Beyond The Fray has released its second book by journalist and author Mike Damante “Above the Fold and the Fringe: How UAPs Became Mainstream News.”
“Above the Fold and the Fringe: How UAPs Became Mainstream News” goes behind the scenes of the infamous New York Times article, and examines the history of UAPs in news media, and explores the significance of the impact these stories can and have had. Written by author and journalist Damante, the interviews for this book dive deep with the journalists behind some of the biggest UAP stories like the New York Times Leslie Kean and Ralph Blumenthal, POLITICO’s Bryan Bender, KLAS-TV’s George Knapp, Popular Mechanics Tim McMillan, and others, learn how the news industry works, and get insight into some of the biggest paranormal stories ever. The book also looks at some of the important figures who have culturally and historically changed the conversation on UAPs for the better with exclusive interviews with Jacques Vallee, Luis Elizondo, Whitley Strieber, Tom DeLonge, William Shatner, Jeffrey Kripal, Colm Kelleher, and military witnesses.
UFOs were once relegated to headlines in small town newspapers, or an occasional nightly news segment with little to no follow-up. The stigma was that little green spacemen were flying spaceships in our sky, but we couldn’t quite prove anything, and the topic remained on the fringe. But something changed, and now the Pentagon and other world institutions are taking notice. The power of the media played a huge role in mainstreaming stories of UAPs. So, how did we get here?
On Dec. 17. 2017 there was a seismic paradigm shift in how UAP stories were viewed by the mainstream. A New York Times story on the Pentagon’s secret program to study UAPs created an environment where credible stories can be accepted by large news outlets, and in turn, created a public discourse for a once taboo topic. How did the common populace come around to a phenomenon that has been reported all the way back to ancient scriptures until now?
The book aims to be educational and informative with an included journalism 101 primer to help guide the reader through an engaging look at the news, and how it helps shape our society.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mike Damante is a freelance journalist, author, and communications specialist. He is the author of the 2021 coffee table book “Hey Suburbia: A Guide To The Emo/Pop-Punk Rise.” Damante is the author of the non-fiction trilogy of the paranormal “Punk rock and UFOs” series “Punk rock and UFOs: Stranger Than Fiction,"(released by Beyond The Fray) “Punk rock and UFOs: True Believers" and "Punk Rock and UFOs: Cryptozoology Meets Anarchy." He also wrote the YA fiction novel “Pumpkin Spice and Nothing Nice.”
He worked at the Houston Chronicle as a copy editor, web producer, and features writer. He’s covered events and wrote about NBA All-Star Weekend, the American Hockey League, the NHL and NBA, pop culture/music, “weird” news, The X-Games, San Diego Comic Con, The Warped Tour, Wizard World Comic Con, and many more. He currently is the writer and editor of a pop culture and paranormal site punkrockandufos.com. He’s also written for Innovation Map, Debrief.org, and other sites.
He’s appeared on USA Today, FOX 26 Houston, Spectrum News Austin, Coast To Coast AM, Den of Geek, Hi My Name Is Mark, the Mike Herrera podcast, Somewhere in the Skies, and countless other TV, radio and podcast programs.
Some praise for Damante’s work through the years:
“DAMANTE has a sharp eye, a quick mind, and brings a distinct whiff of much-needed punk attitude to the oft-berated fields of UFOs and the paranormal.” GEORGE KNAPP, legendary investigative journalist at KLAS-TV, host of Coast To Coast AM
“His many years of experience as a journalist translate well into Mike’s most compelling and interesting style of writing.” – KEVIN DAY air intercept controller (AIC) aboard the Princeton / key witness of the Tic-Tac UAP Nimitz incident.
“ DAMANTE’s nuanced understanding of how the phenomena weaves its way into our collective psyche is unparalleled.” SEAN CAHILL, retired US Navy Chief Master-At-Arms and key witness to the Nimitz Tic-Tac UFO encounter.
ABOUT BEYOND THE FRAY
Beyond The Fray Publishing is the brainchild of acclaimed paranormal researcher Shannon LeGro and USA Today bestselling author G. Michael Hopf.
Beyond The Fray is a brand that caters specifically to the paranormal and true crime genres. The imprint has released over 70 books since forming in 2020.
If you are a fan of academia and paranormal, Mike Damante’s previous book “Punk rock and UFOs: Stranger Than Fiction” features exclusive interviews with Travis Taylor, Leslie Kean, Tom DeLonge, Peter Levenda, Kevin Day, Sean Cahill, Diana Pasulka, Jeffrey Kripal, and the producers of “Unidentified.” Order now.