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Security in the Air
By Ah-Rhan Han
I am following the story of the plane crash in Queens,
New York on Nov 12th, 2001. I have also looked at related
stories such as the aviation security bill and tightened
airline security.
11.13.01
New York Times and CNN.Com
Only one day has passed since the American Airlines
Flight 587 crashed in a residential area of Queens,
NY, killing 260 people. Since not much time has passed
since the accident, most news stories focused on fact-gathering
such as what went wrong and how many people died, etc.
This story was the biggest story in New York Times,
and it looked more important than other stories since
the font of the headline they used for this story was
significantly bigger than those of others. On the other
hand, on CNN.com, the story was placed in the right
upper corner, and looked relatively unimportant than
the story on the Taliban, another big story of the day.
However, the CNN site had more in-depth information
than New York Times, mainly thanks to the multimedia
use. CNN had video, audio, and picture galleries of
the accident. The web also had a 3-D model of the aircraft
that crashed, which cannot be done in print medium.
Although the Web seemed to have more comprehensive stories,
the paragraphs were shorter with one or two sentences
and easier to read because of that.
11.14.01
New York Times and CNN.Com
Today's news stories focused on the investigation of
the cause of the crash. The cockpit voice recorder was
found and investigated. The government said that there
was no sign of criminal acts or sabotage for now. In
New York Times, the story made it to the front page,
but it was placed at the bottom of the page, and that
way, it looked less significant compared to yesterday's
coverage. More stories were placed in the Metro Section
of the paper, and they dealt with the wounds of victim's
families and vigils, and the ongoing investigation.
On CNN.com, the story focused more on the cause of the
crash. Since the Web can be updated very often, it had
the latest info that the paper had been unable to cover
yet. The CNN reported that the plane could have flown
too close to another jet. The most thing I like about
digital publications is that they are updated very frequently.
11.15.01
New York Times and CNN.Com
As CNN reported late last night, it seems likely now
that the plane crash resulted from turbulence from another
aircraft. According to NYTimes and CNN, the turbulence
pushed the Airbus 300 from side to side by significant
force, first breaking the tail of the plane. The investigation
is still going on about how the tail broke. In NY Times,
the story on "the tail" made it to the headline,
but it was placed in the middle section of the bottom
portion, making it look less significant again. Other
stories on the crash in the times were rather trivial
(Maybe, I shouldn't say this): stories about a guy who
wants to help the victims and a story about a family
that lost a loved one in this accident. On CNN.com,
the story, which had been placed on top, was moved to
the bottom. Sadly (?), the story was beaten by the Harry
Porter special. What is so great about this movie? I
have noticed that the movie has received a great deal
of media attention lately. On CNN, the stories also
focused on the tail part of the plane and the ongoing
investigation. The web had CNN resources of Airbus 300
Tail Assembly, which was interesting. In reading this
story on CNN, I noticed that the ad right next to this
story could have been placed wrongly and insensitively.
It was a very happy ad for Turkey Delivery for Thanksgiving!
The people who lost loved ones might have felt bitter
when they saw the animated turkey image right next to
the sad story.
11.16.01
New York Times and CNN.Com
For now, it seems that the investigators have agreed
that the cause of the accident was the turbulence from
another aircraft. There was an article that reported
this in NY times that made to the front page, but wasn't'
placed on top. According to it, American Airlines Flight
587 began to shake violently seconds after bumping over
the second of two wakes left by a Boeing 747 that had
left Kennedy International Airport just ahead of it.
So now, it seems that the mysteries of the cause have
been clarified. CNN.Com also reported this in their
"other top news" section. Like yesterday,
the story on CNN was placed among other top news stories,
and didn't make it to any special section of the site.
