Shark (Conservation?) Week

The Discovery Channel is partnering with some conservation groups this time around and their annual fete includes a blog focused on conservation:

http://discovery.blogs.com/shark_conservation/

Hopefully, this will help push it more into a positive awareness tool.

Mike

Have you seen the commercials for it? People running into the ocean towards the shark? Very cool. SAVE THE SHARKS!!

I heard a radio ad recently - one of those 'embedded' ads where the DJ is talking about it as though its his idea but it's so clearly scripted it's not funny ("Body solutions helped me lose 9 billion pounds and close up cellulite dimples the depth of the Grand Canyon!!").

Anyway the gist started out like "don't you love those man vs. shark stories" and I rolled my eyes, thinking it was another of those 'mindless predator' type plugs, but he went on to say a bunch like "its not like that at all....only 71 attacks worldwide last year only one of which was fatal, most are single bites and then let go, sharks recognize we're not really their normal prey...rare attacks happen but these are mysterious, misunderstood and threatened animals..." and even gave a bit of trivia like how many teeth the average shark loses a year and the like.

I have to admit, I hate the DJ (desperation choice on my long commute, I hadn't swapped CDs in the car in a while), hate that sort of embedded advertising...but it sure did sound like the whole thrust of Shark Week was totally different this year. They made pains to mention all new shows and the like.

Course I don't have satellite or cable right now, nor time for TV unfortunately. But still, given the past thrust of "let's see what idiot calling himself a naturalist wants to marinade himself in chum and wave his dangly bits in front of a bull shark THIS year" and "shark rodeo" events, it did sound like they've had a rather large change of editorial focus.

I'm happy to see some of the creative and positive PR coming from DC this year. Think they are responding to us divers who sent them letters of protest about the negative portrayal of sharks from last year??? Always good to raise your voice. :-) I hope we see more of this in the shark week program...