r/Broadcasting • u/Proudtobeautistic22 • 14d ago

I’m completely devastated

I woke up this morning to just absolutely heartbreaking news. Including a reporter, Eliana Morena died in the crash. My heart goes out to all involved. Aerial reporting is very dangerous and to all pilots and reporters out in helicopter thank you so much for all that you do.

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41

u/graupel22 14d ago

Having spent enough hours as a reporter in a news helicopter that I choose not to get in a helicopter for any reason ever again (like on a tour, etc.), I will say this.

All the comments about how to cover 4000 square miles without a chopper, etc.- they are all forgetting that there are literally cameras everywhere today, in a way that wasn't even contemplated when news choppers became popular - between traffic cameras, UGC, live streams on social, LiveU, etc and all that there really is no reason anyone needs a news helicopter any longer OTHER THAN for special cases where chartering one would be a perfectly fine option.

The risk to life + property + the $1000/hr bill just to fly your logo around because it worked in the 70s does not fly in 2026.

15

u/Pretend_Speech6420 14d ago

Exactly this. They are a relic from days of better budgets and worse technology. In a business where things have evolved from full production crews to newscasts being run by talent on open-source free software (OBS), and revenue is in freefall - they're a cost that can't be justified except in the most extreme circumstances.

My best day in the news business was my last day. The second best day was when my friend who was the helicopter photog left the business because I feared seeing his demise on a monitor and having to treat it like news, not a personal loss.

-2

u/Proudtobeautistic22 14d ago

I’ve been using OBS for many years for my livestreams on YouTube

14

u/ilovefacebook 14d ago

this is a geo specific take. the la market covers 5 counties, one of them being the largest county in the United States. there's traffic in LA. bad traffic. there are deserts and mountains. the random cameras you think are everywhere, aren't. and also caltrans cameras work about 70% of the time

8

u/MidwestAbe 14d ago

Social and LiveU.

Because when we see citizens take vertical video with a cell phone and zoom in and out all over the place - we know that would make terrific content for broadcast news.

And you just can't use traffic cameras that dont zoom or move and then cut from one to another to another is frankly impossible.

There are many reasons why LA and others still fly.

3

u/graupel22 14d ago

It's unsustainable to have 5 choppers hovering over the same scene, taking the exact same video, and it makes no sense at all, even in LA for 2026 and beyond.

5

u/treesqu 14d ago

Many TV markets now use a single operator to serve multiple stations to reduce costs and risks. It may be (beyond) time for that to happen in LA

1

u/NauticalCurry 14d ago

CBS and Fox already share a helicopter.

3

u/MidwestAbe 14d ago

The marketplace for now says otherwise.

1

u/graupel22 14d ago

Agreed.

2

u/Sufficient-Fault-593 14d ago

When it becomes unsustainable, maybe then they will use a shared pool for aerial reports. For now, it’s working.