Author Topic: Aviation Week Cape Canaveral bureau closed - Craig Covault  (Read 7544 times)

Offline psloss

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« Last Edit: 01/03/2009 04:44 pm by Chris Bergin »

Offline rdale

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Re: Aviation Week Cape Canaveral bureau closed?
« Reply #1 on: 11/20/2008 09:15 pm »
I noticed the lack of CC at recent pressers...

And I just renewed :(

Offline Chris Bergin

Re: Aviation Week Cape Canaveral bureau closed?
« Reply #2 on: 11/20/2008 09:37 pm »
Craig's a really nice bloke from the couple of times I've e-mailed back and forth too. Strange decision at a key transitional stage with space flight in general.
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Offline Martin FL

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Re: Aviation Week Cape Canaveral bureau closed?
« Reply #3 on: 11/21/2008 12:39 am »
Sign of the times with everyone using the AP feed for the price of less than half a reporter?

Offline rdale

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Re: Aviation Week Cape Canaveral bureau closed?
« Reply #4 on: 11/21/2008 01:04 am »
Someone brought this up recently - AW&ST isn't in their heyday of the 80's and 90's... Given where the moneymaking can be had (aviation much more than space) I guess it's just a business decision.

Offline edkyle99

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Re: Aviation Week Cape Canaveral bureau closed?
« Reply #5 on: 11/21/2008 03:10 am »
NASAWatch is reporting this:
http://www.nasawatch.com/archives/2008/11/sad_day_for_avi.html


No class.  If AWST had class, it would have kept Covalt on staff until Shuttle's end at least. 

OTOH, I can see why the magazine might want to put less focus on the Cape and KSC, since those sites are becoming less relevant in the total worldwide spaceflight story.  For example, there have been more orbital launch attempts from Kwajalein this year (so far) than from Cape Canaveral, but AWST doesn't have a Kwajalein space office.  More from Sea Launch Odyssey too.  And Vandenberg.  And Kourou.  And Plesetsk.  And so on.  The future promises no shuttle, a long gap to Ares/Orion, and a move of some of the dwindling number of Cape launches to Wallops Island. 

 - Ed Kyle   

Offline Peter NASA

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Re: Aviation Week Cape Canaveral bureau closed?
« Reply #6 on: 11/21/2008 03:18 am »
Used to be required reading as a magazine, and still was before today. However, their web coverage of the space program has been behind the loop, detached, forgettable and an abstract of their print coverage. Print media is dead or dying, so they will be in danager of the same if they focus on web coverage that has no focus.

Offline Peter NASA

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Re: Aviation Week Cape Canaveral bureau closed?
« Reply #7 on: 11/21/2008 03:19 am »
NASAWatch is reporting this:
http://www.nasawatch.com/archives/2008/11/sad_day_for_avi.html


No class.  If AWST had class, it would have kept Covalt on staff until Shuttle's end at least. 

OTOH, I can see why the magazine might want to put less focus on the Cape and KSC, since those sites are becoming less relevant in the total worldwide spaceflight story.  For example, there have been more orbital launch attempts from Kwajalein this year (so far) than from Cape Canaveral, but AWST doesn't have a Kwajalein space office.  More from Sea Launch Odyssey too.  And Vandenberg.  And Kourou.  And Plesetsk.  And so on.  The future promises no shuttle, a long gap to Ares/Orion, and a move of some of the dwindling number of Cape launches to Wallops Island. 

 - Ed Kyle   

It's highly likely there will be another three to four years of shuttle to go yet.

Offline Stowbridge

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Re: Aviation Week Cape Canaveral bureau closed?
« Reply #8 on: 11/21/2008 03:23 am »
Used to be a very good magazine, especially Covault. We're in the age of real time reporting now and AWST never seemed get a handle on that with their website. The magazine stayed reasonably strong, but now it's shot itself in the foot and has given up to cover aviation it would appear.
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Offline Antares

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Re: Aviation Week Cape Canaveral bureau closed?
« Reply #9 on: 11/22/2008 05:45 am »
For once I agree with Ed: the class thing would have been to keep them on through the end of Shuttle.  The AWST space coverage is an excellent retelling of facts.  However, their willingness to believe the NASA or corporate version of a story is a bit high for my taste.  The aviation side excelled the space side in breaking news and exclusives.

