The Media’s Airplane Problem

Reporter

January 5, 2014

FEW THINGS mix more poorly than commercial flying and the mainstream media. Seldom is an aviation article free from some measure of distortion, exaggeration, or at times outright nonsense. If you caught my post on the AirAsia crash, you’re already aware of the pair of recent New York Times op-eds that couldn’t get it right. But that’s just for starters.

There are hardworking reporters out there who take the extra step to ensure their work is accurate, but they’re the exception. I’m not saying it’s an easy beat — aviation is a field brimming with jargon, stubborn mythology and recalcitrant sources (i.e. airline spokespeople), but sometimes it’s as if they’re not even trying. Especially when it comes to pictures. If only I had a dollar for every time an article or news segment was accompanied by incorrect or inappropriate photography. For instance a TV spot about a

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Thoughts on the Movie “Sully”

UPDATE: January 17, 2017

THEY MADE ME do it. Everybody from the journalist Peter Greenberg to my sister’s boyfriend implored me to finally go and watch “Sully,” the Clint Eastwood-directed movie starring Tom Hanks as U.S. Airways captain Chesley Sullenberger, guardian angel of flight 1549, the engineless Airbus that splashed into the Hudson River eight years ago. When the movie was first released, back in September, I refused to see it (see the original post, below). I’d watched too many big-screen butcher jobs — the chokingly awful “Flight,” for example, with Denzel Washington — and didn’t need the aggravation. But then the testimonials started coming in, boasting of the film’s surprising levels of accuracy and authenticity. This, I was told again and again, is the rare Hollywood movie that gets the pilot stuff right.

Why do I listen to these people?

The screening took place at my friend Todd’s home

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The Twitter meltdown and what you should do now

The social network Twitter has seen a lot of upheaval since it was acquired by billionnaire and SpaceX / Tesla owner Elon Musk last month.  Recently the disruption and major changes have even led to questions of whether it will survive.

With Twitter having such a crucial role in most airlines and airports’ communications and customer service functions, what should you be doing now?

Bearing in mind that the situation is changing every day, we’ll first of all summarise things as they stand at time of writing (November 18th).  We’ll then provide some guidelines that we think airlines and airports active on Twitter should be following.

Most Twitter employees have been fired or have left

Soon after taking over, Elon Musk let around 50% of Twitter staff go.  Some departments saw huge cuts, for example the communications team was cut from 80+ right down to two people.  This matters, Twitter

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