VB ON THE NEWS
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VB ON THE NEWS
Far from it for me to support VB but the chanel 7 report of their air return last night in Sydney was getting close to the worst reporting you see.
Pressurisation problems are not uncommon and it is hardly news worthy that they had a malfuntion and returned. All very normal thank you.
Reports they flew "VERY" low over Sydney and had to dump fuel. Well what can I say. We don't dump fuel under 6000', we can only dump fuel in an emergency, this was not an emergency & finally Mr Boeing never designed the 737 to dump fuel - its like a bloke trying to have a baby - it's got the wrong plumbing.
I guess at least they spelt their name right <img src="tongue.gif" border="0">
Pressurisation problems are not uncommon and it is hardly news worthy that they had a malfuntion and returned. All very normal thank you.
Reports they flew "VERY" low over Sydney and had to dump fuel. Well what can I say. We don't dump fuel under 6000', we can only dump fuel in an emergency, this was not an emergency & finally Mr Boeing never designed the 737 to dump fuel - its like a bloke trying to have a baby - it's got the wrong plumbing.
I guess at least they spelt their name right <img src="tongue.gif" border="0">
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Dunno if the tv stations have it in for anyone in particular but how hard is it to report the facts rather than just make it up as you go. The journo's that write this sensationalised rubbish are a joke, no a disgrace, to their profession (if you can call it a profession). I hope that there is an angle for VB to go after them and sue there @rses off. Makes you wonder how much of what we hear as we watch the evening news is fact. Or is it just a load of beefed up $hit trying to get a headline on a day when not much happened.
Would not be surprised if I opened a dictionary up one day to find the definition of incompetence explained in 2 words, ie. see journalist.
Not mad just appalled.
Onya <img src="rolleyes.gif" border="0">
Would not be surprised if I opened a dictionary up one day to find the definition of incompetence explained in 2 words, ie. see journalist.
Not mad just appalled.
Onya <img src="rolleyes.gif" border="0">
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Onya
Please dont put all journos in the same basket. I have been in the helo industry since I was 15 years old and running my own helo mag for the past three years. It is a respectable magazine and we dont go out to misquote, dramatise, or slander anyone. Yes the TV and newspaper journos are a whole different world but those of us covering aviation are professionals at what we do.
Pac Rotors
Please dont put all journos in the same basket. I have been in the helo industry since I was 15 years old and running my own helo mag for the past three years. It is a respectable magazine and we dont go out to misquote, dramatise, or slander anyone. Yes the TV and newspaper journos are a whole different world but those of us covering aviation are professionals at what we do.
Pac Rotors
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Pac Rotors,
Having had the industry exposure I'm sure you are doing a great job of the magazine of which you are associated with. I commend you. I did not set out to put all journos in the same basket just the inept few that feel the need to misquote and essentially "lie" when it comes to an aviation story just to get a headline. They may well argue that 'it's all so technical and we can't help it if something is lost in the interpretation'. If this is the case than they need to ask more questions and then actually listen for the answer.
No offence to you or any other responsible aviation journos intended.
Onya <img src="wink.gif" border="0">
Having had the industry exposure I'm sure you are doing a great job of the magazine of which you are associated with. I commend you. I did not set out to put all journos in the same basket just the inept few that feel the need to misquote and essentially "lie" when it comes to an aviation story just to get a headline. They may well argue that 'it's all so technical and we can't help it if something is lost in the interpretation'. If this is the case than they need to ask more questions and then actually listen for the answer.
No offence to you or any other responsible aviation journos intended.
Onya <img src="wink.gif" border="0">
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Have to say the greatest piece of aviation journalism I've heard recently was on a Sydney radio station about the QF 767 that exprienced engine troubles out of MEL and had to return on the remaining 3 engines ...BAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! 
With reference to the "profession" of journalism in Australia and most places for that matter. Perhaps the thread on the TV show "People Like Us" will provide an insight in to just what journalists know about aviation. <img src="smile.gif" border="0">
Although come to think of it, doesn't say much for FO knowledge of BAK either.
ANYONE can "call" themselves a journalist. In fact I know editors who will not hire Uni trained cadet's as they are too academic.
Face it, why pick up the phone to confirm facts when the GP doesn't know the difference.
NB There are some EXCELLENT aviation writers, Geoffrey included. <img src="tongue.gif" border="0">
Although come to think of it, doesn't say much for FO knowledge of BAK either.
ANYONE can "call" themselves a journalist. In fact I know editors who will not hire Uni trained cadet's as they are too academic.
Face it, why pick up the phone to confirm facts when the GP doesn't know the difference.
NB There are some EXCELLENT aviation writers, Geoffrey included. <img src="tongue.gif" border="0">
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Got to say its a pretty poor piece. Dont think anyone has it in for VB. Infact the Aus news services were very pro VB and Impulse last year. The typical 'support the underdog' thing.
