Outdoor TV producer and host Melissa Bachman has been forced off the upcoming National Geographic Channel reality series “Ultimate Survivor Alaska,” the cable channel announced on Friday. What’s the reason? Well, it’s because Melissa is a hunter.
The channel said that Ms. Bachman will no longer be a participant in the new series after an online petition started by Tim Martell, a Florida resident, protesting her involvement went viral and it received more than 13,000 signatures in less than 24 hours.
Protests and threatened boycotts are nothing new. But things happen very fast these days, thanks to the instant clout of social media and the fact that corporate executives are quick to surrender to noisy internet rebellions for fear of having the online wrath transferred directly onto them.
After Nat Geo’s decision was announced, the hunting community soon began making its own voice heard. Field & Stream weighed in, pointing out the absurdity of a show dealing with survival in Alaska that somehow doesn’t include hunting.
Image courtesy MelissaBachman.com
Melissa grew up hunting with her family in Minnesota. After earning her college degree, she became a producer for the “North American Hunter” program. She has traveled the world working on hunting shows and spends much of her free time in the field. Some have criticized her for not being a real hunter. This is off-base. She is the real deal and the successful effort to get her off this show was, in a sense, an attack on all who enjoy the sport and understand the significant contribution hunters make toward conservation.
The odds of getting Melissa Bachman back on “Ultimate Survivor Alaska” may not be great and one has to question how much reality could there be in this reality show. Still, we encourage hunters and those in our industry to make their voices heard. Contact the National Geographic Channel at comments@natgeochannel.com and let them know what you think. Why be quiet?
No matter what, we’re very sure that we have not heard the last of Melissa Bachman. Maybe this outburst and preemptive censorship will become the basis for her to play a starring role in a new and far better cable television program.
I think NAT GEO is a tree hugger just like every anti-hunter activist. They may not let her be on the show but you can bet she will never stop hunting. Hunter Activist’s are a CANCER without a cure. Nothing else to do but sit around and cry that we are hunting.
Republihicks are cancer of the Earth because they’re anti-environment, they cut down forests, allow poaching and drill for oil.
You say:
”
Hunter Activist’s are a CANCER without a cure. ”
You just admitted that hunters activist (people who defend hunting) are CANCER without a cure.
That is true, they want to destroy everything.
promoting in sadism and disturbing wilderness causing animals to lose fear to humans.
Are you illiterate?
You surely are
illiterate.
At least I’m more rational than you.
Illiterate, ignorant, and illogical. Republicans are not anti-environment, you moron. We are the ones who manage and preserve our resources while you tree hugging marxist flat earthers sit around whining about some poor rat that may have to relocate to a different hole. Trees are a renewable resource.For every tree that is cut, at least one tree is replanted.
Poaching is illegal and immoral and will not be tolerated by any ethical hunter.
As for drilling for oil, how is that anti-environment?
You should consider getting professional help. Your vegetarian diet is depriving your brain of essential nutrients. You are a vegetarian, aren’t you? Or are you another hypocrite that hates hunters but eats meat from the grocery store because you think it was manufactured from soy protein and red food coloring?
Your the one believing in god, not me, Most hunters are hardcore Christians and you’re the one who needs help.
Bashing at vegetarian just show how stupid and self-centered you hicks are all are.
You need to be caned to be disciplined.
Hunters ARE all anti environmentalist, Why conservaturds are all anti-environment, want drilling in ANWR and deauthorize critical habitat for endangered species means allowing logging, hunting and farming in endangered habitat.
Get an education you close minded religious anthropocentric buttsnatcher,
I see soo many hicks saying god put animals for our use, how sick and delusional is that?
Idiots using things that doesn’t exist and made up fairy tales for adults to indulge in sadism?
Is just as nut as saying The grinch told me to rob a store example.
You hicks support Turd Nugget who is a republitrash and poached several times.
All source about politician background from ontheissues, a site that takes NO sides.
http://www.zaxtor.net/AHAAE.htm (The true image of sport hunters aka lobbyists profiteers)
Paul Ryan is a scumbag hunter who wants to allow poaching.
I for one will be blocking NatGeo channels. No more Border Wars, Wild Justice or Alaska State Troopers for me. I hope that their viewership crashes.
I think I will add Nat Geo to my TV channels …..”not to watch”. Next it will be ….if you eat chicken, we will ban you !
ok!!! Let’s not watch Nat Geo in response!!As Hunters we have to respond and demonstrate our disappointment with them!!!
