Reporters In Chicago Running Amuck....

[rgoper 0]

.......is it right that they exercise their "freedom of speech" to this extent? see the following article, while certainly enlightning, most of the content has nothing to do with the fatality. this is indeed most disstressing. the media gets away with murder!
_______________________________

Skydiver death is site's 6th in a year

Local, federal probes under way

By H. Gregory Meyer and Maurice Possley
Tribune staff reporters

July 16, 2002

Local and federal authorities are investigating the death Sunday of a
skydiver near Ottawa, the sixth fatality at the Skydive Chicago club in
just over a year.

Ronald Passmore Jr., 33, a part-time instructor at the club and the father
of four daughters, was killed as he attempted a water landing in a small
pond, LaSalle County Sheriff Tom Templeton said.

In what is called "pond-swooping," friends said Passmore had steered his
high-performance parachute in an attempt to skim across the surface like a
water skier.

"From my understanding, he hit the water hard," Templeton said. "Apparently
he did not go in feet first but body first, and he sank into the pond."

He was pronounced dead at Ottawa Community Hospital.

Passmore's death is the sixth at the drop zone since July 9, 2001, and is
the second this year, LaSalle County Coroner Jody Bernard said.

Nationally, about 30 skydivers are killed out of more than 3 million jumps
each year, according to the U.S. Parachute Association, the sports
governing body. Since 1993, Skydive Chicago has had 13 fatal accidents,
records show.

The drop zone is operated by Roger Nelson, a former world champion
skydiver, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1987 after pleading
guilty to running an international drug smuggling ring.

Nelson could not be reached for comment Monday.

The sheriff called Passmore's death an accident, but the official cause
will not be determined until a coroner's inquest is held, Bernard said. It
will take about two weeks until toxicology tests for drugs and alcohol are
completed, she said.

The other five fatalities since last July were all accidents, Bernard said.
Drugs were found in the system of one of the skydivers, she said.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees backup parachutes and
planes in the lightly regulated skydiving industry, is investigating, said
spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory. LaSalle County sheriff's officials are
interviewing witnesses, Templeton said.

Passmore, who friends said had logged more than 1,500 jumps, had been
living at the drop zone for the last two months, the sheriff said. He had
most recently lived in Butler, Ind., near Ft. Wayne.

Passmore is the second instructor to die this year at Skydive Chicago. On
May 18, John Faulkner, 28, collided in midair with another jumper,
rendering him unconscious, and his backup chute failed despite being
equipped with a device to open it automatically, Bernard said.

The automatic opener has been sent to its German manufacturer for
examination, Bernard said. It may have been damaged in the collision, she
said.

On Oct. 6 two jumpers died when their parachutes became entwined. Eight
days later, a skydiver died after his primary chute did not open and
another chute opened too late, authorities said. The other death occurred
on July 9, 2001.

Skydive Chicago is listed as a large skydiving center based on the number
and size of its planes, said Betsy McStay, the associate director for group
membership of the U.S. Parachute Association. It is one of the Midwest's
busiest drop zones, logging about 75,000 jumps a year.

Nelson, the Skydive Chicago operator, is one of the association's national
directors. On the day Passmore was killed, the association was wrapping up
a board meeting at the drop zone, which will host the national
championships in September.

Nelson, who was captain of the national champion skydiving team in 1982,
pleaded guilty to federal charges of heading a ring that authorities said
brought millions of dollars in cocaine and marijuana into the Chicago area
from Belize, Colombia, Jamaica and Mexico. Sixteen other defendants were
convicted.

At the time of his sentencing, Scott Mendeloff, who was an assistant U.S.
attorney, said that despite promises to surrender his wealth acquired
through the drug ring, the $1 million that Nelson surrendered was only
about half of his profits. As part of his agreement, Nelson led
investigators to a home near Steamboat Springs, Colo., where they dug up
$250,000 in Kruggerands and 225 pounds of silver coins.

Nelson began skydiving at 16 and became a pilot. In 1981 he opened Skydive
Sandwich Inc., which became one of the country's biggest sky diving
schools. He later opened Air Charter Inc.

