2003-2004 Winner

Mr. Bruce Mohun
Mohun’s Moving Picture Company
Vancouver, BC

Winner of the Gordin Kaplan Award Lecture

The Canadian Federation of Biological Societies (CFBS) is very pleased to announce that Mr. Bruce Mohun, Mohun’s Moving Picture Company, Vancouver, BC, is the 2004 recipient of the Gordin Kaplan Award. The Award is in recognition of his contributions in public awareness through the media. Mr. Mohun presented the Gordin Kaplan Award Lecture at the First Northern Lights Summer Conference, CFBS 47th Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC June, 2004. The title of the lecture was "Winning Dan’s Attention!" and was accompanied with interesting video clips of some of his interviews.

Dr. Sandy Clanachan , CFBS Incoming President, presented Mr. Mohun with the Gordin Kaplan award.

Abstract of the Presented Lecture:
Dan's full name is "Discovery Dan" and he is a mock-up of the viewer The Discovery Channel in Canada now wants to attract. Dan is a 30-year-old primary school graduate who enjoys changing the oil in his classic Cuda and washing down ketchup-flavored ripple chips with a rum and coke. This explains why we no longer see intelligent science documentaries on Discovery Channel. This explains why we are seeing shows like "Monster Garage" and "Monster Truck".

Television has long believed that if you use the word "science" on the air, the average Joe - or Dan - will turn to another channel. Television shies away from real science and looks instead for what network managers call the "Wow" Factor: like, the world's biggest crane, or a boy with two heads, or sasquatches or anything at all having to do with murder. (Man-eating tigers and sharks fall into this category, to the benefit of biologists.)

To get some air time for the important discoveries of real scientists (not crypto-zoologists) requires subtle sleight-of-hand and some careful writing. This lecture pointed out the methods science producers (and biologists) need to use to get science stories onto television.