The KNBC Telecopter (NewsChopper4)

Police investigate the scene Tuesday where a helicopter crashed in Chatsworth following a deadly bus crash. (Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

I’m aware this is a local radio blog, nonetheless I hope you’ll indulge me for just a few moments.

To repeat something I’ve mentioned previously, I actually spent a very short time on a commercial station (most of my on-air, for what it’s worth, was on the campus of UC Davis). I was appointed the stringer for Yolo County for all-news KFBK Sacramento. Once I’d been officially appointed, my boss Kerry Shearer arranged for me to be officially welcomed by taking a ride in the station’s traffic plane. Perhaps it was my initiation. Along with news anchor Joyce Krieg, I had the opportunity to see the Capitol City from the sky, piloted by Commander Bill Eveland.

It was a lot of fun, not only to be flying over the Sacramento Valley, but also to watch Commander Bill at work. He took notes over what he was seeing from his birds-eye view while listening to his two-way radio, a police scanner, and his plane’s radio tuned to KFBK.

Commander Bill posing with my boss’s son Christopher in front of the KFBK plane.Trivia note: Christopher would later be my student when he was in college. 

A couple of observations. A view from the sky is a perspective that’s quite valuable for news gathering, a broad overview that’s different from the ground. Perhaps a drone can provide a certain aerial shot, but a real live human can look around and respond to what’s happening and what’s about to happen from a helicopter or plane. Even a drone can’t do that.

KNBC's NewsChopper4

There’s a reason why all of the local TV stations operate telecopters, it allows stories to be told from a very valuable point of view. And I’ll still argue traffic reports were better when radio utilized planes and copters. I’m aware the official line is technology, such as stationary cameras throughout the SoCal highway system, makes the need for airplanes and copters unnecessary. To be blunt, I’ll still argue it was a budget decision. 

Bruce Wayne, the original “KFI in the Sky”

Courtesy Mike Kunert, https://www.facebook.com/groups/iremembertheie/posts/1674884053275328/

 

I also learned how much activity there is in the cockpit. It takes both reporters and pilots who can multitask and think clearly while providing coherent reports and commentary, often live on the air. For every freeway chase (which still gets high ratings), there’s the aerial report providing critical information during a fire, flood, or some other breaking news. It was just last week many of us reviewed (and perhaps relived the trauma of) coverage of 9/11, helicopter views allowing viewers to see firsthand the shocking unfolding at the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center. We may not have been able to comprehend what we were seeing, but we were seeing it nonetheless, only possible because of the telecopters.

I did not know Eliana Moreno, nor her pilot George Marciniw. But I do know they were thorough professionals making a difficult job look effortless. I have known a number of reporters as well as a couple of pilots from both TV and radio who I know for certain that even in normal circumstances, reporting from the sky is hardly the easiest job. I respect them all, had I met either Moreno or Marciniw I’m certain I would also have been impressed.

 

And because I know my share of current and former airborne reporters – radio and TV –  along with their pilots, I joined many now shocked, saddened, and a bit in disbelief to hear the fate of KNBC's NewsChopper4 (also seen on sister station Telemundo 52). Others will continue to do great work from their planes and copters, yet I also know every one of them is at best still in shock, with their grieving just beginning.

 

Thank you Eliana Moreno and George Marciniw. Your work is appreciated and won’t be soon forgotten. But more importantly, you won’t be forgotten.

 ayodaradio@gmail.com