But Tells National Press Club That Coverage Is Generally Good

 NTSB Chair Deborah Hersman appeared before The National Press Club in Washington, DC Monday, and gave a generally good assessment of the coverage of the agency, it's issues, and the accidents it investigates.

Still, Hersman said, since many journalists today are forced to be "jacks of all trades", there are times when the reporters at an accident scene "don’t have a full grasp of the subject matter."

"Of course all of our beat reporters are top notch," Hersman said, "but occasionally we encounter reporters at the accident scene who don’t routinely cover transportation issues. Some of the favorite questions our people have received while on scene were:
“Who makes 747s besides Boeing?”
“What kinds of planes make those white lines in the sky?”

We like to say that there are no stupid questions, just stupid answers, but to be frank, we don’t have the luxury of having only “transportation experts” cover our work. Since coming to the Board I have been impressed with the local reporters who are charged with covering everything from sports to snowstorms to crash sites.  These reporters are very good surrogates for the public who, although they rely on our transportation system every day, often have a limited understanding of how it operates and how safe it is."

Hersman said those general assignment reporters still want to get the story right, and still ask tough questions, but "I have to say that it does help both for them and for our purposes to have some beat reporters there to get the discussion back on track and really focused on the issues that are central to the accident investigation."

Hersman also said the very nature of how news is delivered has changed the way transportation, and aviation, stories, are covered. "Competition is nothing new in journalism," she said.  "In the old days, newspaper wars were not uncommon.  Now that competitive fervor has moved to cable news, where “If it bleeds, it leads” has morphed into “If it scares, it airs.”  Can we forget the frenzy this past September 11 involving the Coast Guard’s drill on the Potomac?

And don’t get me started about Balloon Boy."

Hersman said the 24-hour news cycle has changed the way the NTSB release information to the media. "Up until the late 1980s or early 1990s, the NTSB would conduct one major press briefing a day (at an accident scene), and that would be in the evening after our progress meeting with all the investigators," she said.  "This meant we wouldn’t release information until 9pm, which had the practical effect of being much later for much of the media if the accident was in one of the western time zones.  The next press briefing would be 24 hours later. 

Can you imagine if we still held to such a schedule?  A full day of cable news and constant newspaper website deadlines left to the speculation of talking heads, of former industry experts or even former government investigators, none of whom have any direct knowledge of the progress of the investigation."

The NTSB Chair told the National Press Club that the role of the Board is to disseminate factual information without analysis.  "This would be information that is not subject to change, except in some minor ways.  For example, a train engineer’s years of service, an airframe or engine’s cycles, the time a takeoff clearance is given – these facts should not change as the investigation progresses. 

Yes, if we put out raw data without interpretation, this opens the door for others to provide their interpretation.  There is nothing we can do about that in an open society, and I hope that most readers or listeners will be able to differentiate between what the official investigators are saying about an accident and what observers are opining."

FMI: www.ntsb.gov