Uncle Barky has the story about how three of the TV stations are trimming their budgets. With most news stories, I doubt these expensive toys will be missed.
15 comments
There goes the car chase footage.
@ 10:04 am on January 6, 2009
And DMN is triming up to 70 employees in a month? Beginning to “shut thing down?” Go all online? Come on FB, break some gossip.
@ 10:15 am on January 6, 2009
Apparently they are subcontracting to the company that runs those tiny little toy helicopters all over Dallas all day. Those things always seemed like a joke to me. I have to say, I’m going to miss those big Bell helicopters hovering over news stories.
@ 10:26 am on January 6, 2009
Hadn’t Channel 4 grounded Chip already from a while back? Since the chopper crash, I believe.
@ 10:43 am on January 6, 2009
I, too, ground my choppers until the dentist gave me oral prophylactic.
Come to think of it, time call her for an emergency appointment!
@ 11:05 am on January 6, 2009
Chip was on board one of these choppers for a bit. They are kinda toys, but cheap, safe and silent. The problem now is, Channel 4 and others have nothing to show during traffic or news. watching the poor cameras from txdot or the towers really dosnt work. If these guys really want to pretend to cover the whole north Texas area for the broadcast, they need to think about covering the news using some money.
@ 11:38 am on January 6, 2009
I would like to suggest those Predator drones they are using in Iraq and Afghanistan. They provide a cost effective bird’s eye view and the addition of a Hellfire missile to a car chase would be awesome!
[Disclaimer: El Rey has intimate familiarity with said missile and can talk about it for hours if given a tumbler of Glenrothes on ice...]
@ 11:46 am on January 6, 2009
I’m sure Sheriff John Bunnell(retired) just must be at a loss for words. Where will Spike! and TruTV find chase footage now for their Worlds Most ________ Criminals shows. DFW always has the best, craziest chases.
Ol’ Sheriff John will have to go back to catching bad guys on COPS by delivering fake big screen TV’s or luring burglars into Honey Pot 18 wheeler trailers.
@ 12:33 pm on January 6, 2009
These expensive “toys” will be sorely missed during the next catastrophe…..flood, hurricane, tornado, etc.
@ 12:54 pm on January 6, 2009
Seems like a subcontracting opportunity. Sell the same footage to all local networks. Freelance helicopter journalism. Or install cameras in the radio traffic copters.
@ 1:53 pm on January 6, 2009
These channels could join forces, pool money and own one helicopter together…kinda like a time share in the sky.
Or they could strap remote cameras to some trained pigeons and see what happens.
@ 3:13 pm on January 6, 2009
>Or they could strap remote cameras to some trained pigeons and see what happens.
I thought that’s what TxDOT uses.
@ 4:35 pm on January 6, 2009
P. Tane, sounds like a great idea but which one of the weather girls will they allow in the air? Maybe there could be a televised cage fight each morning at 5:00 a.m….”Today’s weather is brought to you by Jennifer Lopez courtesy of a punch to the solarplexis”
@ 8:25 pm on January 6, 2009
it makes sense, why have all choppers shooting the same video?
@ 9:18 am on January 9, 2009
Grounding the choppers means they won’t be doing traffic updates all day long. If something huge were to happen, you better believe they’re not going to sit idly by while Channel 8 gets the scoop.
@ 5:42 pm on January 9, 2009
FrontBurner® launched in March 2003, the first blog in Dallas run by a media organization. This is where the editors of D Magazine come to waste a tremendous amount of time.
15 comments
There goes the car chase footage.
And DMN is triming up to 70 employees in a month? Beginning to “shut thing down?” Go all online? Come on FB, break some gossip.
Apparently they are subcontracting to the company that runs those tiny little toy helicopters all over Dallas all day. Those things always seemed like a joke to me. I have to say, I’m going to miss those big Bell helicopters hovering over news stories.
Hadn’t Channel 4 grounded Chip already from a while back? Since the chopper crash, I believe.
I, too, ground my choppers until the dentist gave me oral prophylactic.
Come to think of it, time call her for an emergency appointment!
Chip was on board one of these choppers for a bit. They are kinda toys, but cheap, safe and silent. The problem now is, Channel 4 and others have nothing to show during traffic or news. watching the poor cameras from txdot or the towers really dosnt work. If these guys really want to pretend to cover the whole north Texas area for the broadcast, they need to think about covering the news using some money.
I would like to suggest those Predator drones they are using in Iraq and Afghanistan. They provide a cost effective bird’s eye view and the addition of a Hellfire missile to a car chase would be awesome!
[Disclaimer: El Rey has intimate familiarity with said missile and can talk about it for hours if given a tumbler of Glenrothes on ice...]
I’m sure Sheriff John Bunnell(retired) just must be at a loss for words. Where will Spike! and TruTV find chase footage now for their Worlds Most ________ Criminals shows. DFW always has the best, craziest chases.
Ol’ Sheriff John will have to go back to catching bad guys on COPS by delivering fake big screen TV’s or luring burglars into Honey Pot 18 wheeler trailers.
These expensive “toys” will be sorely missed during the next catastrophe…..flood, hurricane, tornado, etc.
Seems like a subcontracting opportunity. Sell the same footage to all local networks. Freelance helicopter journalism. Or install cameras in the radio traffic copters.
These channels could join forces, pool money and own one helicopter together…kinda like a time share in the sky.
Or they could strap remote cameras to some trained pigeons and see what happens.
>Or they could strap remote cameras to some trained pigeons and see what happens.
I thought that’s what TxDOT uses.
P. Tane, sounds like a great idea but which one of the weather girls will they allow in the air? Maybe there could be a televised cage fight each morning at 5:00 a.m….”Today’s weather is brought to you by Jennifer Lopez courtesy of a punch to the solarplexis”
it makes sense, why have all choppers shooting the same video?
Grounding the choppers means they won’t be doing traffic updates all day long. If something huge were to happen, you better believe they’re not going to sit idly by while Channel 8 gets the scoop.