A co-defendant implicated Nelson in several drug shipments beginning in
1978, including one 550-kilogram load of cocaine that Nelson flew into the
U.S. in 1983.

Passmore's former wife, Christine, broke the news of his death to their
four daughters, who live with her in Butler. She said his passion for the
sport led to their divorce.

"When he first got into it, I begged him, `Please quit, it'll kill you,'"
she said. "He was extreme. You couldn't slow that guy down."

Copyright © 2002, Chicago Tribune
______________________________

this is "over the top" i consider it unprofessional conduct on the reporters behalf. it's bad enough a man has lost his life, and leaves a wife and child behind, now these guys try to ruin another's reputation. the faa is investigating this latest incident as other news articles relate (too many to mention) the press suks, why do they go out of there way to dig up dirt? hope there aren't many reporters out there!

--Richard--
"We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

[nws01 0]

Quote

The drop zone is operated by Roger Nelson, a former world champion
skydiver, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1987 after pleading
guilty to running an international drug smuggling ring.

Should we start calling him Red Line?

[freeflir29 0]

Other than the fact that controversy sells...I'm really failing to see the connection between Roger's past and the DZ he currently owns. Looks like a ratings whore piece to me.

[Sinkster 0]

All I can say is that the FAA and the general public better stay the heck out of skydiving and not try to protect us from ourselves. Let's hope we can continue to keep a low profile so the safety police stay away!

[Vallerina 2]

If you don't like what the reporter has to say, take action. While newspapers keep things in check, it's their subscribers and readers duty to keep them in check. No sense in complaining about the article here, unless you try to rally up people to either write letters to the editor, explain the side which you feel was uncovered, or accuse the reporters of libel (although I'm not sure if they're guilty or not.)

If you really think that this is an attempt at trying to limit skydiver's rights, then do something!

There's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning

[PhreeZone 15]

>Looks like a ratings whore piece to me.

No... its more that the reporter is explaining the background behind the DZ and its owner. It mentions that drugs were found in one of the other fatilities and how Roger could not be reached for comment. So, the reporter had to dig to find info out about the DZ and the owner.... Its all pretty much common knowledge to any old timer in the sport any ways.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[freeflir29 0]

Quote

It mentions that drugs were found in one of the other fatilities

Yep...but it insinuates that drugs were a factor in the accident. If you smoked weed a week ago you will still have traces in your bloodstream but I don't think anyone would try to say you were under it's influence during the accident. That was leading and irresponsible to say the least.

[PhreeZone 15]

>If you smoked weed a week ago you will still have traces in your bloodstream but I don't think anyone would try to say you were under it's influence during the accident

No... but on the incident they were refering to he had cocaine, Extacy, weed and I'm thinking something else still in his bloodstream.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[Spy38W 0]

Quote

Quote

It mentions that drugs were found in one of the other fatilities

Yep...but it insinuates that drugs were a factor in the accident. If you smoked weed a week ago you will still have traces in your bloodstream but I don't think anyone would try to say you were under it's influence during the accident. That was leading and irresponsible to say the least.

Great, before you know it, we're going to have to submit a cup of urine to manifest in the morning...

--
Hook high, flare on time

[rgoper 0]

***If you don't like what the reporter has to say, take action.If you really think that this is an attempt at trying to limit skydiver's rights, then do something!***

i am doing something, first by posting it here, for all of the dz.comers to see what the tribune is up to, made sure the reporter's names were listed. the article was presented "as is" so they wrote it. i'm not comfortable with the fact that they took it upon themselfs to investigate roger's background, and what that has to do with anything that happened in relation to this particular sky diver's death. if it happened to roger, it can happen to any of us. yes, i am doing something, and i encourage the rest of you (unless of course, you think what they reported is o.k.) to do something as well. it's idiots like this that will have our sport monitored before long if we don't watch them, like there watching us. by the way, just since it was brought up, the only way they could be held accountable for liable, or slander, is if what they reported wasn't true. there ought to be a "statue of limitations" on something, a man's past shouldn't be thrown in his face like that, thats just plain wrong.

