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Bad publicity



 
 
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  #1  
Old January 20th 04, 08:01 PM
David Starer
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Default Bad publicity

I just searched on "glider" on the BBC's news web site. What I found shocked
me. Of 46 results returned for the period since May 1998, not a single one
mentioned any form of achievement whatsoever in gliding. See here for the
search page:

http://newssearch.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/...&start=1&q=gli
der&scope=newsukfs

Given that British pilots have been spectacularly successful in
international competition over the last few years, either our world-famous
national TV news service is deliberately ignoring us, or our governing body
is failing miserably in getting the message across.

We all know the press love a good disaster but when a few Brits kick a ball
into a net they all get gongs and the papers go wild for weeks. Why can't
gliding get so much as a mention, even when we produce a world champion? I
know ours is a minority sport but the British media are not usually shy
about trumpeting British successes.

For the (dismal) record, here are 33 of the 46 headlines on the BBC site; I
think they speak for themselves. (The rest are mostly about Steve Fosset's
preparations for record flights or other non-fatal glider incidents
reflecting in various negative ways on gliding):

Glider death crash boy named
Teenager dies in glider crash
Glider death would be 'perfect'
Crashed glider 'caught on cable'
Glider pilots in mid-air collision
Fatal glider crash witness appeal
Glider pilot dies after crash
Glider crash inquiry opens
Glider crashes into mountain
Dead glider pilot named
Pilot powerless to stop mid-air collision
Inquest into air collision
Glider pilot dies in crash
Crash pilot faces law suit
Glider crashes on main rail route
'Experienced' glider in crash
Glider crash pilot named
Glider crash inquiry starts
Inquest into glider deaths
Glider death pilot named
Glider crash victim 'loved flying'
Glider crash victims named
Two die in glider crash
'Freak' air crash inquiry continues
Elderly man survives glider crash
Two dead in glider and plane crash
Two dead after glider accidents
One dead after mid-air collision
Three killed in air crashes
Three dead in glider crash
Pilot unaware of rambler death
Leading glider pilot dies in collision
Two killed in gliding accident




  #2  
Old January 21st 04, 01:12 AM
Martin Gregorie
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 19:01:07 -0000, "David Starer"
wrote:

....snippage....

Given that British pilots have been spectacularly successful in
international competition over the last few years, either our world-famous
national TV news service is deliberately ignoring us, or our governing body
is failing miserably in getting the message across.

We all know the press love a good disaster but when a few Brits kick a ball
into a net they all get gongs and the papers go wild for weeks. Why can't
gliding get so much as a mention, even when we produce a world champion? I
know ours is a minority sport but the British media are not usually shy
about trumpeting British successes.

The BBC is actually extremely parochial and very selective in its
sports coverage and I wish I knew why.

Parochial: Listen to Olympic coverage: a number of times I've heard
reportage about some Brit winning a bronze but not a hint of who
actually won the event.

Selective: IMO the Beeb's soccer coverage has been excessive for 30
years (yes, even before it became fashionable for yuppies it got too
disproportionate attention). Apart from that, horse racing, cricket
and tennis everything else is minor league. Unless its golf,
field&track or rugby it tends only to be mentioned if a disaster
happens. Any connection between horse racing and sport totally eludes
me: its pure gambling and not sport.

My current theory is that the Beeb really only reports financial news
and events that might affect the financial world. When you come to
sport the only really big money is in soccer, tennis and horse racing,
so that's what mostly gets covered.


--
martin@ : Martin Gregorie
gregorie : Harlow, UK
demon :
co : Zappa fan & glider pilot
uk :

  #3  
Old January 21st 04, 05:02 PM
Alistair Wright
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Posts: n/a
Default


"Martin Gregorie" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 19:01:07 -0000, "David Starer"
wrote:


Well Martin, you and I both know that whenever you land out in the UK there
will shortly be police car and a crowd of gawpers asking where the 'crash'
is! In more than twenty C/C flights I always encountered this response.
Even when I showed people that my engine hadn't fallen off, they still often
could not comprehend the idea of flying without one. So much for our
'air-minded public I used to think. On two occasions some local worthy
actually summoned the Fire Brigade who were NOT amused to find no crash and
certainly no fire.

Gliding will never attract the Beeb because there is no money in it and you
cannot package it for TV. There have been a few ,very few, programmes about
gliding over the 7 decades since the sport started but I wouldn't like to
guess when the next one might be.

Alistair Wright


  #4  
Old January 21st 04, 06:23 PM
Martin Gregorie
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Posts: n/a
Default

On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 16:02:32 -0000, "Alistair Wright"
wrote:


"Martin Gregorie" wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 19:01:07 -0000, "David Starer"
wrote:


Well Martin, you and I both know that whenever you land out in the UK there
will shortly be police car and a crowd of gawpers asking where the 'crash'
is!

Too true!

