RonDawg
Contributor
In regards to Discovery Channel's portrayal of sharks, as I posted on another thread it seems that how objective their portrayal of these creatures is seems to depend on how much you're willing to pay for your cable or satellite service.
On basic analog cable they've got the usual "Shark Week" stuff and promotional tie-ins to the movie "Open Water." That's when they're not airing some home/car/personal makeover show.
However, if you have a high definition TV and subscribe to Discovery HD Theatre they actually have some decent programs on sharks. They recently aired "Sharks Under Glass" and "Blue Realm -- Shark Business." Both programs talk about the misconceptions about sharks and how the media and Hollywood, along with irresponsible fishing, are helping to decimate shark populations (of course they fail to mention their own programming on the analog side of the dial).
The latter program featured Dr. Erich Ritter where he talks about the circumstances that led him to being bitten by a shark. Despite the gruesome injury that nearly cost him his leg (if not his life) he still doesn't believe sharks to be evil creatures. In fact only a few months after the incident not only did he get back into the water with them but he did it in the exact same spot where it happened.
On basic analog cable they've got the usual "Shark Week" stuff and promotional tie-ins to the movie "Open Water." That's when they're not airing some home/car/personal makeover show.
However, if you have a high definition TV and subscribe to Discovery HD Theatre they actually have some decent programs on sharks. They recently aired "Sharks Under Glass" and "Blue Realm -- Shark Business." Both programs talk about the misconceptions about sharks and how the media and Hollywood, along with irresponsible fishing, are helping to decimate shark populations (of course they fail to mention their own programming on the analog side of the dial).
The latter program featured Dr. Erich Ritter where he talks about the circumstances that led him to being bitten by a shark. Despite the gruesome injury that nearly cost him his leg (if not his life) he still doesn't believe sharks to be evil creatures. In fact only a few months after the incident not only did he get back into the water with them but he did it in the exact same spot where it happened.