Now, the media is focusing more on the airline security
bill that was passed today by congress. House and Senate
negotiators reached an agreement on a major aviation
security bill that requires the federal government to
hire 28,000 screeners for airport travelers and baggage
within one year. I think that the media coverage of
the plane crash from now on will focus on the bill rather
than the accident itself unless other info is found
about different causes for the crash. This story might
not make it to the front page in Times or it might not
be placed on the first page on CNN.COM. One thing I
have noticed about CNN is that they have used the same
photo for more then three days in describing the cause
of the crash. An image from a NASA video that shows
a test of the effects of wake turbulence. They don't
have the motive to think of another image because the
story seems to have lost importance or something? Also
the video or audio they have used are the same. I used
to like the digital publication because it seems to
have been updated with different multimedia tools, but
it is somewhat disappointing to see that CNN uses the
same things over and over again for every story.
11.17.01
New York Times and CNN.Com
Now, the cause of the crash has been known and the
aviation security bill was passed yesterday. So what
is next? Most important related stories seem to have
been reported already, and I have noticed the fading
of these stories in both NY Times and CNN.COM. Today,
the story was not even mentioned on the first page of
CNN.Com, and there were only two articles in NY Times
about this, one on the inspection of the Airbus 300,
and another story on how the new security bill would
affect those working for airlines or airports. CNN also
reported the call for inspections on A300s, but right
next to the story, an interesting section was placed.
The section called "FLIGHT RISK" was intended
to attack the whole airport security system and to speculate
about why the current system is flawed. I found this
special section informative and unique. Today, I have
also noticed that the titles that CNN uses are somewhat
dramatic and more eye-catchy than those of the print.
"An Aerodynamic Effect" "Flight 587's
final seconds" are a few of the titles CNN used
today. One more discovery! I find the stories on CNN
easier to read than other stories on the web in that
the stories are never broken up into a number of pages
and stories are somewhat short, which requires less
scroll-down.
11.18.01
New York Times and CNN.Com
The thing I have been worried about seems to have come
true...not being able to see many stories on the crash
any more. When I read Times around 2 PM today, I found
no related stories on the front page. There was only
one article in the Metro Section that talked about Rockaways,
Queens where the plane fell. The article titled "Where
Death Fell From Sky, Lives Intersect" was a nice
and well-written piece on the people of the community
and Washington Heights in Manhattan. The writing style
was somewhat poetic and like that of fiction, but I
found it very well-written. I always find the photos
Times use good. I wonder how many photojournalists the
newspaper has. After reading Times, I logged onto CNN.COM
where I found not even one related story on the first
page. So, I clicked on the US section, and found one
story on the aviation security bill. The story seems
old since the bill was passed a few days ago, and the
president is expected to sign it on Monday, but the
CNN did a story again on it, providing a summary of
the bill. But, when I visited the site again at 10 PM,
a story related to the crash was listed on the first
page in the "other top news" section. The
story was about the memorial services held in Queens
and New York City. And there was a new video clip on
memorials.
One new thing I noticed today! Many people would know
about the AOL and Time Warner merger, and I think that
it could be natural for CNN.COM to have AOL and Time
Magazine ads constantly, but I think it is too much!!!
I remember that an editor from the CareerJournal.com
said that they advertise Wall St Journal when they don't
have appropriate ads for the remaining space, but I
doubt whether this is the case with the CNN. Maybe not.
11.19.01
New York Times and CNN.Com
On CNN.COM, related stories made it to top stories
at night. However, during the daytime, there was only
one story placed in US section about the president's
signing the aviation security bill. CNN updates stories
on this, but the frequency has decreased because the
story does not seem as important as it was a few days
ago. In visiting CNN.COM, I noticed that the color of
the ads on CNN are very similar to the colors the web
site uses, making it less distracting for readers to
read on the web. When I visited MSNBC.COM, I became
distracted by the flash ads they used.
In today's Times, there was a story on memorials. It
was interesting to see this article in today's paper
because the story was already done on CNN.COM yesterday.
After reading the stories on the web, to read the print
version makes me think that news I read in the papers
is old already. I think news should be new and fresh.
Maybe I prefer the digital publication for its speed?
The best thing about the web.. SPPED!
