Re: Art Bell

[ASchinella@aol.com]

With "rant mode" off I ask what purpose would this publicity stunt serve? Art
Bell's ratings are tops in overnights all over the country. He doesn't need
publicity stunts to give listenership or anything like that. He has scads of
money after signing his new deal. While I admit that some of Bell's stuff is
"out there" and lately I haven't been listening to his show because it really
scares me (WBZ's Bob Raleigh's trivia games and psychic are a welcome relief
sometimes), Bell sometimes does do a relevant show. Who now would be talking
about Y2K if it weren't for Bell alerting his 6.5 million listeners to the
problem? I don't consider myself ridiculous for listening to things I really
don't know about. Just because it is a bit "out there" doesn't mean it isn't
interesting. It is like live science fiction radio; without having to read and
I personally like it sometimes. Maybe there is something going on with Bell
and his family or threats to his family because he was getting too close to
the the truth ala "X  Files" -- I mean, in this day and age anything is
possible. On Saturday, the US Congress signed an oversweeping extension of
warrantless wiretapping authorities to the FBI and other federal law
enforcement and this, while crime nationally is at an all time low. 

In a message dated 10/14/98 3:39:04 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
mwaters@wesleyan.edu writes:

<<         Come on, people! What odds is Las Vegas giving that this is a hoax
 -- a publicity stunt? Even if it isn't, how can someone who does a show
 about visitors from other planets expect anything he says to be taken
 seriously? Just because he has millions of listeners on scores of big-time
 radio stations (including WTIC (AM), to answer someone's question about
 what New England stations he's on), let's take a reality check here. In
 what's left of the real, rational world, this guy, most of his callers, and
 most of his listeners are all ridiculous.
 
         And, sorry to whoever has the excellent taste to have suggested
 that Joey Reynolds will pick up a lot of  business because of this. IMO,
 Reynolds' prospects are severely limited by the fact that he does an
 intelligent, interesting program. In fact, it's a wonder he's on at all. >>

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