television - edmonton television news 2006 - Global Edmonton takes to the air ... in a chopper

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Like a proud father, Global Edmonton's general manager Tim Spelliscy announced on October 19th, 2006 the station's latest effort to command the local airwaves – by taking to the air.


Global Edmonton image

Starting in March 2007, Global will offer viewers and commuters alike a bird's-eye view of the city's streets and traffic snarls from a Robinson R-44 Raven II ENG helicopter similar to the one they illustrated.


The station has signed on with the Canadian Traffic Network, a subsidiary of Australia-based Global Traffic Network, that already provides traffic reports to Corus Entertainment radio stations across Canada (locally on 630 CHED, CISN, Cool 880 CHQT and 92.5 Joe-FM) in exchange for selling commercial airtime within the reports.


As promised when CHED announced the launch of its chopper in April 2006, the service will finally take advantage of the craft's ability to house an array of cameras and an on-board audio/video editing suite.


Global's Raven II replacement model, to be delivered from California, will be adapted to carry three cameras – one in the tail, one in the nose with a gyroscopic mount and one inside with the traffic reporter.


Global Edmonton image

"There's growing interest in traffic," said Spelliscy, adding Global was adding chopper coverage to its Calgary, Hamilton and Vancouver markets.


"We just feel that with the amount of news that we're producing here that this was something we had to do for the viewers," Spelliscy said, adding that viewers are expecting this kind of technology.


The Vancouver chopper was to be up November 6th, joining two Global already has up in and on the air in Toronto.


Global Edmonton planned to broadcast eight updates throughout their morning news program and others throughout the day.


The helicopter will also be available to broadcast live during breaking news events such as major fires. No word if police chases or standoffs were on the menu – a sure sign that Edmonton had become a major news market by American standards.


The question remains who will host the reports for Global. The Robinson R-44 Raven II is a four-seater craft and one that has a light payload (a job posting for the traffic position at an out-of-province Corus station required that you had to weigh 140 lbs or less).


In addition to the pilot, there will be CHED's Kris Burkholder (mornings) and Chris Hayden (afternoons), along with Daintre Christenson reporting for CISN, 92.5 Joe-FM and CHQT, leaving one spot vacant if equipment weight doesn't displace that position.


Also remaining is how Global will address the issue of reports when the chopper is grounded due to weather.


On the radio, Burkholder doesn't say she's in the helicopter, but CHED uses helicopter sound effects suggesting otherwise.


How Global will bring the theatre of the mind to TV will be sure to keep viewers glued to their sets, something CanWest MediaWorks is hoping for.


Prior to the 2006 launch of the Corus "CHED-1" helicopter, Edmonton last had air traffic reports in the early 1990s when CHQT newsman Murray Blakely flew over the city in a fixed-wing aircraft.


Blakely had earlier flown while at CJCA when the craft was known as "The Flying Tiger." The CJCA reports were also handled by long-gone local radio legend George Payne.