The South Australian get together for the 75th year anniversary of organised gliding in Australia is prepared for next weekend 6th & 7th November at Pallamana, a general aviation aerodrome north of Murray Bridge, about 70km east of Adelaide.
Getting such things promoted is done with difficulty in a public media today dominated by mass sport and professional organisations and slick publicity. So it was nice today to get a 3 page spread in The Weekender part of the Friday Adelaide Advertiser. As usual with media, once the bird had been let out of the bag, we have no control over what appears. Like the end piece having an emphasis on a person rather than on the activity or the event (sigh). So while only a part page is devoted to the anniversary event itself, more space is devoted to a nervous reporter's recollections of a first flight, and includes notes on the typical amateur gliding site's infrastructure like 'untidy looking but effective winch' and 'makeshift shelter' for the glider. Knowledgeable readers will smile at the factual inaccuracies, including Noel Matthews in the photos being named someone else (who is taller and has a bit more hair). That this appeared at all, is a reflection of how much time and effort a string of people have put into a background hiss of continuing promotion over the months, and how good a non denominational event is in getting media coverage - ie there is no single club being singled out in the general pro-gliding splurge. And having a state mobile phone no. to give out where the silly questions can be asked before and after the media visit, the access to a website for background, all helps media get the story out. This led to the part of the page devoted to 'getting started in gliding'. On field 4 of us devoted 4 hours to inducting the reporter and photographer, including a knowledgeable gliding photographer being on hand to guide the newspaper photographer to reposition to get best shots taking off, landing, in-flight, etc. Interestingly, it was seen by these media as a positive that we were reluctant to do the flight, repeatedly checking that the reporter actually wanted to, and calming him that it would be ok if he didn't want to. And talking about what will happen next, all the checks and communication and decisions we make before deciding that it is ok to fly. The hope is that this piece will make it easier for other media to report on gliding; and while we try to get more mention of the 75th anniversary coming up in public places, it is hoped other clubs will hook themselves and their events from this trigger (we would have done that as was offered some months back but no details have been received by the 75th organisers from other clubs in the region). Other media have been supportive in other ways, local radio is running community announcements for 3 weeks, we are on AOPA, aeroclub and SAFM web sites, and short pieces have appeared in local papers. All we need now is some nice friendly weather. _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
