Here are 3 National Geo videos I watched that used only SI throughout. Amazing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCDv-mNJT7s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N01U435YhfY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3LevjGEbZw (with Viet-Namese subtitles! :-) Ezra ----- Original Message ----- From: "Carleton MacDonald" <[email protected]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, September 3, 2013 9:52:56 AM Subject: [USMA:53224] RE: Has National Geographic switched to metric on TV? Unlike the AP, they do have the correct symbol for kilometers per hour. Carleton From: Kilopascal [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, September 03, 2013 09:35 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:53222] Has National Geographic switched to metric on TV? If it is on YouTube, can you post the links so the rest of us can see? I can think of a number of reasons why. In the past if anyone wrote to National Geographic and asked them to do metric, the response they were always given was that National Geographic's primary audience was American and surveys of Americans always resulted in a demand for USC only. This may be changing and the influence of the world wanting metric is more important than the smaller US audience wanting USC. You can't ignore the world anymore. It is also possible these programs are increasingly being produced by non-Americans who use metric. The programs are then bought by National Geographic and they stick their name on it. The American narrator may just be a voice over who follows the script of a non-American. Here is National Geographic's style guide on unit use: http://stylemanual.ngs.org/home/M/metric-international-measurement METRIC AND INTERNATIONAL MEASUREMENT METRIC AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL UNITS OF MEASUREMENT N ATIONAL G EOGRAPHIC uses standard measurements except in natural history and science articles where metric, if appropriate, may be substituted. Supplement maps generally use standard measurements with metric in parentheses. Weight and measures may be abbreviated in credit lines and map notes. Such abbreviations do not take periods; plurals do not add s or es : vase 12 cm, 16 mm, f/22, 11 sq mi, three hr, 8-in snake, 11 min 30 sec, 49-yr span. Note their style guide uses incorrect symbols for hours and seconds. [USMA:53222] Has National Geographic switched to metric on TV? ezra . steinberg Mon, 02 Sep 2013 21:42:30 -0700 I've just looked at a few nature videos from National Geographic that were uploaded to YouTube and was surprised to hear all the narration using metric only. At first I thought there was British (or South African) involvement because the first narrator I heard was a Brit (or South African). But the third video had an American narrator and everything was still done in metric only. Is this a deliberate shift on the part of the National Geographic division that does nature videos? (If so, it is most welcome! And let's hope it sticks. :-) Ezra http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/msg42220.html