11.20.01
New York Times & Salon.com, Time Magazine on the
web
In today's Times, there were two interesting and fresh
stories in Metro Section. One was about American Airlines'
pilot training program. It said that American Airlines
pilots are expected to focus on "rubber controls"
when they experience unusual circumstances. The article
says that this training is quite different from that
of other airlines, and implied that this could be one
of the reasons that could have led the crash. The other
story was about "E-PASS," which is like "Trusted
Traveler's card." To obtain the card, you let the
authorities run an extensive search on your background
so that when you fly, airports would know that you are
not a suspicious person without extensive security check-up.
The article said that this new proposal of the use of
E Pass will decrease the check-in time for air passengers
On Salon.com, there was only one wire story that reinstated
the cause of the crash. By the way, in looking at Salon.com
today, I noticed that their color and design of the
site are well-chosen and pretty, and I think that this
might be contributing to more readers because the site
is well-designed. It could work on the unconscious level
of the readers although readers might think that they
come to Salon.com for its content.
11.21.01
Time Magazine & various sites
I didn't find any story on the flight crash in NY times
, and believe that the story is really getting out of
people's interests. So I read Time Magazine's Nov 26
issue. Well.. The magazine ran a very big story entitled
"If not terrorism, what is it?" The story
did a summary of what happened and the problems with
airline security. Although the article did a good job
with diverse stories such as stories of those who lost
families in the accident and it had a nice and colorful
layout, all the stories they ran seemed very old. I
have already read these stories on other web sites or
in the papers. It seems that stories in magazines seem
even older than papers. So, maybe it is not interesting
any more to those who have already followed the story
in other publications?
Also, I couldn't find stories on it on the web, either,
except for a couple of articles that restated the cause
of the accident. This also seems old. In addition, there
were no updates in the multimedia and it is understandable!
What can be added?
11.22.01
New York Times & Salon.Com, Slate.com
Anthrax is back, so it is like top story ! The plane
crash is an old one, but today is a special day for
the crash issue! Thanksgiving ! It is like the first
time since the crash when many people have to fly for
the holiday, and it is time when the attention to these
travelers and their concern about airline security will
be high!
Yes, up to my expectations, in Times, a big picture
was placed in the right lower section of the front page
about travelers' check-in at the airports. There was
a story in the National Section that talked about how
people feel about flying and the decrease of travelers
(18%). The story seems to be a right one to be dealt
with today, but I think that it might have been placed
today with a manipulative scheme in order to make other
Americans feel more secure!
One story on Slate.com was interesting. The story entitled
"Why Has American Airlines' Stock Risen Since the
Crash of Flight 587?" explained how the market
can go up during this terrible time. The author used
simple examples and language to help readers to understand
the economic principles, and I liked the links that
he made for difficult economic concepts. Link is one
of the best things of the digital publication!
I realized today that Salon or Slate run stories that
are different from other web sites that are supplementary
to existing print publications. It is fresh and interesting.
Other stories on CNN or NYTimes.com or something like
that are very similar to those in print publications,
just reinforcing it with multimedia. So freshness lacks,
I think.
11.23.01
New York Times & AP, CNN, Salon and Slate
Contrary to my expectations, a story related to the
crash (not exactly the crash story, though) made it
to the front page of Times. The article entitled "As
US Airport Task Begins With Hiring," was about
how difficult it will be to hire 28,000 people with
the right mix of psychological skills to stay focused
for screening at airports. I think that dealing with
this hardship issue was a smooth transition from the
coverage of the aviation security bill to the difficulties
that will come. However, there was no other story than
this in Times today. I thought that there would be stories
on the families in Rockaway community regarding how
they are spending Thanksgiving. I know that it will
be a very predicted story with sad quotes from the families,
but I expected to see this somehow. And, unfortunately,
I couldn't find any related story online. I have read
four different publications, AP, Salon, Slate and CNN,
but there was none. By the way, in reading the AP site,
I was somewhat disappointed. AP wire news is very often
updated on NY Times.com and other sites, and there are
also breaking news briefings on the AP site, but I don't
think it was well-done compared to other web sites such
as NYTimes or CNN. There was not much of multimedia
use available although there was one video clip you
can click on. So I clicked on the multimedia archive
thinking that the section might have other options,
but no. There were video clips of 1995 and the like.
