There Are More Out There Than You May Think!

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) chose the opening luncheon of its 2005 Expo in Tampa, FL to honor journalists throughout all forms of media for their fair and insightful coverage of general aviation issues -- ranging from the history of aviation, learning to fly, security and sightseeing.

"In an age of sensationalized news reports about aviation security and safety, today we recognize members of the media who instead provided the truth about general aviation to the non-flying public," said AOPA President Phil Boyer, announcing 2005 Max Karant Journalism Award winners Richard Murphy Werry, Devon Hubbard Sorlie, Chris Dunn, Marissa Tejada, Jarrod Miller, David Marshall, and William Lang.

The Karant Awards honor the best of "fair, accurate and insightful" reporting on general aviation in the general (non-aviation) media. They include categories for print, TV or video, and radio, and carry an honorarium of $1,000 in each category. The awards are named for the late Max Karant (below right), founder of AOPA Pilot magazine and the association's first senior vice president.

• KIMN-FM's Richard Murphy Werry won top honors in the radio category for his series "In Salute to Aurora Airpark." Werry, a pilot who learned to fly at the now-defunct airport outside Denver, CO took listeners on a journey through history as he told the story of this private airport near Denver International Airport that dates back to World War II. Although Aurora Airpark is no more, Werry's story "told of the importance of airports like Aurora to their communities," according to the AOPA.
• Learning to fly was also the inspiration -- this time more directly -- for writer Devon Hubbard Sorlie, a reporter for Soundings in Norfolk, VA. She wrote "Wild Blue Yonder," a recreation piece about the thrill, challenge, and most of all the joy that comes with learning to fly. Sorlie took an introductory flight lesson with an instructor from the Langley Aero Club to prepare for the article, in which she discussed employment opportunities for pilots, the benefits of flying personal aircraft for business purposes, and how easy it is to get started.
• Taking the award for broadcast media was Chris Dunn of KDVR-TV in Denver, CO, for an "insightful" story about Colorado Angel Flight. Dunn showed the vital missions that Angel Flight pilots fly, from transporting sick children who couldn't otherwise afford air transportation to distant medical appointments, to flying life-saving medical supplies -- as seen most recently by their efforts following the Gulf Coast hurricanes.
• Marissa Tejada and Jarrod Miller, of WOFL-TV in Lake Mary, FL, won their Karant award for "Too Close for Comfort," detailing the security procedures in place at Florida's GA airports. Their balanced report included information about how aircraft and airports can best remain secure -- without resorting to scare tactics, according to AOPA.
• Aviation travel was the focus of "Flight Plan," a series of air travel shows prodcued by David Marshall and William Lang, of WPBS and WXXI in Watertown and Rochester, N.Y., respectively. The winning episode was a flying adventure through central and upstate New York, taking viewers to a pancake breakfast, a warplane museum, and Lake Pleasant in the Adirondacks. "Marshall and Lang's show not only captured pilots' love of flying, but also gave passengers something to look forward to when they reached their destinations," said AOPA.

The following journalists received honorable mention for their reporting on general aviation: Dave Hirschman, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Michael Hagerty, KWBU-FM, Waco, TX; Clinton Griffiths and Brian Gordon, KWCH-TV, Wichita, KS; and Judy Stiles, KGCS-TV, Joplin, MO.

FMI: www.aopa.org