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Culture

Confusing Message and Messenger at Planetary Society

By Keith Cowing
NASA Watch
March 26, 2017
Filed under ,
Confusing Message and Messenger at Planetary Society

Keith’s note: Here’s the really creepy thing … the Planetary Society’s Twitter page says “Co-founded by Sagan. Led by Nye. Forward with you. We advocate for space, create our own missions and educate the world.” Wait a minute. The Planetary Society was co-founded by Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray and Lou Friedman. But now this is all about equating Carl Sagan and Bill Nye and demoting Murray and Friedman. I’m sorry but there is no comparison between Sagan and Nye.

NASA Watch founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.

9 responses to “Confusing Message and Messenger at Planetary Society”

  1. Michael Spencer says:
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    I get the policy of reaching down to lift up non-sciency folks by someone who is “relatable”. I get that.

    But whenever I see The Science Goofball I’m reminded of a real Mr. Science, a program that ran on television decades ago, featuring real kids learning by experiment, guided by a friendly adult (maybe someone remembers the proper name).

    Looks like the PS has gotten the message that talking down dilutes the brand by releasing an image of the CEO looking quite thoughtful and wise, no doubt fashioned by a PR firm. And a good one.

    • raymac44 says:
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      Mr. Wizard Don Herbert. Watched it every time it was on. Loved science so much I ended up on the launch team for all the Apollo missions.

    • rktsci says:
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      You may mean “Mr. Wizard” on TV.

      I left the PS when it became obvious that they didn’t pay any attention to the views of members. The fact that the board was self-selected is just one aspect of that.

    • Bob Mahoney says:
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      “Watch Mr. Wizard”, created & hosted by Don Herbert.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wi

      Nye’s program had the ability to engage kids but in many respects I think it marked the beginning of the demise of intelligent engagement. Lots of in-your-face pizz-zazz but an unmistakable & unnecessary shallowing/thinning of the actual subject matter. NASA does the same thing with its mission coverage…but leaves out the pizz-zazz, too.

      I grew up watching NOVA and never felt like I was being talked down to or coddled…and still ‘got it’ AND enjoyed it. Today, NOVA grabs my kids’ attention & they ‘get it’ as well.

      I’ve never bought into the idea that one must be loud & obnoxious to engage kids…or other adults. Perhaps Nye feels differently.

  2. Jim Cantrell says:
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    I worked with TPS since 1987 on the Mars Ballon program, various rover programs with Russians, Cosmos 1 and Lightsail. The day that Bill arrived is the day that the society formed by Bruce Murray, Carl Sagan and Lou Friedman started to die. In short order, Bill sent me packing, pushed Lou Friedman off the board and out the door unceremoniously (his ego could not take a dissenting opinion), fired long time staffers and then proceeded to take credit for being the father Lightsail. He’s the worst combination of a fragile overinflated ego and a cult of personality. It makes me sad to see him drag TPS into his own pet issues and frankly laughable public image as a ‘man of science’. I’m sure that Carl Sagan would be rolling in his grave as they say.

    • kcowing says:
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      Here’s the really creepy thing … the Planetary Society’s Twitter page says “Co-founded by Sagan. Led by Nye. Forward with you. We advocate for space, create our own missions and educate the world.” Wait a minute. The Planetary Society was co-founded by Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray and Lou Friedman.

      • fcrary says:
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        That’s good PR. Sagan’s name is recognized by a large number of people; Murray and Friedman are much less well-known, especially to the general public. Including their names would just dilute the message.

        Of course, I do wonder about an organization so focused on PR and self-promotion. They may be good at it, but is that what they should be focused on?

    • intdydx says:
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      I don’t get the internet “I F****** love science!!” crowd’s fascination with Bill Nye the Mechanical Engineering Guy or NDT. But maybe that just means I’m not the intended audience.

  3. ThomasLMatula says:
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    I never could understand the decision of the Planetary Society to name an actor as President. What were they thinking? You would think they would have picked a space scientist or astronaut, someone that would give creditably to the job.

    The only science experience Bill Nye has was as Br. Brown’s assistant on the “Back to the Future” cartoon series. Does that really qualify him to be a spokesperson for science?