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News Helicopter


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I moved to Nashville from Atlanta about 4 years ago. I've always wondered, why do none of the Nashville news stations have a helicopter? I understand, especially with gas as it is right now, that it's expensive to operate. But I know Channel 5 CBS used to have one and can't find when or why they got rid of it. When looking on the Memphis news website, www.wmctv.com, I noticed they have a helicopter. Nashville is a bigger media market than Memphis, so it would only seem Nashville would have at least 1 statiosn with a Helicopter (I don't watch Channel 2 ABC or Channel 4 NBC news that much, so if they have one and I didn't realize it, please fill me in).

We continue to talk about Nashville competing with the Charlotte's and Atlanta's, but I can tell you every news station in Atlanta has a helicopter, and it's just one of those things that it seems like a city of Nashville's size should have.

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I moved to Nashville from Atlanta about 4 years ago. I've always wondered, why do none of the Nashville news stations have a helicopter? I understand, especially with gas as it is right now, that it's expensive to operate. But I know Channel 5 CBS used to have one and can't find when or why they got rid of it. When looking on the Memphis news website, www.wmctv.com, I noticed they have a helicopter. Nashville is a bigger media market than Memphis, so it would only seem Nashville would have at least 1 statiosn with a Helicopter (I don't watch Channel 2 ABC or Channel 4 NBC news that much, so if they have one and I didn't realize it, please fill me in).

We continue to talk about Nashville competing with the Charlotte's and Atlanta's, but I can tell you every news station in Atlanta has a helicopter, and it's just one of those things that it seems like a city of Nashville's size should have.

Hey, we don't need no stinkin' helicopters when we've got cameras mounted on the skyscrapers Memphis doesn't have. Those cameras can zoom all the way into the living rooms of Barney & Betty in Goodlettsville playing strip Sorry! :D

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I think it's a money thing. TV stations are too worried here in Nashville about beating Newschannel 5. I guess the word is Tight Wad. I know in Lexington, KY, the TV stations have them and the city only has 260,000 in it!!! Even Evansville, IN has TV Choppers. GOOD question. Email the TV stations and see what they say. Try the News Director perhaps or the Station Manager.

Rudy's chopper shots are from a gentleman that rents it out. it is a private helicopter, not a TV chopper.

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Never thought about that. I see choppers everyday in La Vergne. I guess it's a Japanese invasion with Nissan and Bridgestone. I truly haven't even given our lack of air coverage much thought, but man, what good aerials we could have. Living on the eastside I get my share of the little black police copters.

I'd never thought of this either - we're on the north side of downtown and see all those little black ones, plus the LifeFlight and any others toodling around the city.. !

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Do we need helicopters?

If you look at the awards, Nashville stations usually pull in a majority in the southeastern division up against some of these cities that do have helicopters.

It would expand coverage of SOME events no doubt. But it also kinda sheds a light on Nashville that the TV market isn't quite "with it". I can see both sides of the issue and would agree with points on equal sides.

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Hey, we don't need no stinkin' helicopters when we've got cameras mounted on the skyscrapers Memphis doesn't have. Those cameras can zoom all the way into the living rooms of Barney & Betty in Goodlettsville playing strip Sorry! :D

Actually, NBC 5 (WMC) in Memphis has a camera mounted on top of Clark Tower, one of the stations has one on top of One Commerce (SunTrust Tower), and another is mounted on top of the Rivermark.

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Actually, NBC 5 (WMC) in Memphis has a camera mounted on top of Clark Tower, one of the stations has one on top of One Commerce (SunTrust Tower), and another is mounted on top of the Rivermark.

Fox 13 has the camera on the Rivermark tower. I don't know who has one on the SunTrust tower though.

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I can't believe it has come to this, where Nashvillians (is that correct?) and Memphians are comparing news helicopters and cameras mounted on buildings! What's next? Comparing which news anchor has the best hair? Or which city has the coolest stop lights? This is ridiculous!

You know where the need for comparison comes from, right? Insecurity...

Let's stop trying to compare everything and talk about the GREAT things happening in both cities.

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I can't believe it has come to this, where Nashvillians (is that correct?) and Memphians are comparing news helicopters and cameras mounted on buildings! What's next? Comparing which news anchor has the best hair? Or which city has the coolest stop lights? This is ridiculous!

You know where the need for comparison comes from, right? Insecurity...

Let's stop trying to compare everything and talk about the GREAT things happening in both cities.

Our Nashville anchors got the best hair. All your Memphis anchors wear rugs. :D

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This was not intended to be a Memphis-vs-Nashville post so much as, if we want to talk about how great and modern we are, why no helicopter? I think that's a legitimate point of comparison to other cities we compete with.

Regardless, I did get an answer from one of the news stations in town (not sure of the rules regarding posting the name of the station or the informant, so I'll summarize). This person told me that no Nashville station has ever had a full-time helicopter due to the cost, and do to increase in competition from cable, it's doubtful that a helicopter will be any any local news stations future plans.

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I haven't found any of the posts to be that "vs" in nature. I think most folks where just saying they were suprised Nashville didn't have news choppers and stating what other cities and smaller markets nearby had them. I didn't get that anybody implied Memphis was a better city for having a news chopper.

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Regarding the post earlier about Nashville stations pulling in more awards although they don't have a copter...ABC 24 in Memphis was just voted the best newscast in Tennessee by the AP. They also had best weather, sports, anchor and reporter.

And comparing the Memphis market with Evansville and Bowling Green??? Give me a break! How much difference is there between the Memphis market and Nashville market? Not much!

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Regarding the post earlier about Nashville stations pulling in more awards although they don't have a copter...ABC 24 in Memphis was just voted the best newscast in Tennessee by the AP. They also had best weather, sports, anchor and reporter.

And comparing the Memphis market with Evansville and Bowling Green??? Give me a break! How much difference is there between the Memphis market and Nashville market? Not much!

The posts that compared Memphis to Evansville and Bowling Green gave me the giggles. Thats funny. :rofl:

I hope that best anchor award went to the gorgeous Dee Griffin! ;)

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Does a news station really need a helicopter to provide quality news coverage. From what I have seen with the larger cities, news helicopters are just a sensational way to cover the news and to get you to watch that station. Channel 5 has been doing very well for itself with the number of news awards they have gotten for news coverage, photo jounalism and investigative reporting. It seems as if the stations that are insecure with their reporting has to get a helicopter to get the edge. When one station gets a helicopter then they all think they have to have one in order to compete.

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