--Richard--
"We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

[freeflir29 0]

Quote

No... but on the incident they were refering to he had cocaine, Extacy, weed and I'm thinking something else still in his bloodstream.

Lets see...it takes approximately 72 hours...AT LEAST...for your body to break down cocaine to where it isn't traceable. Some people may take longer. Weed....2 weeks would be pretty minimum. I have seen previously heavy smokers that still had "convictable" amounts in their blood stream after not smoking for 4 months!!! X....I'm not sure about it but I thought the only way to test for that was hair or spinal fluid. Like LSD?
Regardless....what drugs that he MAY have taken at SOME time still don't prove that he was under their influence during the skydive. Alcohol is easy. Your body metabolizes it fairly quickly and as long as it is in your blood stream you are under it's effects. Not so with other drugs. Period.



Note: I'm not defending the guys drug use. Just that so far there has been absolutely no proof that he was under the influence of any drug during the skydive. People just want to assume that he was and that is bullshit.

[billvon 2,396]

>this is "over the top" i consider it unprofessional conduct on the
> reporters behalf.

That's how they sell papers. Everything in it is factual.

>the press suks, why do they go out of there way to dig up dirt?

That's their job. I'm sure Haldeman and Erlichman got much more grief than these reporters will, and the dirt they dug up was considerably more damaging to the US - but I'm glad they did it.

> hope there aren't many reporters out there!

Better than lawyers.

[quade 3]

On the whole, it's a fairly balanced piece, standard muck raking, but clearly not run amuck.

There clearly is something different about this particular dropzone and it's management. Something worth investigating.

Take a step back and put this into the perspective of ANY other business.

For instance, if a single car model accounted for 20 percent of the driving deaths, well, I doubt that you or anybody else would be shocked or think the fourth estate was out of line by investigating any possible root cause. Further, if the head of the car company that made that car had been previously convicted of drug trafficing, well, I think you begin to see the point . . . yes, it is, in fact, a relevant point to be investigated.

Finally, the reporter is not ruining Roger's reputation. If anything, Roger did that himself many, many years ago.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[billvon 2,396]

>Just that so far there has been absolutely no proof that he was
> under the influence of any drug during the skydive.

Right, a drug test can only prove he was _not_ under the influence if it comes back clean. Since it did not, he may or may not have been influenced by the drugs during the skydive. It's not any sort of proof but makes things a lot more messy.

[billvon 2,396]

>All I can say is that the FAA and the general public better stay the
> heck out of skydiving and not try to protect us from ourselves. Let's
> hope we can continue to keep a low profile so the safety police stay
> away!

I hope so too, and I hope we keep this in mind when we consider if we want 14 year olds doing tandems, or having skydiving in the olympics, or having it be part of the X-games. A high profile is not neccessarily a good thing.

(another post)
>Great, before you know it, we're going to have to submit a cup of
> urine to manifest in the morning...

Oh, you bet. Have just one demo jumper kill a spectator, and have traces of cocaine found in his blood, and every PRO-rated jumper (heck, maybe even every C-license rated jumper) will be peeing in a cup.

[freeflir29 0]

Quote

It's not any sort of proof but makes things a lot more messy.

Thats the truth. By the looks of this article the "Court of Public Opinion" isn't going to be very kind with spin like this.

[Levin 0]

Quote

a man's past shouldn't be thrown in his face like that, thats just plain wrong.

i watch it on cnn all the time

levin
vSCS#3
vSCR#17
grat#40

[flyhi 24]

Quote

since it was brought up, the only way they could be held accountable for liable, or slander, is if what they reported wasn't true.

If it is true, they have every right to print it. Whether it is pertinent to what we perceive to be the story at hand or not, is inconsequential. That is their chosen editorial style.

If you don't like the story you have a number of options:

1. Letter to the Editor
2. Vote with your feet (Don't buy the rag, again and let them know it.)
3. Organize a boycott

And least effective:

Rant on a website they will never see.

Personnally, I think the American public's ire is raised quickly, but their memory is short.

Does anyone remember Flight 007?

Shit happens. And it usually happens because of physics.

