in the area has been difficult .

Ellen Prager, PhD
President, Earth2Ocean, Inc
eprager at earth2ocean.net
www.earth2ocean.net