Steve Fossett faked own death? "News of the World" states CAP says possible

[davedove]

So Steve Fossett wasn't shot down at area 51 AND is currently stowed in a large refrigerated lava lamp of blue liquid next to the space aliens in the basement at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base? What kind of leg pulling is Lt. Col. Ryan up to... with this staged his own death to run off with a honey thing? I like the former more than the latter because I'm Irish, I'm in the Civil Air Patrol, and I think it has more of an antidisestablishmentarism thing going for it. I know a guy, who knows another guy -- who has a grandmother, well... I say this for good reason, as I'm sure you know, CAP is a secret masonic cult and Mr. Fossett was about to stumble upon the truth about us.
WHOOPS. I may have broken a sacred CAP vow! Sorry, don't tell anyone of my indiscretion.

I bet Mr. Fossett, Mr. Presley, Mr. Hoffa, and 2 Pac are all sipping Mai Tai's on some awesome Bermuda based island right now right now

I'm sorry.  You both know too much for your own good and will have to be neutralized.

[Smithsonia]

Neutralization of me is fine as long a you do it before I have to take ECI-13. After that you're just wasting ammo.
With regards;
ED OBRIEN

[flyerthom]

So Steve Fossett wasn't shot down at area 51 AND is currently stowed in a large refrigerated lava lamp of blue liquid next to the space aliens in the basement at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base? What kind of leg pulling is Lt. Col. Ryan up to... with this staged his own death to run off with a honey thing? I like the former more than the latter because I'm Irish, I'm in the Civil Air Patrol, and I think it has more of an antidisestablishmentarism thing going for it. I know a guy, who knows another guy -- who has a grandmother, well... I say this for good reason, as I'm sure you know, CAP is a secret masonic cult and Mr. Fossett was about to stumble upon the truth about us.
WHOOPS. I may have broken a sacred CAP vow! Sorry, don't tell anyone of my indiscretion.

I bet Mr. Fossett, Mr. Presley, Mr. Hoffa, and 2 Pac are all sipping Mai Tai's on some awesome Bermuda based island right now right now

I'm sorry.  You both know too much for your own good and will have to be neutralized.

I thought they were still in area 51 along with Frankie, JFK and Marilyn 

[Psicorp]

Today Rush Limbaugh quoted her alleged quotation.  Not that Rush is anything like NOTF when it comes to news.   Wait...did I just admit to listening to Rush?  I'm going back to work now.

[flyerthom]

Today Rush Limbaugh quoted her alleged quotation.  Not that Rush is anything like NOTF when it comes to news.   Wait...did I just admit to listening to Rush?  I'm going back to work now.

Bad psicorp, no senior doughnut!

[JohnKachenmeister]

I was hard on Ryan about her uniform appearance during the operation, but I want to ask you all not to be hard on her about these alleged comments.

First, reporters are not cops.  They don't have to identify themselves.  Even if they do, there is nothing you can do if they misquote you or take your comments out of context.  I worked Army public affairs for a long time, and I grew to hate the little (offspring of unmarried parents).  They are sneaky and have ZERO ethics.

So, I can picture this happening:

The Conversation:

Reporter:  "So, is it at least POSSIBLE that Fossett faked hs own death?"

Ryan:  "Well, I guess anything is possible."

Reporter:  "Is there any evidence that he did NOT fake his own death?"

Ryan:  "There is no evidence of anything."

Tommorrow's Headline:

CAP CLAIMS FOSSETT MAY HAVE FAKED HIS OWN DEATH
Lt. Col. Ryan says there is no evidence to the contrary.


If it wasn't for the First Amendment, there would be a bounty on journalists.

[cnitas]

I am going to repeat what John just said.

I was interviewed during the Clinton-Lewinski scandal on the night that we started bombing Iraq, by a mainstream news network.  People were all abuzz with 'wag the dog' talk.

Actual event:
There were several questions about Lewinski, and perhaps 1 on the bombing.
Reporter's question:  What do you think of the Lewinski Scandal?
Answer:  I think the whole thing is sad.

When it aired on the news:
The story was about the bombing and none on the scandal.
Question: What do you think of the US bombing Iraq.
Answer:  I think the whole thing is sad.

After that little event, I will not do interviews with the media, and I do not trust them.  I could believe she was setup in a heartbeat.

[RiverAux]

This station http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/26008189.html had this today:

Amy S. Courter CAP Interim National Commander held a special news conference today just outside of Detroit to comment on Ryan's statements.

"She really gave some personal accounts and not those of the civil air patrol."

To me this says that she did make some comments about faking his death.  Say goodby to national PAO of the year.....

[ColonelJack]

I just want to go on the record here regarding comments regarding reporters and the media in general.

Are there bad apples out there, people with an agenda, who skew stories?  You bet your sweet life there are.

Do they represent all of the media?  No freaking way.

I am a television news anchorman and have been a broadcast journalist for thirty-two years.  I take extreme offense at some of the things I've read here about reporters.  I am one and I strive hard to keep any personal bias or personal agendas out of my reporting.  I tell the facts, and I don't allow anyone working for me to do anything but tell the facts.  I leave it to my viewers to determine the "angle" of a story -- because when I report news, there isn't an angle.  I tell what happened, and leave the rest to my viewers.

