More than half a million outraged letters haven't yet convinced Discovery executives to cancel their fall show "Sarah Palin's Alaska," The Learning Channel's homage to the wild wonders of the 49th state brought to you by the woman who would to destroy them. What the letters may have have done, however, is persuaded the film crew to operate in stealth mode -- much like the wolves Palin so enjoys brutally hunting from the air above. (Sign a letter here.)
An Alaska local radio station, KTNA, reported last week that out-of-state film crews descended on Talkeetna, a small town at the edge of Denali National Park, to film the ex-governor and her family at the Alaska Mountaineering School taking lessons on glacier travel and climbing. The show's producer denied reporters an interview and the station writes, "Secrecy surrounded the production as locally hired people work under strict confidentiality agreements." The Queen of Twitter may have let the cat out of the bag though, letting fans know that she planned to climb a "sliver of Denali." In old-school Palin style, however, she rather confused the issue by referring to the "Sweet-tooth" peak, which doesn't exist, when she likely meant the "Sugar-tooth," which does exists but is not a Denali route, according to the station. (Geez, you've 140 characters girl! Get 'em right.)
Whether Palin's garble was planned or a fine example of her sharp intellect, who cares really. What matters is that the show is traipsing forward -- around Denali National Park no less, a place where up to 100 wolves take refuge from the hunting, trapping and habitat degradation that follows them around elsewhere. Not to mention that Denali's glacier and surrounding area, like much of Alaska's terrain, is gravely threatened by global warming, as rising temperatures drastically alter the ecological features of the park. It's good that we have Sarah Palin -- a rabid global warming denier who (via Twitter, again) blamed environmentalists for the Gulf oil spill -- showcasing its beauty to a national audience.
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Still, executives have been feeling the heat from protests about the show, according to the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, which is running the protest campaign. After a shareholders meeting, they apparently revised its description to step back from the "nature" aspect. They are now calling it "character-driven" and note that it will not contain "politics, policy or advocacy" nor will it endorse any natural resource policies. Whatever her role, Palin is still making big bucks from her appearance -- apparently $250,000 a pop for 8 episodes, according to Forbes.
It could be worse. The crews could be filming in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, a sanctuary Palin has long fought to open up to oil drilling destruction. It's not too late to stop them from filming anywhere, however. You can sign the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund petition, and tell Discovery to drop the show. In changing the description on the site, executives have shown they are vulnerable to pressure. Sign here.
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