Geez, Team Ocean, you’re doing too good of a job with all this Shark Week outreach. I mean, really. I can barely keep up with all the press about the lack of science. But we’re following as closely as we can, and are here to give you the bird’s-eye view of what an impact you’re making together. Also, we’ve got some news on dolphin squeals, sea star deaths, and James Cameron’s new deep sea flick.

 

1. Social mentions of #SharkWeek down 52% from last year
2. Most Shark Week media coverage is critical
3. How to Shark Week tonight
4. The latest on sea star deaths
5. What does the dolphin say?
6. Long on Cameron, short on science 

 

Social mentions of #SharkWeek down 52% from last year

Every year since 2009, mentions of Shark Week on social platforms have nearly doubled from their previous year. Not this time - they’re tracking at 2012 levels. What are some possible causes? Is this due to backlash against fake documentaries and a lack of science? Has Discovery just lost their PR magic? Whatever the reason, Upwell thinks it’s very very interesting. When Discovery inevitably comes out with their press release saying it’s been their biggest year ever, look for their now-standard disclaimer - it may only appear for a tenth of a second. ;)


Total social mentions for Upwell’s Shark Week 2013 and 2014 keyword groups, compared by day-of-week. 

  

Most Shark Week media coverage is critical

  
Take a look at a Google News search for “Shark Week,” and you won’t find the reprints of Discovery press releases that you’ve seen in previous years. Instead, it’s a litany of critical articles echoing what Team Ocean has been saying: “We love Shark Week, but enough of the fiction. Let’s get back to science.”
 
Here’s some of the top articles from the last couple days. Click to share on Twitter! And take a look at Monday and Tuesday’s Tide Reports for more great articles that are worth sharing several more times before the week is up.
 
The Week magazine provides a digestible history of Shark Week, with a focus on how the Discovery Channel both “elevated and degraded sharks.”

Tweet this

The Wire goes a step further, calling Shark Week “dead in the water,” explaining how viewers can’t tell the difference between fantastical and nonfiction content.

Tweet this

 
Brad Plumer from explainer journalism site Vox has a great article and accompanying video that sums up all the backlash Discovery is getting for its unscientific content. (Seriously, we love this video.)
 

Tweet this

 
Influential reporters from across the web shared the Vox article with their opinions:

Tweet this

Tweet this

LAist echoes David Shiffman’s post on io9 from earlier this week, explaining how scientists have been duped into appearing on Shark Week specials, without knowledge that footage of them would be used to prop up stories of mythical sharks.

Tweet this

 
David Shiffman explains on EarthTouch News why last night’s Zombie Sharks special promotes the harassment of animals for no express purpose.

Tweet this

 
Given all this media backlash, Ad Age has determined that there’s a new cottage industry around shark week debunking. Good. (That’s you.)
 

Tweet this

Meanwhile, CNN Money has the scoop on how Discovery stock took a dive during Shark Week. Discovery execs call the dip “typical,” but we have our doubts. 

Tweet this

What is the effect of this kind of coverage on viewer perception of Discovery? Well, we’re hoping it looks like the results of this poll, featured in two articles on The Oregonian’s website this week.


 

Tweet this

 

How to Shark Week tonight

This evening’s serving of Shark Week offers up a mix of blood in the water “shark incident” re-enactments (I Escaped Jaws 2) and an investigation of a Hawaii “shark invasion” (Sharkageddon). Setting aside the obvious fact that sharks are not the real invaders, there may be some slight promise amid the Sharkageddon fearfest.
 
Team Ocean-er and Discover blogger Christie Wilcox will be hosting a party of interested parties: “Since the special focuses on  the animals studied by several graduate students and faculty members I know here in Hawaii, I decided to invite them over for a watch party. I’ll be live-tweeting their and my commentary during the Pacific airing of the special (7 PM Hawaii time, 10 PM Pacific, and 1 AM Eastern). Note: none of them, not a single one, was spoken to for the show, so we’re all very curious how the animals they study will be portrayed.”
 
Follow @nerdychristie for all the aloha-ppenings. [Editor’s note: groan] For the Jaws show, we recommend following the lead of Debbie Salamone (@debatpew, @pewenvironment) and Shark Attack survivors for Shark Conservation.
 
Here’s your Shark Week toolkit, and here’s your schedule:
 

Watch this