I'm always quite shocked at the hatred and contempt which inevitably arises when the media and journos are discussed - especially on PPRuNe. We seem to be the new lawyers or accountants, or even traffic wardens. I can understand the reaction, to a certain extent.
I can see that aviation is seldom well served by the media, which does have too strong a 'generalist tradition' which does not help in accurate, insightful reporting of what may be complex, technical issues.
There are few specialised aviation correspondents in the general news media, and some highly respected specialised aviation magazines sometimes seem to be little more than rehashed company press releases, often with little analysis or expert comment, and sometimes flawed with errors.
But for the benefeit of Flying Lawyer, Hoverman and Virgin can I offer some reassurance. Were I merely looking for a set of 'rentaquotes' I could have gone and written my piece days ago. I want a broad and representative mix of 'expert' views (including informed speculation, there's nothing wrong with that) and I don't expect to come up with anything terribly sensationalist. I may well not even reach a conclusion, but only report an unresolved debate about factors which may have contributed to an accident. My piece will be balanced, and will reflect the fact that not everyone agrees with what I might believe. I would challenge anyone to point to any article in which I have 'unhelpfully' quoted (or even unhelpfully plagiarised) from PPRuNe or even to accuse me of being other than aviation friendly, and sympathetic to the broad needs and aims of the aerospace community. There are some media good guys, and I hope that I'm one of them!
I'm not especially looking to 'expose' any alleged cover-up, I'm just looking for some answers that aren't given in the official report - and let's not forget that there is some scepticism even among aircrew that this will tell the whole unvarnished truth. I want to fill in the gaps, let my readers know more about this fascinating debate, and reflect that there may be some vague unease in certain quarters, and no more than that.
You may believe that the vast bulk of the media/Press is fickle, because some journos have annoyed you, but to generalise like this would be as silly as it would for me to generalise about all pilots based on the actions of those few who may have annoyed me. I'm still saying 'Well done, BA.' and I've never yet 'revelled in scare-mongering stories about Concorde being a death-trap', nor did I ever call for its immediate grounding - quite the reverse.
Why should people help the Press? Well to help ensure that journos have no excuse for not getting their facts right, and to ensure that there is the best possible chance of the media 'getting it right', for starters, and to encourage greater air mindedness in the general population. Your belief that the end-product is bound to be unfavourable to the industry is, in my view, unduly pessimistic, and I hope to prove you wrong.
In this specific case, there seems to be a real worry that some pertinent factors may have been overlooked, and that these should be highlighted, if only so that they can serve as potential flight safety lessons.
Covenant made the point that brainstorming by an 'eclectic group such as this' could be of value in ensuring that no stone is left unturned and no possibility left unexplored, and I can only add that this might be even more useful if there is even the slightest suspicion of the accident report having been produced with political or other considerations in mind. If the widest possible audience are aware of this professional disquiet, and if there is a media spotlight, then it makes it more difficult for anyone involved to get away with anything vaguely shabby.
Please give this journo, at least, the benefeit of the doubt.