[Jessica 0]

Quote

On the whole, it's a fairly balanced piece, standard muck raking, but clearly not run amuck.

I agree.

Six deaths at one recreational facility in the space of a year is newsworthy, like it or not.

The skydiver in me wishes it hadn't been written, simply because of the negative attention it's going to attract, but the journalist in me would have been very surprised if the story had been ignored.

Skydiving is for cool people only

[Iflyme 0]

I'm with ya on this one, Jessica.

[bbarnhouse 0]

I don't think that it was necessary to point out Roger's past. He paid his debt to society, and he openly talks about his past. He made mistakes, we all do, but does this make for a life long sentence?
As to speculation and innuendo I will wait until all the facts are in. Yes, the media is calling all the major DZ's, yes there are questions that require answers, yes they are just doing their job. Remember that as a society we love the negative mud slinging crap, the hard reality is that someone died.

[jfields 0]

I'd hardly call that article "Running Amuck". I was a journalist for a couple years. While not my personal style, I didn't see anything terribly wrong with the piece.

Look at what happened to the asian guy at Los Alamos. He got dragged through the media as a "probable Chinese spy", only to get totally cleared after the furor died down. Roger got convicted in court. So, according to the law, he is guilty and it is public. He has nothing to bitch about, nor do we in his defense. While it certainly is old news, the easy way to avoid having it hauled out years later is not to do the deed in the first place.

Look at the stuff the Enquirer and their ilk print. It is outright garbage, but they are like teflon when it comes to making libel or slander charges stick. If you want to try that based upon an article that was actually factual, forget it.

I have personally wondered about some things at that DZ. I've never been there, nor have I heard anything specific, but the numbers are curious to me. If I looked at similar DZs, in terms of jump numbers, does it stand out? I don't know, because I haven't seen any data. But the anecdotal evidence makes me wonder, and I'm not subject to the same type of misinformation as a whuffo reporter. The fact that some people in the skydiving community itself question what is going on lends some validity to a member of the whuffo press asking the same question.

In self-interest, there are things we can do to keep skydiving out from under the media microscope. First off, be safe! Minor accidents and such aren't "newsworthy". Second, keep it clean. If there are no links between skydivers and drugs, the press can't report them. Finally, watch out for each other. If you see someone being unsafe or just plain dumb, let them know, firmly if necessary. That applies to everyone, from A-license newbies to DZOs. If we are a bunch of happy, safe jumping fools, the press will basically leave us alone. We are our own biggest problem.

[quade 3]

Quote

Does anyone remember Flight 007?

Quite well! I remember the time and the exact place I heard the story. I also remember thinking it was going to start a war. Fortunately, it did not.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[scottbre 0]

It's not the press that is giving skydiving a bad image. It's those few stupid skydivers who make bad decisions, which gives the press something that is newsworthy. If you were a respectible person who ran a good business, there would be no reason to "dodge the press."

"Your mother's full of stupidjuice!"
My Art Project

[Vallerina 2]

Before reading the rest of the replies (I have to get to class, so sorry if i repeat anything anyone else says, but feel the need to reply)

"by the way, just since it was brought up, the only way they could be held accountable for liable, or slander, is if what they reported wasn't true."
Exactly my point. If you found something that wasn't true in the article, then by all means point out the reporters who did perform their journalistic integrity.

"a man's past shouldn't be thrown in his face like that, thats just plain wrong. "
Not really. From an outsider looking in, relating a skydiver who had drugs in their bloodstream with an owner who has had history with illegal drugs seems pretty relevant.

"if it happened to roger, it can happen to any of us."
Good luck in finding dirt on me. (Beside a couple of speeding tickets and a car wreck.)

"i am doing something, first by posting it here, for all of the dz.comers to see what the tribune is up to,"
Not really sure what the Trib is up to, and I'm also not sure what exactly you are DOING. You have not articulated what is wrong with this article, hence most likely not encouraging others to take action. You don't like that they brought up someone's past. But if it's true and relevant, how do you expect to encourage others to see your point. You complained that you didn't like it, which you have every right to do thanks to the 1st ammendment. The reporters also have every right to publish what is true.

There's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning