A Message From Their New Chinese Masters???
Just ten days before the annual Cirrus Owner's and Pilot's
Association (COPA) 'Migration' in Colorado Springs, ANN as been
informed by COPA officials that the internationally read aviation
news service will not be allowed to webcast the event live later
this month--despite specific plans,documents and understandings to
the contrary.
After earning extensive kudos for the work done last year at the
2010 event held in Dayton,OH; ANN was told that Cirrus Aircraft had
'discovered' that ANN was listed as a media partner with COPA and
would be live-streaming portions of the event... including CEO
Brent Wouters' address to the convention.
COPA officials indicated that Cirrus first attempted to have ANN
removed from attending the event altogether (allegedly in response
to recent critical editorial efforts... including the story that
first broke the news that Cirrus was in the process of being sold
to Chinese entities). COPA refused this demand... but did cave into
the demand that ANN be replaced as the live streaming news partner
for the event... with Cirrus paying for the service themselves and
ostensibly able to exert some control over what they were paying
for. According to COPA personnel, Cirrus had originally threatened
to pull their sponsorship and participation from the event if ANN
was not 'muzzled' in some form.
The word came barely ten days before the event and after ANN had
expended considerable time and resources in preparation... as well
as made agreements with sponsors to cover the event. At no time did
COPA appear to have doubts (even after questions from ANN on the
topic of Cirrus and their attitude toward ANN's coverage and recent
questions about their conduct and business affairs) about ANN's
coverage of the Migration activities until an afternoon phone call,
on Monday, August 1st.
While some senior COPA officials deplored the decision and
appeared very unhappy with the decision to bar significant sections
of ANN's coverage of the event, COPA President Curt Sanford spun
the matter in a less confrontational direction, "We're just trying
to make Cirrus comfortable," said Sanford, while adding that ANN's
coverage did appear to make Cirrus Aircraft 'quite uncomfortable.'
Sanford, unlike other COPA members, refused to be pinned down as to
what conversations had taken place with Cirrus, or what exactly was
said but did admit that ANN's long-term agreement with COPA (as
documented in a number of pieces of correspondence as well as
multiple listings on the COPA website) was being broken and that he
'regretted' the decision.
Aero-Analysis/Opinion: ANN is shocked and
disappointed in the actions of COPA... especially in that they
caved into a corporate management that a large portion of the
Cirrus community appears unhappy with, and expresses such on a
daily basis on the Association's message boards. ANN has attempted
to seek and report the truth on a great many matters that reflect
on both the Cirrus community as well as GA, at large, and has
expressed, in detail, our reports, findings and concerns over what
has happened with the company since Wouters presided over the
ouster of former CEO Alan Klapmeier. As a Cirrus owner, and a
(formerly) proud member of the COPA community (which has SO many
good works to its credit that make this most revelation both
incredibly surprising as well as supremely depressing), we are
stunned at the import of this decision and the truly un-American
implications involved.
ANN will attempt to attend the 9th Annual Migration in order to
meet its proper commitments to the necessary journalism we see
being required over this matter and following that, ANN CEO and
Editor-In-Chief Jim Campbell will resign his membership in the
Cirrus Owner's and Pilot's Association.
Campbell noted that, "No journalist has any business being a
member of any organization that would countenance such censorship
from any company... much less one now under Communist Chinese state
control... I regret this greatly but my conscience dictates that I
can not support an organization that agrees to such apparently
extortionate and un-American tactics. I have SO enjoyed being a
part of COPA... I love my airplane... I have so many friends in
this community... but I do not trust the current management of
Cirrus and believe that a Federal investigation into this company's
actions is required... and these most recent tactics only confirm
my deep and abiding belief that something is very wrong with what
was once an iconic American aviation success story. What a sad
situation...."
ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.13.24)
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