Needless to say, with a view of news like that, I won't be working for Fox any time soon -- or for CNN, for that matter.

Please don't paint all journalists with that brush.  In many cases -- most cases, really -- it doesn't apply.

I am not qualified to comment on this particular story, as I do not know Lt. Col. Ryan and did not cover the Fossett story except from our station's national news desk.  Here, too, I just told what was happening. 

Jack

[Chappie]

We can speculate all we want as to what was or wasn't said....unfortunately, Lt Col Cynthia Ryan is not able to defend herself in this forum or explain her side of the story.

http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/26008189.html (Reporter - Terri Russell):
"Ryan told me this morning that she was not allowed to comment on the Fossett case or the articles. She did say those who interviewed her left out important information and cobbled things together."   

[flyguy06]

Everywhere i go from the military to my friends tothis board. Everyone loves to bash the media. Are they an easy target or what?

[PHall]

Everywhere i go from the military to my friends tothis board. Everyone loves to bash the media. Are they an easy target or what?

Yes.

[alice]

We can speculate all we want as to what was or wasn't said....unfortunately, Lt Col Cynthia Ryan is not able to defend herself in this forum or explain her side of the story.

http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/26008189.html

Very interesting that link.

I have to agree with the many posters who support the media v. those who think all should be avoided at all times.  I've been doing CAP PAO and MIO duties for more than 20 years, most often from CAWG.  Dealt with lots of media, including national ones.  I've seen lots of wierd misquotes by reporters messing up not-so-serious facts in the grand scheme of life, but never have had to deal with a tabloid reporter sniffing around months and months after a search.  Frankly, CAP and all other search forces NEED the media and virtually all the media willingly work with us, not against us.

Reality is, CAP members under clear CAP regulations are never supposed to say anything publically about missing or downed aircraft causation, not even our own crashes.  That is strictly for NTSB or for our own accidents, our safety and stan/eval folks for most of our history.  But what does "public" really mean in these situations?

I hope one day, if only at CAP PAO/MIO meetings, LtCol Ryan can tell her side of this story.  Did she know she was talking with a tabloid reporter?  Or was she chewing the fat at an airport cafe with "private" people or friends as we all have done.  CAP rarely does such high profile searches, these sorts of opportunities for "lessons learned" would be a shame to loose.

CAP members are used to wearing many hats.  As USAFAux, state employees on some missions, corporate, and as private citizens.   (I'll never forget that letter from a former CAP CC asking us all to lobby Congress in 1999 as private citizens immediately....)

Perhaps the greatest lesson learned from all of this is that during the Fossett search our LtCol Ryan became a public person for CAP and the Fossett search, perhaps never allowed to chew the fat about that search as private citizens can do even at home.

Alice

[Johnny Yuma]

A simple question: Were these "comments" attributed to her made during or after the mission and were they made in her capacity as the Mission PIO?

As far as I'm concerned, if the mission's closed and the comments were made off the job, then they're nothing more than the opinion of any other average citizen.

With that said, as a private citizen, membership card and uniforms in the next room, in my opinion he could have just as much been abducted by purple crack smoking Leprechauns and used as a human sacrifice in honor of Snoop Dogg. There's about as much evidence that happened as what they're alleging.

You can quote me on that, too.

[JohnKachenmeister]

I just want to go on the record here regarding comments regarding reporters and the media in general.

Are there bad apples out there, people with an agenda, who skew stories?  You bet your sweet life there are.

Do they represent all of the media?  No freaking way.

I am a television news anchorman and have been a broadcast journalist for thirty-two years.  I take extreme offense at some of the things I've read here about reporters.  I am one and I strive hard to keep any personal bias or personal agendas out of my reporting.  I tell the facts, and I don't allow anyone working for me to do anything but tell the facts.  I leave it to my viewers to determine the "angle" of a story -- because when I report news, there isn't an angle.  I tell what happened, and leave the rest to my viewers.

Needless to say, with a view of news like that, I won't be working for Fox any time soon -- or for CNN, for that matter.

Please don't paint all journalists with that brush.  In many cases -- most cases, really -- it doesn't apply.

I am not qualified to comment on this particular story, as I do not know Lt. Col. Ryan and did not cover the Fossett story except from our station's national news desk.  Here, too, I just told what was happening. 

Jack

Sorry to offend you, Jack, but I have seen a lot of reporters and reporterettes, and I'd have to say that 80-90 percent are sleazy, lazy, and not too bright.  I won't bore you with war stories, but I expect that a journalist would report FACTS.  A journalist cannot tell the story until he or she knows the story themselves.  Most of the time I see them grab a single nugget of information and make up the rest of the story.

Also, they like to try to hang around the cops at an incident, to hear that nugget of information by evesdropping on a conversation between an officer and his sergeant.  (Note to any journalists... there is a reason we have not released certain information to you at the scene.  We haven't confirmed it yet.)

