This well-attended conference was held over three days in Washington, D.C. in April of '67 and the book seems to list pretty much every editor by name from almost every influential newspaper in the country, and believe me, this was one heck of a gala event, even attended by the likes of guest speaker NY Senator Robert F. Kennedy (who, tragically, would be assassinated the following year).
The domination of newspapers over all other media at that time resulted in an informed public which often learned of government corruption, rather than seeing it hidden or enhanced by current TV "journalism." The sixties were an era on the edge of a spiral in which Americans slowly became dumbed down and almost incapable of reading newspapers or magazines as we accepted even more TV and accompanying shiny objects to supplant critical thinking.
In 1967, as Kennedy and a few other speakers delivered eloquent presentations in regard to government, science and policy on a Saturday, the final day, a topic usually about as welcome as a skunk at a dinner party plopped itself comfortably into the mix, but darned if there wasn't a willing audience of newspaper editors ready to take on the odor. UFOs. UFOs? UFOs.
The sixties overflowed with intellectually enticing UFO cases, highlighted perhaps most famously by the Socorro, NM incident in 1964 where patrolman Lonnie Zamora reportedly observed a landed UFO in the desert with little figures near it until they disappeared and the object took off with a roar. After Hillsdale, Michigan got into the act with extensive major magazine coverage of its reports in 1966, in addition to a drip, drip, drip of reports claiming close encounters with UFOs -- not to mention congressional concern by Gerald Ford and others as constituents clamored for answers -- the UFO subject was ripe for journalistic picking by 1967.
And so it was, a panel discussion entitled, "The UFOs: What Goes on Here?" took place as veteran newspaper editors watched with interest of varying degrees. Among the participants were witnesses William Powell and Muriel McClave; then-active Project Blue Book chief and USAF Major Hector Quintanilla, Jr.; arch-skeptical astronomer Dr. Donald Menzel of Harvard U.; and Dr. James E. McDonald, Univ. of Arizona.
The discussion was quite spirited as those involved made their case, but the "star" during the session appears to have been Dr. McDonald, an atmospheric physicist who brought along for anybody wishing a copy his paper, "UFOs: Greatest Scientific Problem of Our Times?" Based on a year of intensive research into the UFO enigma, McDonald made numerous learned assertions: "I think we have all missed the boat. I think we have been misled. I think the problem has been most seriously mishandled officially for 20 years. The problem has been misrepresented by many interacting factors, including yourselves and scientists such as myself.
"I think," McDonald went on to warn, "the problem has been superficially and incompetently handled by the Air Force."
Continuing on, McDonald often criticized the government for a lack of response to UFO interest, and rises as prophetic when addressing anticipated flaws in the Colorado University UFO study, which ultimately turned out to be driven by lies.
"The heart of the problem is the 'ridicule lid,'" states McDonald, "and you're sitting on it. You're sitting on it in a way that is very important. Get off the lid! That is, get your wire service people to take it seriously; look at the problem yourself; examine it for yourself and get off that lid, because that is a big part of the problem now."
So, where are we today? First, you're lucky to find a local newspaper. In the decades since 1967, to their credit, newspapers have carried plenty of UFO articles, and there seem to be occasions where editors tried to stay "off the lid." But did it matter in the long run? Reporters turned out quality journalism regarding UFOs, but editors weren't always in approval when it came time to put the edition in question "to bed."
I guess it's remarkable that the UFO/UAP issue has finally been awarded modern congressional hearing status (we've been here before, you know?) -- yet, I still find it equally "wow"-worthy to remember the 1967 session when the most influential newspaper editors on the planet got together and listened, and listened some more.
What do we get today when UFOs hit the press? TV sound bites, half-assed tabloid articles and maybe a few lines in whatever newspaper pages survive as the educational dumb-down process continues. Then it's on to the latest forgettable entertainer or athlete paid millions of dollars for playing with a ball like a dog. Our government loves this stuff, because making us keep our eyes on THAT ball leaves us little opportunity to concentrate on matters that count. And we all play on.
