Reporters saying "TARMAC" how stupid!!

"CASK829" wrote in message
...

Why is it that idiot reporters use the term "TARMAC"? Nobody in the
aviation
world uses that term do they?


Not that I'm aware of, but there's nothing wrong with the word "tarmac".



But then again reporters usually know abolutely nothing about aviation.


I've noticed reporters frequently have little knowledge of their subject
regardless what it is.



What inspired this rant? The recent reporting on the
US Airways baggage situation and the Northwest airlines flight that kept
the
passengers on the airplane for 14 hours. On another note did Northwest
lose a
lawsuit awhile back for keeping people on an airplane while they sat on
the
ground for a very long time. If I remember correctly there was talk of
false
imprisonment charges against the airline.


Wasn't it US Customs that kept them on the plane in this recent incident?

"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote in message
nk.net...

I've noticed reporters frequently have little knowledge of their subject
regardless what it is.



That's the iron law of modern journalism.

--

Scott

Like the archers of Agincourt, John O'Neill and the 254 Swiftboat Veterans
took down their own haughty Frenchman. - Ann Coulter

"tscottme" wrote in message
...
"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote in message
nk.net...

I've noticed reporters frequently have little knowledge of their subject
regardless what it is.



That's the iron law of modern journalism.


THough I am ashamed to admit it I was once a reporter for a lo-cal TV
station. Our news director made it very clear one day after a young
reporter-ette used the term "War Zone" to describe the aftermath of a
tornado that if anyone used it again there had better be some pictures of
tanks and soldiers to go along with the story.

Slow fade to latter that very same day. There was one of those little
inserts the networks feed to the locals to insert in the 5 o'clock news
about upcoming stories the network will have that night. A network reporter
was describing the aftermath of some battle somewhere and acctually said,
"...It looks like a war zone here..." The news director who was also the
local anchor could not even begin to stop laughing before he was back on the
air.

"Gig Giacona" wrote in message
...

THough I am ashamed to admit it I was once a reporter for a lo-cal TV
station. Our news director made it very clear one day after a young
reporter-ette used the term "War Zone" to describe the aftermath of a
tornado that if anyone used it again there had better be some pictures of
tanks and soldiers to go along with the story.

Slow fade to latter that very same day. There was one of those little
inserts the networks feed to the locals to insert in the 5 o'clock news
about upcoming stories the network will have that night. A network
reporter
was describing the aftermath of some battle somewhere and acctually said,
"...It looks like a war zone here..." The news director who was also the
local anchor could not even begin to stop laughing before he was back on
the
air.


That's a good story. I still shake my head when they dispatch some schmuck
to stand on the shoulder of an overpass and broadcast live what it was like
7 hours ago when there was a fatal car wreck "not far from where I'm
standing." Or the ever present real or fake stand up shot outside City Hall
so they can tell us they are considering this or that. God forbid we learn
of these considerations from a reporter in a studio, how can we trust them
if they aren't standing in front of the building where this future decision
will be announced?

I'm as big a news junkie as ever there was, but I've discovered that I can
learn more by watching less. Despite the incessant complaining that they
only have 22 minutes to broadcats news, they seem to fill 8 minutes of it
with the latest bogus "medical research" discovered by some grad student
that eating Twinkies doubles your chances of contracting dropsey or
interviewing the receptionist for the drive-in wedding chapel where Brittney
Spear's hairstylist got htiched.


--

Scott

Like the archers of Agincourt, John O'Neill and the 254 Swiftboat Veterans
took down their own haughty Frenchman. - Ann Coulter

"tscottme" wrote in message
...
"Gig Giacona" wrote in message
...

THough I am ashamed to admit it I was once a reporter for a lo-cal TV
station. Our news director made it very clear one day after a young
reporter-ette used the term "War Zone" to describe the aftermath of a
tornado that if anyone used it again there had better be some pictures of
tanks and soldiers to go along with the story.

Slow fade to latter that very same day. There was one of those little
inserts the networks feed to the locals to insert in the 5 o'clock news
about upcoming stories the network will have that night. A network
reporter
was describing the aftermath of some battle somewhere and acctually said,
"...It looks like a war zone here..." The news director who was also the
local anchor could not even begin to stop laughing before he was back on
the
air.


That's a good story. I still shake my head when they dispatch some
schmuck
to stand on the shoulder of an overpass and broadcast live what it was
like
7 hours ago when there was a fatal car wreck "not far from where I'm
standing." Or the ever present real or fake stand up shot outside City
Hall
so they can tell us they are considering this or that. God forbid we
learn
of these considerations from a reporter in a studio, how can we trust them
if they aren't standing in front of the building where this future
decision
will be announced?

