...And The Whole ANN Team Faints From Exhaustion
While perusing through our vast server network at ANN's World
Headquarters (and Tanning Salon) in Florida, Editor-In-Chief Jim
Campbell made a surprising discovery Wednesday: up to that point,
we'd done 299 of our extremely popular Aero-Cast segments.
That means that with tonight's ANN Daily Briefing, we've hit 300
broadcasts (combined with the Touch-And-Go and our Daily Feature,
we'll actually hit 302).
Whew...
That number includes our earliest forays into the realm of
podcasting at Oshkosh in 2005 -- when much of our time was spent
learning to work the extremely finicky early recorders, with
at-best limited success.
It also includes our tentative first steps into feature audio
reporting... and on through to today's far more polished daily
Aero-Cast segments, consisting of a Touch-And-Go, a more in-depth
Daily News Briefing and our ANN Special Features -- five days per
week. Best of all, this effort represents thousands of
stories, hundreds of interviews, and the insights we've gained
from working with amazing folks who are truly the heart and soul of
the aviation and aerospace world (like AOPA's Phil Boyer, shown
below right, in our first Aero-Cast Daily News Feature
Interview, last year).
"This is but the tip of the iceberg. ANN is all about getting
immediate and valuable information about aviation and aerospace out
to flyers and aviation professionals all over the world. Part of
that effort is also about taking the lead in finding new and
innovative ways to get that information out as quickly and as
comprehensively as possible. Over the next few months, we promise
to not only increase our audio and online news coverage but to add
even more exciting news products to the mix. We have an amazing
team of people doing this for ANN and we're tremendously excited
about new developments we're working on, as we speak. You ain't
seen nothing yet... " noted ANN's Jim Campbell.
Truth be told... if we'd known then what we know now, we might
have started out a bit more slowly... but what can we say? We hit
the ground running, and you -- our listeners -- responded. And
we're grateful.
Of course, the ANN staff is also VERY grateful for Senior Editor
Pete Combs, who brings his 30 years of experience in print, radio,
and television journalism to the microphone each and every
evening.
Many of our listeners (it's still VERY cool to be able to say
that... our listeners) have commented on the
professionalism Pete exudes behind the mike... no doubt helped, in
part, by the dulcet baritone of a voice that was made for radio
(which is fortunate... as, alas, his face was also made for
radio.)
When told of the milestone, Pete said, "I didn't realize we'd
done so many. It's sort of like giving birth to an elephant...
every night."
Pete says he's become a firm believer in Aero-Casting. "It's not
broadcasting, it's 'narrow-casting' -- reaching out to a much
smaller audience than might justify a full-blown radio network," he
said.
"The concept is so exciting
that radio stations and networks all over the world are getting in
on it. But for pilots, I think it has a special application. You
can download our podcasts at the front-end of a trip and listen to
it enroute as time permits -- as well as on your PC at home or at
work."
Note: ANN is currently taking resumes for
future positions with our Aero-Casting News Team. If you think you
have the credentials to be a part of this effort, we'd love to hear
from you. We're looking for knowledgeable aviators with strong news
and audio/podcasting skills. Please send your resume to the
boss if you would like to be considered...