Start a petition to ban Nat Geo from broadcast TV, I watched a lot of there shows and was looking forward to the new gun show but I’ll find another station. I thought NAt Geo had some balls and would stand up to little special interest groups. I spent about half my TV time watching there shows but no more for me..Nat got no Geo’s dump’um…
I don’t usually watch nat geo anyhow, so now I won’t be watching them at all. I just love Melissa Bachman and she is an awesome huntress and good looking woman too. so yeah I’ll be following her. to hell with nat geo. and to hell with Tim Martell whoever the hell he is.
Tim Martell is probably a PETA stooge
NAT GEO is now blocked on our tv sets. My old knees keep me from hunting anymore but I will whatever is necessary to make sure that the Melissas can keep on hunting
I sent my email…
Martell got his Trophy. Alaska makes plenty of revenue collecting taxes on its resources. Part of the American Problem is flinching every time someone or group advocates abandoning our core and traditional practices. Hunting, an issue National Geographic reports on frequently, is a large part of “promoting the conservation of the world’s cultural, historical, and natural resources.” Hunting and Fishing are industries that support not only many economies but also the conservation of game animals and their habitats.
Start a counter petition.
i liked nat geo too…….oh well, have to remove it from my favs list…….
You just prove like all hunters you USE people. bunch of lobbyists.
Quit being soo selfish, you have your hunting channels and how come they don’t allow non hunting shows?
Quit being soo bitter.
Reality shows are ruining TV.
Little reality show is ok but too much turns channel into random shows playing unskilled channels. Makes TV suck balls.
This is the most
ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Since when did National geographic let
anti-hunting activists, and terrorists run their show, and why are you listening
to the loud mouthed minority instead of the vast silent
majority??
I am very disappointed in
you guys.
I’m very disappointed with Nat Geo, hunting is an important part of our American culture especially important to the Alaskan way of life.
Way of life???
How sick is that.
Just because is a culture it doesn’t mean is always right.
In the past black slavery was a way of life and part of AMERICAN heritage.
Does it mean is right?
It.s a shame that our fellow hunter Melissa Bachman got censored by Nat Geo!! I have been a fan of National Geographic for years, but I will no longer support any any of their endevors!! Nat Geo do you think the liberal left will stand behind you like America’s conservationalists the hunters and stewerrts of of land. Being from Alabama , all I can say is a southern man don’t need yall around anyway. We love you Melissa, keep showing them what America is really all about!!
How can they have an Alaska Survival Show and not have hunting or hunters on it? I sent them an email and posted this on Facebook asking each of my friends to send one. If we can show Nat Geo that hunter and and outdoors people care more than the anti’s do they may change their stand! It may not get Melissa Bachman back on the show but it may get their attention enough not to do this in the future! Please post and send them an email! After their sponsers see the drop in people watching and they start jumping ship they will change their attitude!
How absurd to release a hunter from a survivor show. Makes you realize how fake these shows really are. Well just like tracer bullets work both ways so does the internet. Nat Geo , you can bet that every hunter within computer reach will hear about this within the next few hours. The hunting world is a massive family and we stick together like glue !!
For all hunters Why don’t YOU keep YOUR dumb uneducated reality shows on your own outdoors channel?
NAT GEO supposes to be a EDUCATIVE channel not these stupid reality shows and killing, promoting sadism not education.
This uneducative trash should stay off of NAT GEO.
I do believe you are illiterate……..
Nat Geo is supposed to be all “real”. Now they are part fake! Animals kill other animals and sometimes your precious plants to eat, so why can’t humans do it?
That is the most uneducated and stupidest question EVAR.
Sportsmen kills for sport, grinning aroused near dead animals.
Killing for sport, trophy is sadism.
Animals kills for SURVIVAL
If you hunt for survival and food is ok as long you don’t make a big deal out of it nor killing rare species.
I am sure that ungrateful bimbo doesn’t eat most of her hunted species.
You eat plants too so stop being a selfish hypocrite. No wonder why you get bashed at because you’re selfish and close minded.
Learn how to spell and make sentences that make sense, also hunting is for the sport and the food.
You are an idiot. Hunters do more for conservation, the environment and to protect and keep game herds healthy strong than ignorant assholes like you have and will ever do.
Hunters don’t care.
They are lobbyist.
The lobbyist selfish sportsmen are soo called anthropocentric environmentalism
(which is concerned with conservation of the environment only for exploitation by and for human purposes) or otherwise they let it go extinct. Sportsmen inbreds never help species with no huntable species. They are the takers not the givers, they do it for profit and selfish desires. Using is not caring, hicks rely on religion.
Majorities of sportsmen are Christian and or hardcore Christian they don’t care for animals. They treat them as resource because their stupid unrealistic and unscientific religion says so, they can’t think for themselves for a minute and they enslave themselves with Jesus and nonsense like god, they never met the morons who wrote the bible.
