MYSTERY MAN
Veteran TV journalist Harris’ new investigation: Extraterrestrials
THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE Tuesday, 10 p.m., History
FORMER CNN journalist Tony Harris is venturing off the beaten path for his new series “The Truth is Out There.”
The series looks at mysterious and unexplained news stories from around the world, including audio footage of unidentified creatures and UFOs.
In each episode, Harris consults with experts to determine which stories are hoaxes — and which have deeper explanations.
Based in Atlanta, Harris was previously a news anchor with Al Jazeera English, Investigative Discovery and “Entertainment Tonight.” During his career at CNN (2003-2010) he co-anchored the network’s weekend news shows and “CNN Newsroom.”
Harris, 53, answered some questions about “The Proof is Out There.”
What drew you to this show?
I’m one of the rare people on television who’s had a couple of occasions where development people for big channels have said, “We want to work with you; be patient until we find the project.” This is one of those happy stories where a couple of development people at A&E said, “We want to do something with you, do you have any interest in the extraterrestrial / UFO space?” I said I do from a standpoint that I’m really curious about whether or not we’re alone in the universe.
How does your background in hard news help you with these more out-there topics?
This was a real effort at doing some real investigations, and they saw me as being important to that process because of my credibility. They didn’t want me rubberstamping stuff for the sake of “This is crazy television!”
Why is this subject matter im
portant to cover?
On an individual basis, maybe the biggest question is, “Who am I?” But then the next question is “Who am I in the universe?” and “Are we alone in the universe; is there other intelligent life out there?” If you’re a journalist, you’re fortunate if you get an opportunity to take on the big questions. It seems to me it’s fertile ground. I take a look at the news... and The New York Post ran a piece about a Harvard professor who’s releasing a book in a couple weeks about a [mysterious] event that took place in 2017. There is so much material in this space we have to work through. The way I view the show, we’re sort of a culling house. We’re working through the stuff that’s nonsense and hoaxes. When we find an event that we can verify, that’s when the real fun begins.
The show also covers conspiracy theories and unexplained phenomenon
This is a space that’s rife with conspiracy theories. We take a look at some of the theories that are out there surrounding these clips and say “This is nonsense.” But when the show really takes off is when we have an event that we can verify that’s not subject to alterations or trickery. But there is no doubt that we see ourselves as doing a bit of a [public] service and knocking down some of these conspiracy theories.