You have to remember though, the only reason there is news on TV and the Papers is to make a profit for the owners. TV News sells advertising in the Ads. Thats all. Some do it better than others but the bottom line is get the punter to watch, and hope they watch the ads in the middle.
This sort of report is sensationalised and crappy, but it sells.
You have to remember though, the only reason there is news on TV and the Papers is to make a profit for the owners. TV News sells advertising in the Ads. Thats all. Some do it better than others but the bottom line is get the punter to watch, and hope they watch the ads in the middle.
This sort of report is sensationalised and crappy, but it sells.
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mud skipper + onya
you are confusing newspaper/television journo's with the rest of the industry - like sheep and lions....not quite the same league.
professional magazines and journals HAVE to conform to a higher level of accuracy and credibility to satisfy their audience/market/subscribers or just get laughed into bankruptcy,
the newspaper clods dont because they cater for all and sundry (sundry includes the village idiot) and the TV types just have to look good....how many times while watching a pretty or handsome face read the news have you cringed at some blatantly thick comment and thought "jeez thats dumb , everyone knows that".....or read some column in the daily that was so full of doggy kahkah that you wondered if the writer was pulling your leg or something.....personally I know 2 people from both catagories and they are longtime friends but each approaches their job with almost opposite methods/styles.
other good comparisons -
taxi or courier driver/grandpa in kingswood going to TAB
yachties/people that pay their invoices
....etc..etc..
you are confusing newspaper/television journo's with the rest of the industry - like sheep and lions....not quite the same league.
professional magazines and journals HAVE to conform to a higher level of accuracy and credibility to satisfy their audience/market/subscribers or just get laughed into bankruptcy,
the newspaper clods dont because they cater for all and sundry (sundry includes the village idiot) and the TV types just have to look good....how many times while watching a pretty or handsome face read the news have you cringed at some blatantly thick comment and thought "jeez thats dumb , everyone knows that".....or read some column in the daily that was so full of doggy kahkah that you wondered if the writer was pulling your leg or something.....personally I know 2 people from both catagories and they are longtime friends but each approaches their job with almost opposite methods/styles.
other good comparisons -
taxi or courier driver/grandpa in kingswood going to TAB
yachties/people that pay their invoices
....etc..etc..
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The first thing they learn at journo school is how to talk in cliches.
eg,
Crippled plane,
Dumped fuel,
Plummetted after hitting airpocket,
Terrified passengers,
Witnesses say a fireball,
Etc, need I say more. Remind you of a Channel 10 news report?
eg,
Crippled plane,
Dumped fuel,
Plummetted after hitting airpocket,
Terrified passengers,
Witnesses say a fireball,
Etc, need I say more. Remind you of a Channel 10 news report?
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I've always had a soft spot for the interviews with the "terrified" passengers, where they state that the aircraft "went nearly vertical" and "we all thought we were going to die".
Just Binos
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A familiar tale, and often raised. My ire was raised years ago when I read a clueless report about a field within my sphere of knowledge, and I realised suddenly that the odds were high that every story in that particular paper could probably be taken apart in embarrassing detail by somebody who knew what they were talking about.
Although I had long before written off the tabloids, commercial TV news bulletins and current affairs programs as credible sources of information, that a highly regarded broadsheet could contain such nonsense was a shock to me, and I now treat every "story" I read in newspapers as one version of the matter. No more, no less.
By the same token, I also read a report on the inside workings of my employer when Dick Smith was "in charge", and I was amazed at the ability of the journalist to summarise concisely and factually what was a complex situation. This was a feature article, not a news bulletin, and I now treat those sources completely differently.
Tarring all journalists with the same brush is pointless. If any of you who are complaining so bitterly watch 60 Minutes, A Current Affair or any of their ilk, you are part of the problem, which is the public's easy acceptance of crappy populist journalism as serious information. Ask the advertisers who swarm to these programs, and they'll tell you the horrible truth; Nobody ever went bankrupt underestimating public taste.
Although I had long before written off the tabloids, commercial TV news bulletins and current affairs programs as credible sources of information, that a highly regarded broadsheet could contain such nonsense was a shock to me, and I now treat every "story" I read in newspapers as one version of the matter. No more, no less.
By the same token, I also read a report on the inside workings of my employer when Dick Smith was "in charge", and I was amazed at the ability of the journalist to summarise concisely and factually what was a complex situation. This was a feature article, not a news bulletin, and I now treat those sources completely differently.
Tarring all journalists with the same brush is pointless. If any of you who are complaining so bitterly watch 60 Minutes, A Current Affair or any of their ilk, you are part of the problem, which is the public's easy acceptance of crappy populist journalism as serious information. Ask the advertisers who swarm to these programs, and they'll tell you the horrible truth; Nobody ever went bankrupt underestimating public taste.