USSA (No I don’t talk about USSA as “United States Ski and Snowboard Association”), I talk about the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance who are all scums of the Earth don’t help rainforests, they don’t help hotspots such as Madagascar and other places that needs urgent help. Some hunting group makes 140 millions dollars and they waste it by using it to defend hunting instead of donating to help endangered species and make the world a better place. NRA who and all its members are scumbags are filthy rich, NRA has a quarter of a billion and they waste it on stupid crap instead of using it to save wetlands, save rainforests and save endangered species.
NRA another group of scumbags who has a quarter of a billion USD waste of crap instead of donating all this cash to make the world a better place.
They are all lobbyist and profiteers.
I soo don’t trust profiteers.
Hunters do NOT help injure wildlife, they obsess on pro-use, stewardship and other religious nonsense.
This idiot writes like an 8 year old. Has absolutely no idea what hunters are about. Don’t be so sure that the “bimbo” doesn’t eat what she kills. Hunters don’t waste our meat. If we don’t eat it, we donate it to charities that put it to good use. Do yourself a favor and go back to the Bronies page. I’m sorry to see you are a parent. An idiot like you raising children is terrifying.
If you want them to hear, become their friend on facebook and post these comments there. It will get their attention!!!
It saddens me to see such a fine organization as NGO bow to the anti hunter activists online campaign.
Truly social media has the power to sway minds when common logic sense should say ” This is a survival show in Alaska depicting real life”
I would think there are more hunters and anglers in Alaska per capita than any other state or province in North America.
Unfortunately a biased public opinion from online counts more than the viewers watching this program.
Shame on you NGO
Survival show…..Alaska……”no hunting involvement”?? You’d think that the producers would have some level of common sense. A shame they let a minority like this dictate the shape of their program. This is a “reality” show. Apparently they don’t want “reality”. Melissa Bachman would be a huge asset to this program. I have the good fortune to have met her and she is the real deal. And, very passionate about what she does. I will be sending my comments to the NatGeo email listed above.
NatGeo said this is consistent with their normal policy. They are anti-hunting by policy and this simply brought it to their attention.
Regardless of which side of the issue you’re on, and whatever the issue is, people need to stop getting so emotional and start being more rational. That’s one of the biggest problems with our country today; everyone responds emotionally instead of rationally and unfortunately our politicians are responding to their overly emotional constituents.
Nat Geo sucks. How can they cave on this issue? I’ll never watch or read them again.
How in the hell can someone be considered an ‘Ultimate Survivor’ if they cannot even ‘Hunt for Food’?? Splain me that Lucy! ~SMFH~
I have been noting an increased ‘Liberal’ slant to most of the articles in the National Geographic magazine (whether it is the incessant references to ‘Global Warming’ or other equally aggravatng slanted comments).
Removing Melissa Bachman from the ‘Reality Show’ “Ultimate Alaskan Survivor” show how unconcerned the producers really are with anything remotely related to reality.
I think I have just reached my tolerance limit with National Geographic’s swing to the unfounded ‘Science’ they seem determined to promote. When my current subscription expires, I will not be renewing; and my family will not be subjected to the outdoor programs and ‘phoney-science’ programs they used to be forced to watch.
It saddens me to see how politics have so polluted realistic programming.
Goodbye NGO
Its pretty crazy what lengths some will go to when they r scared…oh no she is a hunter so she will win on the show so let’s get rid of her…go to hell guy in florida!!! Top shot should pick her up its a far more superior show with better ratings anyways!!!
email sent, now I need a list of the show’s sponsors so that I can send them an email too.
Ethicalone- First off as hunters we are against poaching because it is 1.Illegal 2. ruins the animal population for us to hunt and 3. it is usually done in an inhumane way. And we are not for cutting down forests because it takes away from our games habitat which in the end puts a decrease on game for us to hunt. And as far as being sadists you far from the truth, it is our job as RESPONSIBLE hunters to make good clean shots (ie in the vitals so it makes a clean and quick kill). And if you want to accuse of being against the environment and for the poaching of animals you might want to get your facts straight by researching all of the wild life game conservation agencies out there here are a few to start with Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Mule Deer Foundation, National Wild Turkey Federation, Quality Deer Management Association, International Bowhunting Organization, Quail Unlimited, and the Safari Club International to just name a few.
You’re attempting a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent. Idiots like that don’t want to be bothered with facts. They have their own little fantasy about why we are evil. They see all animals as equals to humans, therefore should not be killed. I’ll be glad when they starve themselves into extinction, or at least stop reproducing.
Maybe she can find a slot on Glenn Becks new channel on Dish??
Maybe this outburst and preemptive censorship will become the basis for her to play a starring role in a new and far better cable television program. What if the majority started watching it instead of Ultimate Survivor and Nat Geo?