Media10 Sep 1993

The X-Files premieres on Fox

A display of Fox Mulder's office set from The X-Files Marcin Wichary from San Francisco, U.S.A., CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Fox premiered Chris Carter's drama The X-Files, in which a skeptic and a believer investigate unexplained phenomena. It ran to 2002, and its 1996 Peabody citation said it prompted viewers to discuss unexplained phenomena and the motives of government officials.

Evidence

Significance

Sources

OtherThe X-Files (show page) (opens in a new tab)Television Academy Foundation, The Interviews
OtherThe X-Files (1996 award profile) (opens in a new tab)Peabody Awards / 1996

How sources are chosen and tiered

15 Nov 1977Media

Close Encounters of the Third Kind premieres

Steven Spielberg's film Close Encounters of the Third Kind had its premiere in New York. Its title uses a term coined by Northwestern University astronomer J. Allen Hynek, who was credited as a technical adviser. The Library of Congress added the film to the National Film Registry in 2007.

Evidence

Significance

16 Dec 2017Media

AATIP revealed by the New York Times

The New York Times reported that the Pentagon had run a little-known Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, funded with about $22 million from 2008 to 2011. The story ran with two Navy videos and said Luis Elizondo had led the program.

Evidence

Significance

26 May 2019Media

NYT: 'Wow, What Is That?' Navy pilots report unexplained objects

The New York Times published on-record accounts from Navy F/A-18 pilots, including Lt. Ryan Graves and Lt. Danny Accoin, of objects seen almost daily off the East Coast in 2014-2015, including a near collision. The Navy said it was updating its guidance for reporting such sightings.

Evidence

Significance

31 Mar 2020Media

The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch premieres

History premiered The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch, a series following a team funded by owner Brandon Fugal, including astrophysicist Travis Taylor, as it investigates reported phenomena at the Utah ranch. It has continued for several seasons.

Evidence

Significance