The Newsroom

Whirlybird: Live above LA

Storyville documentary on news helicopter origins

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
BR
Brekkie
I think there used to be a thread on the topic of news helicopters so this may be of interest to a few here - a Storyville documentary on the origins of news helicopter coverage in the US.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000sc9j/storyville-whirlybird-live-above-la

Quote:
Flying high above Los Angeles in a whirling news helicopter, Marika Gerrard and Zoey Tur (then known as Bob) spent the 80s and 90s capturing the city’s most epic breaking news stories. Before the advent of the 24-hour news cycle, this daring husband-and-wife team invested in a helicopter and pilot’s licence, taking their cameras to the sky and changing broadcast news forever.

The cameras not only captured the adrenaline of live news culture, but also the subsequent strain on their relationship and an identity struggle that eventually culminated in a major life transition for Zoey.

A wholly unique take on the story of Los Angeles, told through stunning aerial footage and remarkable home videos, Whirlybird reframes many of the city’s pivotal moments of the 1990s, including the OJ Simpson pursuit and the 1992 riots.
NJ
Neil Jones Founding member
https://tvforum.uk/thenewsroom/television-news-helicopters-45315/
You're welcome Smile
EL
elmarko
Thanks for this, Zoey Tur's story is great and she's definitely an important figure.
HC
Hatton Cross
I can recommend this programme. However, there are segments of raw footage from the helicopter, where it's not an easy watch - at all.

However, the narrative running through this is an interesting one. But Bob (as Zoey was) doesn't come out of it well.
A nasty, bullying, workaholic who even if they shots they got were brilliant and added to the story, still wasn't happy.

But his company got the shots that the local LA news programmes wanted and for a time was very sucessful.
PA
Parker
Quite graphic shots in there.
WW
WW Update
Here's another interesting documentary about helicopter newsgathering, this time a profile of Arizona chopper legend Jerry Foster from 1979:

BR
Brekkie
Just amazing neither of them pushed the other out of the helicopter at any point. Really interesting to see the footage from the early 90s though.

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