Obviously now with the web, this site and other more jaundiced ones tend to get the scoops.
« Last Edit: 11/22/2008 05:45 am by Antares »
If I like something on NSF, it's probably because I know it to be accurate.  Every once in a while, it's just something I agree with.  Facts generally receive the former.

Offline lcs

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Re: Aviation Week Cape Canaveral bureau closed?
« Reply #10 on: 11/25/2008 08:56 pm »
Print media is dead or dying, so they will be in danger of the same if they focus on web coverage that has no focus.

What is dying is the willingness of people to pay for information that they now expect to get for free.  That will be the same problem on the web, especially as the current business model of advertising becomes obsolete.

Offline Chris Bergin

I know this thread spilled into the Miles thread - and on to the NASAWatch comment section, but posting this here.

From Craig himself via e-mail:

----------------

--Thanks to everyone for whatever their comments may be--pro or con. I really appreciate having each person's following at AWST---which I am now leaving in my 37th year.
 
--Some folks have commented/questioned  about why I was still writing into December (on an NRO and China piece for example). 
 
That is easily explainable. The NASAWatch item in November was a "news item", not the full blow-by-blow. My termination date always was always to be Dec. 28. And that explains why I had some articles in AWST after the NASAWatch item.
 
--Also some folks commented about who needs a Cape Bureau now.
 
Well on the face of it,  they should examine all that will take place at the Cape over the next 2-4 years.
 
If they wish to ask AWST a  real good question--a good one would be why has there been no significant coverage of the new Mid Atlantic Regional Space Port---a major new Commercial entity launching significant Minotaur  milspace--and perhaps  ISS missions virtually in the back yard of the Washington Bureau.  People in Washington can even see Minotaurs climb out from there if they know where to look.
 
 Beyond that I was a Senior Editor at AWST simply BASED at the Cape, from where I did many more things.  The comment from Todd Halvorson of Florida Today (and a superb space writer in his own right) said it best,  in his Nov. 20 post on NASAWatch.
 
Again thanks for all --to everyone
Craig Covault
AWST Class of 72
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Offline rdale

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Re: Aviation Week Cape Canaveral bureau closed - Craig Covault
« Reply #12 on: 01/03/2009 05:03 pm »
Thanks for posting, I had held off canceling my subscription if he still was going to be writing... Confirmed that move and got me some extra cash after Christmas bills come in!
« Last Edit: 01/03/2009 05:04 pm by rdale »

Offline SimonShuttle

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Re: Aviation Week Cape Canaveral bureau closed - Craig Covault
« Reply #13 on: 01/03/2009 05:15 pm »
He's obviously a good man to send that note.

Offline STS Tony

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Re: Aviation Week Cape Canaveral bureau closed - Craig Covault
« Reply #14 on: 01/03/2009 06:43 pm »
Good luck to him, and he does allow for a good question to be asked of AWST on the Orbital CRS deal.

Offline psloss

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Re: Aviation Week Cape Canaveral bureau closed - Craig Covault
« Reply #15 on: 01/14/2009 11:53 am »
Postscript -- as NASAWatch notes, Craig Covault is back:
http://www.nasawatch.com/archives/2009/01/craig_covault_i.html

Offline zinfab

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Re: Aviation Week Cape Canaveral bureau closed - Craig Covault
« Reply #16 on: 01/14/2009 04:55 pm »
that was fast!

Offline William Graham

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Re: Aviation Week Cape Canaveral bureau closed - Craig Covault
« Reply #17 on: 01/14/2009 05:21 pm »
Postscript -- as NASAWatch notes, Craig Covault is back:
http://www.nasawatch.com/archives/2009/01/craig_covault_i.html


It looks like Spaceflight Now have given him a position:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0901/14covault/

Offline Seattle Dave

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Re: Aviation Week Cape Canaveral bureau closed - Craig Covault
« Reply #18 on: 01/14/2009 05:28 pm »
" Craig will further strengthen Spaceflight Now's unrivaled coverage of the space program. "

That's the funniest thing I've ever read.

Offline Stowbridge

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Re: Aviation Week Cape Canaveral bureau closed - Craig Covault
« Reply #19 on: 01/14/2009 05:32 pm »
Huge demotion for such an established writer, from Aviation Week to a site that publishes astronomy media releases as news articles. Still, you have to put food on the table, so he'll of had to bite the bullet.
Veteran space reporter.

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