I can't tell you how many times a stupid question, reflecting total ignorance about the military, would be asked of me when I was briefing journalists in Honduras, to which I would answer:  "That requires some background that will take a while to explain.  Please see me right after the briefing, and I'll answer that in detail."  Only to be described in the story as "Evasive" and "Refusing to answer questions."

[Cecil DP]

Without knocking the men and women in the news or related professions. There are obviously people who will slant or make up a story for their own good-The NY Times, Boston Globe and several other news organizations have been caught doing just that over the last 5 years. They're probably  less than 5% of the organization. I have been interviewed by reporters and when aired the answer was quite different than what was provided to the news crew.
My own persoanl view is that if the newspapers TV, and radio stations were giving the whole story there would be only one of each in every town.

[ColonelJack]

Sorry to offend you, Jack, but I have seen a lot of reporters and reporterettes, and I'd have to say that 80-90 percent are sleazy, lazy, and not too bright.  I won't bore you with war stories, but I expect that a journalist would report FACTS.  A journalist cannot tell the story until he or she knows the story themselves.  Most of the time I see them grab a single nugget of information and make up the rest of the story.

And I'm sorry, Kach, if I came off as too smug or self-righteous.  (I re-read what I wrote and once again realized the value of taking at least several deep breaths before putting fingers to keyboard!)  One can only speak from one's own experiences, of course.  The reporters (and reporterettes -- love that word) you mention wouldn't last long working for me.  I expect my staff to report facts as well, and to keep their opinions out of what they file.  I also expect them to report all the facts, not just the ones that support somebody's position -- even my employer's.  (He appreciates that, by the way.) 

You're right about a journalist not being able to tell the story until he/she knows the story.  On the other hand, there is the issue of time to consider -- we have to get the story on, as quickly as possible.  Yes, there are ratings, etc., to be concerned about, and any journalist who tells you otherwise is lying to you.  In our local market my station's the only one, so I have an extra responsibility to make sure that the story that goes on is reported accurately -- fast, yes, but accurately.  If I wait too long trying to gather facts before I go on with the story, it's not news any more. 

Also, they like to try to hang around the cops at an incident, to hear that nugget of information by evesdropping on a conversation between an officer and his sergeant.  (Note to any journalists... there is a reason we have not released certain information to you at the scene.  We haven't confirmed it yet.)

And the responsible journalist -- who, we know, is under deadline pressure to get the story in print or on the air by a certain time -- should just say what they know as fact and relate that more information will be released as soon as possible.  That's the right way to do it ... but I too have seen my fellows in the field who grabbed what they thought they heard and ran with it, only to be proven wrong moments later.

I can't tell you how many times a stupid question, reflecting total ignorance about the military, would be asked of me when I was briefing journalists in Honduras, to which I would answer:  "That requires some background that will take a while to explain.  Please see me right after the briefing, and I'll answer that in detail."  Only to be described in the story as "Evasive" and "Refusing to answer questions."

I'd never even try to defend a clown like the reporters who did that.  If they were really journalists, they'd have stayed around, gotten the background that you offered, and then wrote their story accordingly.  (Of course, that assumes they didn't have two minutes until deadline -- but even then, referring to you as "Evasive" was not correct.)

Thanks, Kach. 

Jack

[Smithsonia]

Lt. Col. Bagley;

After my 40 years as a journalist, writer, newsman, photog, documentarian, etc. I still have trouble answering the questions that haunt you too. (this comes from reading between your lines just above)

1. Why does our news deadline excuse our lying, half truth telling, sloppiness, indolence, and otherwise poor reporting?

I know it is the nature of the beast and regular publication requires regular news... but why is that commercial necessity excuse us when we miss the truth? John and Patsy Ramsey would like to know too.

2. If we say because it is "the peoples right to know" -- may I point out that nobody I know enjoys being told a lie.

3. If we say it is because of limitation of space (in a newspaper) or time (on the air) that we can't tell the whole truth... why is that an excuse too? It's an excuse for the publication and network perhaps, but why is it an excuse for we the journalists.

4. AND, why are our failures on the 10th page under corrections and never in a headline as bold nor scathing as our original mistake? Our self interest seems more important than our fidelity to truth here too.

I've had these arguments with many dear friends in the "business" and over many years. Answer if you like but do ponder no matter what.

[flyguy06]

Today Rush Limbaugh quoted her alleged quotation.  Not that Rush is anything like NOTF when it comes to news.   Wait...did I just admit to listening to Rush?  I'm going back to work now.

And we all know that Rush Limbaugh is fair and impartial. He is not real Journalism. he is a talking head. He disccuses issues not reparts news. You cant compare Rush to Tom Brokaw. Two different kinds of journalism.

Its obvious due to the demographic of people who post on this message nboard which way they lean toward. Thats ok, just recognize that the majority of folks that post here have a certain point of view on things.] such as the media and other issues.

[cnitas]

I don't think anyone was trying to say that Rush was a credible news source, only that he was discussing the story on his program.

Rush, like it or not, has a huge dedicated listening audience, and any negative CAP coverage on his show is very bad for us indeed.