AudioBlog: The National Enquirer UFO Blue Ribbon Panel

Many readers may not be aware that, at one point in time, the National Enquirer was associated with serious UFO research in spite of its reputation as a sensationalistic supermarket tabloid. In 1972, the Enquirer put together what they called “The National Enquirer Blue Ribbon UFO Panel,” which was made up of five UFO researchers, all of whom held PhDs. The Enquirer was offering a $50,000 reward for proof, by the end of the year, that UFOs came from space and were not a natural phenomenon. The panel was tasked with evaluating UFO cases to determine if any of them provided such proof. The panel members included four consultants for the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization, and Dr. J. Allen Hynek, a scientific consultant for the Air Force’s UFO investigation for most of its existence. All of them had good reputations within the UFO community, and the reader may wonder why they would put those at risk by being associated with the Enquirer in such an endeavor. It’s likely that the prospect of getting some of their research funded by the Enquirer may have helped them to put aside any aversions, and the assignment in 1975 of Bob Pratt to the Enquirer UFO desk, who became respected as an investigator in his own right, may have encouraged them to continue their association. Read more →