Comments on: Another Example of the Media Screwing Up the Facts http://www.aneclecticmind.com/2009/01/13/another-example-of-the-media-screwing-up-the-facts/ Web site and blog for Maria Langer, freelance writer, commercial helicopter pilot, and serious amateur photographer. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:33:08 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Maria Langer http://www.aneclecticmind.com/2009/01/13/another-example-of-the-media-screwing-up-the-facts/#comment-3686 Maria Langer Sat, 19 Jun 2010 00:59:07 +0000 http://www.aneclecticmind.com/2009/01/13/another-example-of-the-media-screwing-up-the-facts/#comment-3686 <a href="#comment-3685" rel="nofollow">@Jim Mathews</a> This reminds me a bit of an accident back in 2005 in Scottsdale in which the pilot, faced with an engine failure, neglected to do a proper autorotation. The wreckage clearly indicated that the blades weren't spinning much by the time the aircraft reached the ground. The owner of the aircraft stated to the media that the freewheeling unit had failed, thus causing the blades to stop when the engine did. This was the owners attempt to place blame on the manufacturer rather than any pilot or maintenance problem. The media, of course, picked it up and repeated it several times. This statement to the media was made within hours of the crash, before any examination of the wreckage had been done. It was also wrong. By the time the truth was known, the story was cold and the media had gone onto other things. The result: the general public is left with the notion that when the engine on a helicopter fails, the blades stop and it crashes. Do you know how that affects local helicopter charter operators? Anyway, thanks for stopping by the blog. Hope you come again! @Jim Mathews
This reminds me a bit of an accident back in 2005 in Scottsdale in which the pilot, faced with an engine failure, neglected to do a proper autorotation. The wreckage clearly indicated that the blades weren’t spinning much by the time the aircraft reached the ground. The owner of the aircraft stated to the media that the freewheeling unit had failed, thus causing the blades to stop when the engine did. This was the owners attempt to place blame on the manufacturer rather than any pilot or maintenance problem. The media, of course, picked it up and repeated it several times. This statement to the media was made within hours of the crash, before any examination of the wreckage had been done. It was also wrong. By the time the truth was known, the story was cold and the media had gone onto other things. The result: the general public is left with the notion that when the engine on a helicopter fails, the blades stop and it crashes.

Do you know how that affects local helicopter charter operators?

Anyway, thanks for stopping by the blog. Hope you come again!

]]> By: Jim Mathews http://www.aneclecticmind.com/2009/01/13/another-example-of-the-media-screwing-up-the-facts/#comment-3685 Jim Mathews Fri, 18 Jun 2010 16:13:26 +0000 http://www.aneclecticmind.com/2009/01/13/another-example-of-the-media-screwing-up-the-facts/#comment-3685 Your point is well-taken, and I agree, CNN screwed up here. But they didn't screw up by "speculating," which is the sin The Media is always accused of committing. They screwed up by accepting, at face value and without skepticism or question, the assertion that this helicopter had a rudder. Note the attribution was to a unversity statement. Obviously, the PR person who drafted the statement for the university is dumb as a box of rocks. And the reporter in this instance was ignorant because he/she/it never bothered to ask questions about the statement. "Uh, in your statement, you blame the 'rudder.' Sir/Madam, how can you say that, since A) helicopters don't have rudders and B) this crash just happened and hasn't been investigated yet?" There was a time when journalists did that. Now they just do their hair so they look nice on TV... Yes, I'm coming to this a year late, but what the heck! Nice blog! Your point is well-taken, and I agree, CNN screwed up here. But they didn’t screw up by “speculating,” which is the sin The Media is always accused of committing. They screwed up by accepting, at face value and without skepticism or question, the assertion that this helicopter had a rudder.

Note the attribution was to a unversity statement. Obviously, the PR person who drafted the statement for the university is dumb as a box of rocks. And the reporter in this instance was ignorant because he/she/it never bothered to ask questions about the statement. “Uh, in your statement, you blame the ‘rudder.’ Sir/Madam, how can you say that, since A) helicopters don’t have rudders and B) this crash just happened and hasn’t been investigated yet?”

There was a time when journalists did that. Now they just do their hair so they look nice on TV…

Yes, I’m coming to this a year late, but what the heck! Nice blog!

]]> By: Keith Gill http://www.aneclecticmind.com/2009/01/13/another-example-of-the-media-screwing-up-the-facts/#comment-2249 Keith Gill Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:29:04 +0000 http://www.aneclecticmind.com/2009/01/13/another-example-of-the-media-screwing-up-the-facts/#comment-2249 So true. We recently did a media day flight demonstration of various "air assets", specifically our helicopters and fixed wing fire bombers in South Australia. A television crew approached me for an interview and started setting up. I declined the interview and suggested they talk to the other pilot. I was going to be talking to the Premier of the State who was waiting to climb into the cockpit with me. The television reporter asked me if I had an aversion to talking on television? I told her that I had never seen a single story reported on television where I had a knowledge of the facts that wasn't inaccurate,misquoted or presented out of context to enable the news to put forth a story of their choosing rather than what was actually intended by the person being interviewed. The Premier and I climbed in the helicopter and he smiled at me and said, " that was good " <abbr><em>Keith Gill´s last blog post: <a href="http://heligypsy.wordpress.com/2009/01/11/flying-seismic/" rel="nofollow">Flying Seismic</a></em></abbr> So true. We recently did a media day flight demonstration of various “air assets”, specifically our helicopters and fixed wing fire bombers in South Australia. A television crew approached me for an interview and started setting up. I declined the interview and suggested they talk to the other pilot. I was going to be talking to the Premier of the State who was waiting to climb into the cockpit with me.

The television reporter asked me if I had an aversion to talking on television? I told her that I had never seen a single story reported on television where I had a knowledge of the facts that wasn’t inaccurate,misquoted or presented out of context to enable the news to put forth a story of their choosing rather than what was actually intended by the person being interviewed.

The Premier and I climbed in the helicopter and he smiled at me and said, ” that was good ”

Keith Gill´s last blog post: Flying Seismic

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