It was disappointing to see that doesn't pay much attention
to the multimedia use.
11.24.01
New York Times & Salon, Slate, CNN and USA today
on the web
The holiday is almost over and the stories on travelers
are not likely to be found for a while. So what stories
can there be regarding the crash? Maybe stories on the
airport security and the aviation security bill? In
today's Times, there were two stories on airline and
airport workers. One story entitled "Hard Times
in Borough of Airports" was about airline workers
who were laid-off or who had to relocate after the Sep
11th and the crash. The stories said that there will
be more increase in the number of people who will have
to lose their jobs. The other story in Times talked
about the tension between Boston's Logan International
Airport and the private company, Argenbright Security
Inc, which has been in charge of the airport's security.
The airport says that it will be able to oust the company
because the company did hire convicts and falsifying
employee records. All of a sudden these days, probably
more after the crash, I see airport or airlines-related
stories. However, on the Web today, I couldn't find
any related story although I visited four different
sites: Salon, Slate, CNN, and USA Today. Salon and Slate
were not updated although Salon did put a couple of
new wire stories. The reason Salon and Slate were not
updated is because it is weekend or holiday? I haven't
checked their sites on a regular basis, so don't know
the answer to this. And I might not be wrong, but I
find the language on Salon and Slate different from
the one used in print. I think that the language on
their sites are simple, short, and more casual. Also,
the tone of the print publication sounds more serious.
11.25.01
USA TODAY & CNN.COM, SALON.COM
Today, there was no related story in NY times and New
York Post, so I read USA today in which I found a story
on air travelers. The story "Air travel down, but
roads, rails crowded" in page 3A said that air
travelers decreased by 18-20%, whereas people who used
trains or highways increased dramatically. The story
was a very short one with several quotes from air passengers
who said they were not afraid to fly. I usually find
stories in USA Today very simple and short with TV-like
graphics. It is easier to read, but it seems to lack
seriousness.
After reading USA today, I went to CNN.COM and Salon.Com.
There was one story on CNN that talked about the evacuation
at the four airports on the west coast after a security
agent discovered a metal detector at Seattle-Tacoma
International Airport that not turned on. I thought
that this could be found on Salon.com also under the
section called "news from wire." But, it wasn't
there. The section "news from wire" makes
me think of the role of gatekeepers or editors. The
stories under "news from wire" are very few
in terms of the number compared to that of stories that
wire service publish a day. The gatekeepers select stories
to put on Salon, and I am worried that readers of Salon
might not be able to get more important (?) or newsworthy
news from wire if the gatekeepers think that some important
news is not important or newsworthy.
11.26.01
It has been two weeks since the plane crash, and the
cause of the crash was determined as an accident. In
the wake of this, the president signed the aviation
security bill, and travelers have experienced tightened
security at airports. I think that it is very unlikely
to see any more related stories on the crash until something
bad like another plane crash happens.
For the last two weeks, I have read different print
and digital publications. I think that both digital
and print are the same in that when there is breaking
news or important news, both mediums rush into covering
the event. However, I think that digital publication
can do better thanks to the multimedia it can utilize.
Digital publications tend to put multimedia features
such as links, photos, videos and interactive tools,
and I find these helpful in understanding a story in
more dynamic and broader ways. Also, I think that the
best thing with digital publication is the speed! News
can be updated very quickly and easily, whereas with
print, I have to wait until next morning to read the
news. Furthermore, the stories in magazines seem even
older than those in the papers.
In general, I prefer digital publication for its to-the-minute
coverage and multimedia features, but except for ads!
When I read online, I get distracted by ads that are
sometimes a half size of the page or flashes. I think
that when digital publications put ads, they had better
do it in a way that matches the page. In other words,
flashes or too distinct colors would not work well for
readers.
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