First Half of July Brings Positive Press Coverage
Tuesday, July 12, 2011

The past two weeks have been filled with great press coverage for NATCA, as members made themselves known on major news outlets across the country.

The beginning of July marked the 75th anniversary of federal air traffic control, and with this came the interest of news anchors and reporters hoping to get a glimpse of the inside world of ATC. Below we recap for you several press clippings from the past two weeks.

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In the Wall Street Journal article (login required), titled “Summer Travel, as Seen From the Airport Control Tower,” reporter/Middle Seat Terminal columnist Scott McCartney visited DFW/D10 to discover what really goes on at one of the nation’s busiest airports. During his time there, he interviewed NATCA member Bill Shea who discussed his personal experiences working the busiest and most complicated sector. At the conclusion of the article, NATCA recieved even more publicity as the focus turned to NATCA's annual Archie League Medal of Safety program and three specific examples of past award-winning saves, and even provided a link to the event recordings on our Web site.

Last Wednesday, a CNN news story featured Atlanta Center and the role this facility's air traffic controllers play in handling severe weather. Though ZTL's past NATCA president Calvin Phillips was interviewed and not used in the final airing, we found the story a positive one, showing the true dedication of our nation's controllers.

In Chicago Tribune last week, numerous NATCA controllers were quoted -- both veteran and new members -- providing a real life portrayal of this career.
 
    “An air traffic controller's life: Flurry and fatigue” may be found here.

    “FAA tries new strategy to attract controllers” may be found here.

This week, the PR continued for our union as local TV channels in Ohio covered the new training simulator at Cleveland Tower. FacRep Bob Kerr was featured on camera discussing the topic, both on WEWS and WKYC.

    WEWS-TV - Video: http://tinyurl.com/69cofgn
                          Story:  http://tinyurl.com/6batnh9
    WKYC-TV - Video: http://tinyurl.com/5rabuly

On Thursday, ZKC rep Dana Bain participated in an interview with ABC Kansas City, which went extremely well. She was featured on camera as a large part of KMBC's coverage regarding weather and ATC. 

    http://tinyurl.com/635vzqg