By ANN Editor-In-Chief Jim Campbell (Guy Who Takes ALL The
Blame)
Note: As previously detailed, ANN's BIG
2005 Planning Meeting/Summit Conference is in just a
few days... so we're taking one last opportunity to ask your
input on the things YOU want to see from ANN in the coming
year.
In response to a recent
letter from a valued reader from the sport aviation community, we
had a chance to look over the way that ANN covers the news from the
entire spectrum of aviation and aerospace. In looking over tens of
thousands of stories, columns, Op-Eds, pictorials and the like, ANN
Weekend Guru Juan Jimenez compiled some interesting stats. When we
look at the aggregate totals of all the stories in our database
back to 2002 (when we switched over to a database-served news
system), the news breakdown is as follows:
- Aerospace, 7.2%
- Commercial Airline, 15.3%
- Commercial Biz-Av, 18.3%
- Feature Stories, 8.2%
- Military, 12.4%
- General Aviation 29.8%
- Sport Aviation 8.7%
- GA and SportAv Collectively 38.5%
I'm kinda pleased with
the results, because I know how hard we all work to maintain a
balanced presentation and how thoroughly we've beat the bushes to
make sure that all segments of aviation and aerospace are properly
represented.
Mind you, depending on certain news-cycles, it may occasionally
appear as if our news service may be top-heavy one way or
another... During NBAA, it seems as if we're all about biz-av...
but last week, during the AOPA Expo, I'm sure it looked as if we
were all about GA... and during Oshkosh, you know what we look like
(grin). We strive for a balance... but it isn't always possible.
During the last week of September and early October, I'm sure we
all looked like Space Cadets (or... is that Spaced Cadets...
Hmmmm). Ultimately, though, I think my staff has done a helluva job
keeping it leveled out.
One caveat, though... we
have to beat the bushes to get news out of the sport and GA
community... the PR abilities boasted by most of the lighter side
of the industry (with a few welcome exceptions) are awful and it's
like pulling teeth to get folks to let us know what's going on. Try
as we might, this industry is (mostly) news-ignorant and we're
doing our best to eke every bit of info out of it as we can... but
it's a vicious job. You can help us immeasurably if you make sure
that ANY aviation or aerospace company that you may have contact
with, KNOWS that keeping Aero-News in the loop is the BEST way to
make sure that everyone knows what's going on with them...
throughout the ENTIRE Aero-World.
One final note: much of the senior ANN Staff and Contributors
are getting together for something of a MAJOR summit conference
shortly. We have some aggressive issues to work out as we're
FINALLY getting ready to deploy some features and functionality
we've been teasing you about for over a year. What's coming up, is
INTENSELY cool and a revolutionary way for you to stay informed on
all things aeronautical.
HOWEVER; we're also doing a LOT of strategic planning
-- with an intense look at what we're doing right, what we're
doing wrong, and what we can better. We need your input... on
everything that ANN does and what it means to you. We need your
complaints, your suggestions, your improvements, your likes and
dislikes... we need to hear from YOU as to what you'd like ANN to
do to be of better service to you. ALL suggestions,
complaints, and comments are welcome... and STRONGLY encouraged.
Click on the mail link below and let us have it!