Rick Baudé Wrote:
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> Uhhmmmm...One more time, why doesn't everybody,
> get some basic video equipment and software, and
> start their own channels on youtube and sidestep
> all of these charlatans?

Because you can make as many video films and reconstructions which are as accurate as possible, but if you can't get a network to take your material and broadcast it, what's the point of doing it?

Many an archaeologist has been harping on since the 1990's on "how we should make our own documentaries" and get them on TV to show how real archaeology is done, but as long as Discovery, TLC and that ilk choose to only show the outrageous and controversial crap as discussed here, who's going to show it?

I've heard that the Brits, via the "Time Team" show model, and the Germans, via ZDF, are open for accurate archaeological video to broadcast, but you can just pretty well forget the American networks.

They seem to think accurate (and methodical) documentaries which shows archaeology as it is really practiced is 'too boring' for the sound-byte audience of today. It's an insult to everyone's intelligence as to what passes as "archaeological" documentaries these days, IMO, and sadly, this also seems to include the National Geographic channel as one of the offenders of such rubbish.

I blame Rupert Murdoch for this decline in journalistic ethos (he owns 50% of National Geographicchannel, both in the US and UK); however, NBC Universal owns Discovery Channel and TLC, which are as equally offensive, so no one has any real integrity about documentaries any more, IMO.

Katherine