Loss and more loss

*Lose the choppers
After the loss of four professionals in Phoenix last Friday when two news helicopters collided, I really can't say it better than Alan Mutter says it on his blog:

http://newsosaur.blogspot.com/2007/07/ground-those-tv-choppers.html

Once in a blue moon (after hurricanes, in certainstories), news helicopters are useful. But stations could save money and jobs by renting one from time to time. This ain't the 1970s. You can't impress anyone with Sky8 anymore.

*Snyder dies
Sad news with the death of Tom Snyder, one of the last of the old-style, classic interviewers. The cause of death was leukemia.
Snyder, who hosted interview shows on NBC and CBS, was known for having a cigarette in hand, sitting casually, as he interviewed guests from many walks of life. It really leaves Charlie Rose, who has that excellent show on PBS, as the last of those television interviewers who can talk to someone about Iraq one day and rock music the next. It's too bad. We need to see more of that today, not less.