[TowerTalk] "Ham Tower" Accident - Followup No. 2

[K4tmc@aol.com]

OK, I'm not going to say any more about the actual accident; since there was 
not enough information in either article to determine who or what was truely 
at fault.

I do want to provide more information on how this got reported as a "ham 
tower".  I spent most of my lunch hour "pulling on this thread". I finally 
talked with someone in the news room at the local newspaper (The News & 
Observer).  They informed me that they ran the story just as it came out over 
the AP wire - with no editing.  My next phone call was to the local AP office 
where they informed me that they had shortened the article some from the 
actual article submitted by the Morganton (NC)  News Herald.  The article 
only described the tower as a "ham tower".  My next phone call was to the 
News Herald, again.  I talked to an editor in the news room there who 
informed me that they had used "ham tower" because that is what the 
investigating law enforcement officer had called it.  Interestingly, they had 
not actually sent a reporter to talk with anyone at the site, only 
interviewed the investigating officer.  They were aware that the Charlotte 
Observer paper had actually sent a reporter to the site.  They were still 
somewhat proud of the fact that they were  the first paper to actually report 
the accident.  As a result of the story, a local ham operator, or someone who 
was knowledgeable of ham towers, has already been to the News Herald office 
today to set them straight.  The editor even indicated that they may do a 
followup story, based on the visit and my two phone calls.

I have decided not to call the investigating officer, not sure what good that 
will do now.

That's all I have.

73,
Henry Pollock - K4TMC
Raleigh, NC

--
FAQ on WWW:               http://www.contesting.com/towertalkfaq.html
Submissions:              towertalk@contesting.com
Administrative requests:  towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems:                 owner-towertalk@contesting.com
Search:                   http://www.contesting.com/km9p/search.htm