The History Channel's Uninterest in History

Today I got lucky. Today when I turned on the History Channel I was able to watch something actually concerning history. More specifically, I was able to watch Hitler and the Occult, a show dedicated to Hitler's superstitious views and their effect on WWII. Unfortunately, such shows are no longer the norm on the History Channel. Instead, it is far more common to find oneself watching Ice Road Truckers, UFO Hunters, or Ax Men. Indeed, just as the news industry has polluted itself with celebrity gossip, so has the History Channel filled itself with matters totally unrelated and irrelevant to the study it is actually named after.

Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against Tougher in Alaska--and as one quite intrigued by cryptozoology, I even have some interest in Monster Quest--except that its coming between me and actual history. The problem is that most of what is run by the History Channel should actually be on the Discovery Channel. Let's face it, shows like Ice Road Truckers are only on because of the drama; the only reason its on the History Channel at all is because it provides the viewers with a "wider understanding of the world around them." Yet this show has been run for entire days without a single minute of actual history to provide some relief for dissidents such as myself.

Then of course there's Surviving History, a new show that combines the actual study of history with Mythbusters. In the show, ancient machines intended for either war or punishment are rebuilt and tested by modern engineers. While more loyal to the channel's longtime viewers, the show is still a compromise that none of us should be ready to accept. After all, if more such shows are introduced what do you think are going to be making room for it? Tougher in Alaska? Now why would they throw out something like that? No, I'm afraid that the programs that will just have to go are the ones that are actually dedicated, totally and uncomromisingly, to history. What do you mean you liked Cities of the Underworld? How can anyone stand such a boring show?

Of course even programs like Cities of the Underworld were never meant to be the focus of the History Channel. When the focus of the History Channel was history instead of entertainment, it was always documentaries that were a higher priority than regular shows, now it is exactly the opposite. Now the History Channel has abandoned its most loyal viewers in favor of higher ratings and a few more dollars. In a time when American's know less about the past than ever before, do we really need the last public foothold of true and factual history to sell out?