In more than twenty C/C flights I always encountered this response.
Even when I showed people that my engine hadn't fallen off, they still often
could not comprehend the idea of flying without one. So much for our
'air-minded public I used to think.

Its worse than that. I was in a field When the only spontaneous
response to a glider sitting in a field by the road is a yell of
'******' from a passing school bus you realise just how strong the
anti-avialtion culture in the UK is. But then we already know that.

On two occasions some local worthy
actually summoned the Fire Brigade who were NOT amused to find no crash and
certainly no fire.

On one occasion (I was part of the retrieve crew) there were eight
police cars, two fire trucks and a rescue helicopter. A local rang
them. At least the rescue services blamed said local, not us. When we
arrived the villagers were muttering about blocked roads and how they
could never get a cop when they wanted one.

Gliding will never attract the Beeb because there is no money in it and you
cannot package it for TV.

Yeah, I know, but you'd think a short interview would be on when yet
another soaring (or model flying) gold medal arrives in the UK. Maybe
this happens too often for it to be classed as news?


--
martin@ : Martin Gregorie
gregorie : Harlow, UK
demon :
co : Zappa fan & glider pilot
uk :

  #5  
Old January 21st 04, 11:54 PM
Mike Lindsay
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

In article , Alistair Wright
writes

"Martin Gregorie" wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 19:01:07 -0000, "David Starer"
wrote:


Well Martin, you and I both know that whenever you land out in the UK there
will shortly be police car and a crowd of gawpers asking where the 'crash'
is! In more than twenty C/C flights I always encountered this response.
Even when I showed people that my engine hadn't fallen off, they still often
could not comprehend the idea of flying without one. So much for our
'air-minded public I used to think. On two occasions some local worthy
actually summoned the Fire Brigade who were NOT amused to find no crash and
certainly no fire.


I had this happen when I landed near a busy road near Bury St Edmunds.
I had a policeman on a motor-bite, two fire engines and a doctor.
I tried to get the policeman to help me derig, I've never seen one
disappear so quickly. But it was a Skylark 4, notoriously heavy.

The next day I landed out again, my second phone call was a 999 to tell
the police there wasn't an emergency. They were a bit non-plussed, but
quite glad to know.

--
Mike Lindsay
  #6  
Old January 22nd 04, 07:04 AM
c1rrus
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Hi Martin

Lack of publicity for soaring is a worldwide problem. Here in South
Africa we don't exactly have a surfeit of world champions. However, when
Oscar Goudrian won the worlds Open class in the first WGC to be held in
Africa (Let alone in South Africa) it did not even qualify for a clip on
national television.
Some second rate football match that involved lots of noise and stone
throwing was far better news. Pity but that appears to be the way of it.

At least they appear to be even handed about this and ignore the
occasional crash too. So - no negative or positive publicity here.

Cheers
Bruce
Gregorie wrote:

On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 16:02:32 -0000, "Alistair Wright"
wrote:


"Martin Gregorie" wrote in message
. ..

On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 19:01:07 -0000, "David Starer"
wrote:


Well Martin, you and I both know that whenever you land out in the UK there
will shortly be police car and a crowd of gawpers asking where the 'crash'
is!


Too true!


In more than twenty C/C flights I always encountered this response.
Even when I showed people that my engine hadn't fallen off, they still often
could not comprehend the idea of flying without one. So much for our
'air-minded public I used to think.


Its worse than that. I was in a field When the only spontaneous
response to a glider sitting in a field by the road is a yell of
'******' from a passing school bus you realise just how strong the
anti-avialtion culture in the UK is. But then we already know that.


On two occasions some local worthy
actually summoned the Fire Brigade who were NOT amused to find no crash and
certainly no fire.


On one occasion (I was part of the retrieve crew) there were eight
police cars, two fire trucks and a rescue helicopter. A local rang
them. At least the rescue services blamed said local, not us. When we
arrived the villagers were muttering about blocked roads and how they
could never get a cop when they wanted one.


Gliding will never attract the Beeb because there is no money in it and you
cannot package it for TV.


Yeah, I know, but you'd think a short interview would be on when yet
another soaring (or model flying) gold medal arrives in the UK. Maybe
this happens too often for it to be classed as news?


--
martin@ : Martin Gregorie
gregorie : Harlow, UK
demon :
co : Zappa fan & glider pilot
uk :

  #7  
Old January 22nd 04, 10:07 AM
Owain Walters
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


I have seen the emergency services twice at a field
that I have landed in. Both times we called them.

Maybe it says something about your landings more than
an uneducated public! ;-)

At 08:24 22 January 2004, Mike Lindsay wrote:
In article , Alistair Wright
writes

'Martin Gregorie' wrote in message
. ..
On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 19:01:07 -0000, 'David Starer'
wrote:


Well Martin, you and I both know that whenever you
land out in the UK there
will shortly be police car and a crowd of gawpers asking
where the 'crash'
is! In more than twenty C/C flights I always encountered
this response.
Even when I showed people that my engine hadn't fallen
off, they still often
could not comprehend the idea of flying without one.
So much for our
'air-minded public I used to think. On two occasions
some local worthy
actually summoned the Fire Brigade who were NOT amused
to find no crash and
certainly no fire.


