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**AAFO_WSagar** · 10-08-2004, 07:26 AM

Re: First Despain now Speednews?, and ????

Originally posted by tex-fan

I started the "Despain wants an interveiw" thread. Now lets see what else WE can do. Those sports guys and news guys are all the same. They want to get in on whats happening [The same as any news people]. Well WE all need to convince them that Air Racing is a happening thing. There are over 600 members on this site [thanks to Wayne] lets FLOOD Speed Channel with thanks for the interview. Then ask, beg or demand

for more coverage. Then lets all start on ESPN, saying something like, Speed-TV is doing all this wonderful coverare on Air Racing don't you think ESPN needs to get in on it before the 'other guys' leave you behind?

I think the way to get coverage we all want is to get the networks to doing to out-do the other networks.

So all you guys PLEASE help with email addresses, phone #s and what ever you can come up with.

TexFan, I'm not sure how this all went down but from what I can see, you might just be responsible for making it happen. I don't know how John found out about the interview, but I suspect, he either saw about it here and jumped on it or one of the crew or someone else contacted him after reading it here...

However it went down, you done good. I stand behind any effort we can get going to send messages of thanks to Dave and Wind Tunnel. I thought Despain did a great job of the interview, as did John.

We might just have started something here! We're going to be doing a "live" via jumbotrons show at Nellis, the air racing demo there is only going to run about 20 minutes per "episode". IF1's run in the morning, Unlimited in the afternoon. The IF1's are SO damn impressive there at Nellis that Reno actually looked into trying to move them closer to the crowd, as they are at Nellis..

Jeff Lee is there at Nellis, and they have a TON of cameras working the event.... How can we get SPEED interested in hooking into some of the tape, like specifically, the two demo events?

It's really good stuff there, there is "cheating" galore so the airplanes are almost always close and the finishes are dramatic to say the least. The live crowd, even though they are told numerous times, this is a demonstration, seem to totally buy into the "reality" that this is a race they are watching..

Ideas??? I'm sure that Jeff Lee could produce a great half hour of race highlights within shortly after the event... how can we get them interested???

Jeff... you here???

Wayne

**Apteryx** · 10-08-2004, 09:40 AM

Re: First Despain now Speednews?, and ????

Random thought...

I think short term we can keep the ball rolling, but long term we may need to "package" ourselves. Over the years I'm seen some KILLER footage, pilots & crews have shot. We don't have to make it "professional" grade, but some of you "digitizer" could put together a short montage, to to give those unfamiliar a taste of what we do, without steping on copyright toes.....

I think WE are less fragmented then some of the racing groups, and might make a good spearhead.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Sidebar: ABC was shooting (film) over Steve Hintons shoulder, all week, the year the Red Baron, (Griffon powered RB-51, for you youngsters), crashed, one of ABC's crew was sure the camera was rolling, when it went in. THANKFULLY Steve survived, does anyone KNOW, if the the film survived...THAT would make Agony of Defeat, ski-jump guy, look like a pratfall.
............................................Paul

**Section3guy** · 10-08-2004, 09:48 AM

Re: First Despain now Speednews?, and ????

I think we are on to some thing ill start looking in to emails and contact info.who is with me?

https://www.renosection3.com

**Section3guy** · 10-08-2004, 10:06 AM

Re: First Despain now Speednews?, and ????

here is the contact info for espn

ESPN.com: SITETOOLS - Contact ESPN

http://sports.espn.go.com/sitetools/s/contact/espntv.html

Contact ESPNTV

i all ready hit speedtv up.what about bothering abc sports or discovery wings also?more is better right

**marada mx3** · 10-08-2004, 11:18 AM

Re: First Despain now Speednews?, and ????

I just sent in my message to ESPN. Hopefully, this will have a snowball effect. I'd like to see Air Racing back on the tube, circa early '90s. Let's get everyone in on this. Air Racing is much more exciting than taxi cabs going in circles. I think the personalities are much better too. Thanks everyone for getting the ball rolling.
Go Bear!

Tommy

**tex-fan** · 10-08-2004, 12:47 PM

Re: First Despain now Speednews?, and ????

All this is going good, but we are all emailing in, but I have not personally gotten any responses from any of the TV guys.

So if any of you guys hear anything back from any of them, please let us all know.

I just hope their listening!

**AAFO_WSagar** · 10-08-2004, 01:04 PM

Re: First Despain now Speednews?, and ????

Originally posted by tex-fan

All this is going good, but we are all emailing in, but I have not personally gotten any responses from any of the TV guys.

So if any of you guys hear anything back from any of them, please let us all know.

I just hope their listening!

Tex, I honestly think that ESPN is a lost cause. They have been approached a lot about this sport, covered it at one time, and left it..

SPEED on the other hand will look at their ratings for the show last night. They will, likely, also look at the message traffic on their message system LINK HERE TO MESSAGE BOARD AT SPEED I even signed up over there and put up a couple pictures, yesterday prior to the show going on the air. One of John (one of my best pix of him) and one of the air2air shots with the airplane from April of last year... or was it the year before... ????

Anyway, I think one of the things we can do is ALL of us go to their message system and rave about how cool it was to see the interview, how much we like SPEED and how much more we'd like it if they could feature more stuff like that... maybe even coverage of the races...

I think we've got a chance, a real chance, with SPEED to get it done... One thing though.... A lot of the time, the stuff networks like SPEED air, they don't actually shoot... Meaning, they don't go out with "SPEED" trucks and crews and set up and do it.. It's contract work. As it was with Jeff Lee and World of Wings in 2000. An independant producer forks out the bux to shoot and produce/cut/assemble the show, then they market it to the network... if they have a good relationship, then it might well be pre-sold but.. I managed to learn a bit about this working on the show in 2000. If the sponsors balk at buying time for a show such as this, then it does not happen...

Which brings us back to who we really need to influence in all of this... the people who make products who spend the $$$ to advertise.. that's what pays for these shows..

Anyway.. gotta run, got a date with a BeerNazi and a two hour trip to her getaway!

Wayner

**Unregistered** · 10-09-2004, 09:56 PM

Re: First Despain now Speednews?, and ????

Wayne,

Yea, I'm here. Not real sure when this thread started, but I'll give you as much input as I can.

What I can tell you is that we do have much more freedom and latitude with the coverage at Nellis. There are many discussions and plans going on for different possibilities after the November event. Nothing at this point is confirmed.

We do cover this event with 5 to 7 cameras switched live and fed to the Jumbo-trons. Last year we were live in-cockpit with Skip in Dago Red during the racing, and also with Sean D. Tucker for aerobatics. Thanks to Mark Magin of On-Board Images for that technology. We are planning similar coverage for this year as well.

As you know, all it takes is money. I know that's a tired old excuse, but it holds true everday. There's no problem with interest or desire. We just need to figure out how to make the audience more visible, and vocal to a network that might be interested in this sport. That will attract potential sponsors which bring the money to the table. It's a simple equation, but a VERY tough one to solve.

Let's keep doing things like this, and find other targets. Sooner or later, something will click, and we just have to be ready to jump on the opportunity. The tape is loaded, and the batteries are charged. Just tell me where to show up, and I'm ready!

Jeff Lee

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