Shark Week 2012 started on Aug 12th, and judging from the first few programs I fast forwarded through, I get the feeling there may be a transition in Discovery's programming in response to the protests that have been directed at them over the last few years.
A little background first, there has been quite a bit of controversy in Discovery's programs before, like the "How Sharks Hunt" and the Les Stroud programs did not push the shark conservation agenda.
However, this year seems to be starting out well.
In Myth Busters Jawsome special, there was a direct mention of shark conservation at the end of the show, making it the top myth that has yet to be broken in the minds of the public. Yes, the program went through all the bad stuff from the years before. However, making shark conservation the top priority is significant progress for such a popular program.
While the other programs didn't exactly push the shark protection agenda, I felt there wasn't the same sharks are mindless monsters nonsense of yesteryears or worse, silly experiments that may affect the sharks.
More encouragingly, there are programs specifically built on the conservation message so lacking in the last 24 years of Shark Week.
Most significantly, Shark Fight will show how shark attacks occurred but also includes how shark attack survivors change from hating sharks to helping protect sharks, which will be hopefully a positive effect on how viewers see the tragedy of any shark incident.
Hopefully, this trend will continue for years to come. Once the week ends, I think if the rest of the programs continue this trend, letters of encouragement and support should be sent to help Discovery "see the light!"
