Run it down and kill it
It's always nice to find a journalist who resists being spun:
Note to general officers at the Puzzle Palace: stop pulling this counterproductive crap. I suspect David trusts you less as a result of this incident than he did before you tried to spin him with a ridiculously transparent 'rumour.' Your attempts to outfox the foxes are generally pathetic, and do nothing to further your cause with the media or the public they're supposed to inform.
And if you're not trying to spin the media, if instead you're just talking out your ass to a frickin' PPG reporter for a major Canadian news operation, then STFU. Seriously.
Of course, then I got the bright idea: Hey, I’ll just phone up Boeing and ask if they’re bidding on the tactical airlift. Here’s the response from Boeing’s spokesperson in Ottawa: “They did not, nor do they have plans to, submit a proposal for the tactical contract.”
Well, that’s that, then.
Note to general officers at the Puzzle Palace: stop pulling this counterproductive crap. I suspect David trusts you less as a result of this incident than he did before you tried to spin him with a ridiculously transparent 'rumour.' Your attempts to outfox the foxes are generally pathetic, and do nothing to further your cause with the media or the public they're supposed to inform.
And if you're not trying to spin the media, if instead you're just talking out your ass to a frickin' PPG reporter for a major Canadian news operation, then STFU. Seriously.
posted by Babbling Brooks at 4:22 p.m.
4 Comments:
Babbling: Two points, both not necessarily reflecting well on the PPG:
1) The reporter should have had enough knowledge--or done the research--to know that there is no Boeing product suitable for the tactical lift mission;
2) Why did he not phone Boeing right off?
Mark
Ottawa
Mark, with all due respect I beg to differ on your first point. Yes, it should be obvious to a reporter that there is no transport produced by Boeing in the category of tac-lifter.
On the other hand, the reporter in question was being fed a hilarious line -- by someone allegedly in the know -- about the strat-lifter being able to do double duty and fully assume the tac-lift role. To prove or disprove a specific aircraft's capability to fulfil the role is expert territory and not within the job description of a reporter. For that they have sources. And to his credit, he *did* go to a reasonable source to gauge its soundness.
A PPG reporter is definitely not going to know, and not even begin to know where to look, to find out whether or not a C-17 can do a credible job at tac-lift. The fact of the matter is, the C-17 does do tac-lift. But only under certain circumstances. With certain qualifiers and limitations.
I call no foul on Mr. Akin but I second Damian's rebuke to the fella in the NDHQ who thought floating this prospect was a grand idea.
Well, thanks all, for the feedback. Man, there's just no impressin' that Mark Collins :)
As for the source who was "spinning" me -- let me now add a little more context. Many have commented that Boeing does not have a tactical airlift product. Fair enough. But --- and again, the spin cycle may have been on here -- in addition to the senior air force commander, I lucked into speaking to a CF fighter pilot who was invited by Boeing to fly the C-17 and was raving about its ability to pivot, stop, start, etc. I think the phrase "can do anything the Herc can do and does it faster" was in there somewhere. But, as Boeing probably figures two out of three ain't bad for the big Canuck contracts, all this is for naught ...
But Mark's right: The first thing to do would have been to call Boeing. I suppose I wasn't expecting such a straight and unequivocal answer. (You may not be surprised to hear that some other contractors are not nearly so forthcoming with the press about their business intentions vis-a-vis government contracts)
There's always this:
"Boeing now involved in fixed-wing SAR aircraft replacement"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blogspot.com/2006/05/boeing-now-involved-in-fixed-wing-sar.html
"Somehow aircraft just don't get purchased"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blogspot.com/2006/03/somehow-aircraft-just-dont-get.html
FWSAR is not on the new government's purchase list yet either.
Mark
Ottawa
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