I'm as big a news junkie as ever there was, but I've discovered that I can
learn more by watching less. Despite the incessant complaining that they
only have 22 minutes to broadcats news, they seem to fill 8 minutes of it
with the latest bogus "medical research" discovered by some grad student
that eating Twinkies doubles your chances of contracting dropsey or
interviewing the receptionist for the drive-in wedding chapel where
Brittney
Spear's hairstylist got htiched.



Oh no, you got me started now. I too am a news junkie but I refuse to watch
lo-cal news. It is without a doubt the worst possible way to get information
on anything. Large market or small market it doesn't matter. You would be
better of walking outside your house and listening for news to happen.

One of the reasons for this is the very nature of the 22 minute newscast.
Because 22 minutes doesn't mean 22 minutes for news you give up at least 10
to sports and weather of which at least 3 was our much loved weather person
telling people who live here what the weather had already done and was doing
at that very moment.

During the summer when ad time was at its low point, NEWS had at most 12
minutes to fill. During an election season when there was actually some
local news to cover we might be down as low as 8.

Since it came down from on high that our audience didn't have an attention
span we were maxed at a maximum of 3 minutes on a story unless we had video
of the world ending. In that case we would have gotten an extra 30 seconds
but 15 of those seconds would have been used in extra anchor toss where the
anchor would have to ask me a question that I wrote and specifically left
out of the story in the first place.

Those same powers that be also decided that the one thing short of the end
of the world that could go over 3:30 was features that weren't news at all
but fluff.

I hate lo-cal TV news. Can you tell?

Now that's funny. Those of us in both the aviation and the civil
engineering fields use the term all the time.

Try a rant about something else?

Shawn
"CASK829" wrote in message
...
Why is it that idiot reporters use the term "TARMAC"? Nobody in the
aviation
world uses that term do they? But then again reporters usually know
abolutely
nothing about aviation. What inspired this rant? The recent reporting on
the
US Airways baggage situation and the Northwest airlines flight that kept
the
passengers on the airplane for 14 hours. On another note did Northwest
lose a
lawsuit awhile back for keeping people on an airplane while they sat on
the
ground for a very long time. If I remember correctly there was talk of
false
imprisonment charges against the airline.

On 05 Jan 2005 17:36:23 GMT, unkno (CASK829) wrote in
::

Why is it that idiot reporters use the term "TARMAC"?

Perhaps it's because of this entry in the Merriam-Webster Collegiate
Dictionary:

Main Entry:tarmac
Pronunciation:*t*r-*mak
Function:noun
Etymology:from Tarmac, a trademark
Date:1919

: a tarmacadam road, apron, or runway

FWIW, the only place I hear the word used anymore is in aviation- "the
tarmac" being used to refer to anything outside the FBO and not in the
parking lot. When I was younger I used to hear older folks refer to parking
lots and such being "macadam" but now the "asphalt" or the generic
"pavement" seem to be all people use in the common argot.

-cwk.

"Larry Dighera" wrote in message
...
On 05 Jan 2005 17:36:23 GMT, unkno (CASK829) wrote in
::

Why is it that idiot reporters use the term "TARMAC"?

Perhaps it's because of this entry in the Merriam-Webster Collegiate
Dictionary:

"CASK829" wrote in message
...
Why is it that idiot reporters use the term "TARMAC"?


I worked my way through college working at various US airports, refueling
GA, and airlines. I never heard the word "tarmac" until some Brit used it
on TV and then it seemed like every Ted Baxter wannabe in the US picked up
the term to impress other Ted Baxter wannabes.

In the US the word should be "ramp." It seems to me that if the proper
terms are best defined by the people that are most directly related to the
use, then the word in the US should be "ramp."

Everytime I hear some idiot reporter in the US use the term I remember an
episode of the old Dick Van Dike Show. Rob and Laura have some reason to
call the police to investigate some matter at their home and when the police
officer shows up Rob is fumbling and trying to use "police lingo" to impress
the officer. As the cop leaves Rob declares "Mark 7", thinking that's how
cops sign off, not realizing that's just an artifact of the Dragnet TV show.

I fully expect to see some silly CBS reporter describing a lorry crash near
Denver or a shortage of water closets for new homes.



--

Scott

Like the archers of Agincourt, John O'Neill and the 254 Swiftboat Veterans
took down their own haughty Frenchman. - Ann Coulter

In the US the word should be "ramp." It seems to me that if the
proper terms are best defined by the people that are most directly
related to the use, then the word in the US should be "ramp."

Considering the slope of most so-called "ramps" is nearly flat, I fail to
see how this is the correct term.

Perhaps it should be called the more logical "plane park".

It reminds me of the term The Simpsons has made popular for a garage: "car
hole".