I had this happen when I landed near a busy road near
Bury St Edmunds.
I had a policeman on a motor-bite, two fire engines
and a doctor.
I tried to get the policeman to help me derig, I've
never seen one
disappear so quickly. But it was a Skylark 4, notoriously
heavy.

The next day I landed out again, my second phone call
was a 999 to tell
the police there wasn't an emergency. They were a bit
non-plussed, but
quite glad to know.

--
Mike Lindsay




  #8  
Old January 22nd 04, 10:13 AM
Stephen Cook
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


----- Original Message -----
From: "David Starer"
Newsgroups: rec.aviation.soaring
Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2004 7:01 PM
Subject: Bad publicity


I just searched on "glider" on the BBC's news web site. What I found

shocked
me. Of 46 results returned for the period since May 1998, not a single one
mentioned any form of achievement whatsoever in gliding. See here for the
search page:


http://newssearch.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/...&start=1&q=gli
der&scope=newsukfs


Your search didn't reaveal this one
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1431834.stm about some 90 year olds having a
few trial lessons, but it's still not the sort of publicity we want.

When we were doing very well in the Junior world championships I emailed the
BBC online sports people to draw their attention to it. This was on a day
when they were covering the European Blind Football Championships,
wheelchair tennis, World Netball Championships.and US baseball*. Now, I
have no problem with them covering these minority sports, but you would have
thought that they could make room for gliding amongst them. Predicably
there was no response - not even a reply to my email. The BGA at this time
were also producing a deluge of press releases so they really should have
been aware of the British sucesses.

A friend of mine once complained to the Times newspaper that they didn't
cover gliding and their response was that they didn't have anyone to cover
it. She said "yes you do" and became the voluntary Times gliding
correspondent. They used some of the stuff she produced but eventually got
bored with it. Perhaps someone needs to volunteer their services to the
BBC.

*I know baseball isn't a minority sport for many reading this, but I'm
talking about the UK here.

Stephen


  #9  
Old January 22nd 04, 10:45 AM
Martin Gregorie
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 22:54:34 +0000, Mike Lindsay
wrote:

In article , Alistair Wright
writes

"Martin Gregorie" wrote in message
. ..
On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 19:01:07 -0000, "David Starer"
wrote:


Well Martin, you and I both know that whenever you land out in the UK there
will shortly be police car and a crowd of gawpers asking where the 'crash'
is! In more than twenty C/C flights I always encountered this response.
Even when I showed people that my engine hadn't fallen off, they still often
could not comprehend the idea of flying without one. So much for our
'air-minded public I used to think. On two occasions some local worthy
actually summoned the Fire Brigade who were NOT amused to find no crash and
certainly no fire.


I had this happen when I landed near a busy road near Bury St Edmunds.
I had a policeman on a motor-bite, two fire engines and a doctor.
I tried to get the policeman to help me derig, I've never seen one
disappear so quickly. But it was a Skylark 4, notoriously heavy.

The next day I landed out again, my second phone call was a 999 to tell
the police there wasn't an emergency. They were a bit non-plussed, but
quite glad to know.


That's a good idea. I'll remember to do that in future.

--
martin@ : Martin Gregorie
gregorie : Harlow, UK
demon :
co : Zappa fan & glider pilot
uk :

  #10  
Old January 22nd 04, 12:37 PM
Bill Gribble
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Stephen Cook ] writes
A friend of mine once complained to the Times newspaper that they
didn't cover gliding and their response was that they didn't have
anyone to cover it. She said "yes you do" and became the voluntary
Times gliding correspondent. They used some of the stuff she produced
but eventually got bored with it. Perhaps someone needs to volunteer
their services to the BBC.


That's usually the way with the media (admittedly, I'm drawing more from
my experience with music and theatre than gliding, but there might be an
analogy here). If you point them at a story or item of interest and hope
they'll cover it, odds are they'll ignore you. If, on the other hand,
you cut out their need to do any real work themselves and provide them
the story written up and ready to print, the hit-rate (and thus
exposure) climbs considerably.

Perhaps all clubs should have a "volunteer" in the form of a budding
freelance journalist for feeding the press and public relations monster?

And whilst 90 year old grannies taking to the sky might not be the sort
of cut and dash image we'd really want to portray, any publicity is good
publicity, and it was nice seeing a picutre of one of the club's K8s on
the BBC website :P

--
Bill Gribble

/----------------------------------\
| http://www.cotswoldgliding.co.uk |
| http://members.aol.com/annsweb |
| http://www.shatteredkingdoms.org |
\----------------------------------/
 




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