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"Journalists seek to end news chopper ban"

Friday, October 26, 2001

TV journos seek to end chopper ban 
By Pamela Mcclintock


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - TV journalists on Thursday urged top White House
officials to lift a post-Sept. 11 ban on news helicopters in skies above
the country's top markets, including New York and Los Angeles. 

In a letter addressed to new Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge,
Radio-Television News Directors Assn. (RTNDA) president Barbara Cochran
said the grounding robs the viewing public of critical information. 

Cochran pointed out that similar types of aircraft also grounded after
the attacks have been cleared for takeoff, and news choppers should be
no different. 

''News and traffic helicopters are among the most valuable tools used by
television and radio stations to inform their audiences,'' Cochran said.
''The public has been deprived of speedily receiving accurate
information about their immediate communities.'' 

The Federal Aviation Administration has told RTNDA that the ban
continues for national security reasons, a position Cochran said she
doesn't understand. 

In addition to writing Ridge, Cochran also sent letters to National
Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, White House chief of staff Andrew
Card and presidential adviser Karen Hughes. Earlier this week, Cochran
made a similar pitch to the FAA. 

Media and entertainment lobbyists have been paying close attention to
the helicopter issue as well, saying the ban is of serious concern.

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