This is starting to be reported elsewhere, so will go ahead and make a post. Found out earlier today that KWTV News Director fired pilot Mason Dunn after they got into an argument.

Personally I don't like this. The chemistry between Gary and Mason on storm coverage was always great. This is likely going to be a major blow to KWTV's weather coverage as they will no longer have the experience in the sky. As soon as Gary decides to finally retire, that will probably be the end for me of watching the news on that station and move completely to 4 and 5.

For weather I always go to 4. For actual news coverage I go to 5 and 9. Eyewitness News 5 is the absolute best in news coverage but 9 is more fun!

I really didn't like Mason anyway. Hopefully they can find a good replacement.

I'm sorry to hear they let him go. The chemistry between Gary and Mason during severe weather is amazing. I can't think this is a positive move for KWTV. They lost their edge on weather reporting.I hope he lands at another station soon. Maybe he can move over to KOCO.

I wonder what the argument was about.

I found out about an hour after he was fired. It wasnt just this incident but the tipping point. It had been brewing for awhile

To be technical he was fired last Tuesday

You can't fire the guy that saved "Bambi" on a frozen lake! Maybe it's time for a new News Director.

Wow that was a bad call by Channel 9.

He seemed like a nice guy and was much more enjoyable to watch than Bob Moore Chopper 4, but during the last severe weather outbreak KWTV seemed a little flat-footed compared to KFOR. And the ratings showed.

I wonder if Gary England's recent on air crabbiness has anything to do with this?

EDIT: Mason's bio is off KWTV's website.

Eh, big mistake by KWTV's News Director for firing someone over a personal argument.

The pilot should take the chopper and join KOCO or KFOR. Give a station the luxury of two choppers. :-D

Maybe he told the director he was tired of over sensationalising everything wanted to get back to real news REPORTing....

I saw this on TLO just now

The story with Mason is that the new news director Todd Spessard ordered Mason back up to fly after the Piedmont tornadoes when he was exhausted and had, had no food or water for over 8 hours. Mason told him he was exhausted, and needed some rest…. but Spessard continued to put Mason under duress. A verbal exchange ensued and Mason was suspended and then let go. FAA states that pilots will determine when flying is unsafe, not arrogant, ignorant news directors.
Reply
Tracey Williamson says:
June 9, 2011 at 7:18 pm

By the way Isn’t the new, news director at News 9 Todd Spessard the same news director who cost the last station he worked at KSNW, over 1.1 million dollars in a lawsuit for pushing and running a story on the BTK killer – accusing the wrong man after he had been cleared ???…. the jury even talked about how uncaring and arrogant Mr. Spessard was…they got that right…..who hired that bozo anyway…. ??? News 9 your stock has gone way down……..
Reply
Tracey Williamson says:
June 9, 2011 at 7:36 pm

In my earlier comment I need to make clear that Mason had been flying for over 8 eight hours with no food or water …Mr. Spessard showed no respect for the great job he did and has no clue what that takes out of a person…..He even snidely asked Mason… ” You mean you can’t fly for more than eight hours ?”
Whatever rock they dug this guy out from under they need to put him back post haste….. the only thing Spessard has in common with flying is making people do that out of a room when he enters it…..

Hmmmm.... Mason have grounds to sue the director and he need to do that immediately.

I had a feeling it had something to do with the coverage on the 24th. Listening to Mason that day he was just flat out exhausted. He had to bail on the Canton Lake Tornado simply because the storm coverage was boxing him in. I have a feeling Mr. Spessard was fuming at losing the live video of it.

If what was posted is true...it definitely appears that this is some "hot shot" who is trying to take local news to an edgy maximum. Look at all the various camera angles they are using now, usually executed very poorly and looks quite amateur. The Griffin Family made a terrible hire with this guy. If I were Mason, I would definitely file a complaint with the FAA to have them come in and revoke the station's operating certificate. Not only would it impact KWTV, probably KOTV as well if they are on the same operators certificate.

Why do I also get the feeling this new hotshot News Director is probably also wanting to clean house a bit more...perhaps even Gary? I wonder just how much power has been taken away from him. The break-ins last night were horrible. The shots of them sitting behind a couple monitors now with a very low light lighting setup just makes Gary seem very old or very lazy (they had Michael in one of the shots as well).

Venture - do you know what the FAA licensing requirements are? Obviously the pilot has to be licensed, but does the FAA have authority over the station as well by virtue of "operating" the helicopter?

well they have to look for a new pilot for sky news 9 HD

Appalling. I'm all for boycotting Channel 9 news at all time slots! Mason certainly would have known if he were at his peak to be flying or not; for the station manager to have insisted differently is beyond ridiculous.

We can certainly "vote" with our remote and just go to Channel 4 or 5. If it is the new station mgr. at 9 that is going with the "panic" weather reporting, like Friday night, then he needs to move on. They can run the trailers across the top of the screen, bottom of the screen, or do a split screen; to interrupt for a thunderstorm, not tornadic, but just "severe," plays to trying to "scare" people unnecessarily. I fear the result is going to be that no one pays any attention to them at all.

Bring Mason back and fire the station manager!!!

If I were Mason, I would definitely file a complaint with the FAA to have them come in and revoke the station's operating certificate.
Not sure how much authority the FAA has over the station, 4 and 9's chopper are owned by http://www.airfliteok.com/index.html out of shawnee.

Okay I double checked and N9TV is registered to Griffin as the owner. In that case yes I could see the stations getting some flack form the FAA.

Here is what Drum is referring to...

N9TV (SkyNews9) Registration Info: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=9TV&x=0&y=0

N196TV (SkyNews6) Registration Info: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=196TV&x=32&y=12

For those that may have closer references and better first hand information, please contact the FAA... http://www.faa.gov/contact/ or public tip line is: 1-866-835-5322

If the allegations are true, then the hammer should come down.

http://openline.medialine.com/showthread.php?t=24447

Here is something I found about Todd Spessard from another message board.

http://www.morelaw.com/verdicts/case.asp?n=99139&s=KS&d=43904

Here is the case against Todd Spessard.

I saw this on TLO just now

The story with Mason is that the new news director Todd Spessard ordered Mason back up to fly after the Piedmont tornadoes when he was exhausted and had, had no food or water for over 8 hours. Mason told him he was exhausted, and needed some rest…. but Spessard continued to put Mason under duress. A verbal exchange ensued and Mason was suspended and then let go. FAA states that pilots will determine when flying is unsafe, not arrogant, ignorant news directors.
Reply
Tracey Williamson says:
June 9, 2011 at 7:18 pm

By the way Isn’t the new, news director at News 9 Todd Spessard the same news director who cost the last station he worked at KSNW, over 1.1 million dollars in a lawsuit for pushing and running a story on the BTK killer – accusing the wrong man after he had been cleared ???…. the jury even talked about how uncaring and arrogant Mr. Spessard was…they got that right…..who hired that bozo anyway…. ??? News 9 your stock has gone way down……..
Reply
Tracey Williamson says:
June 9, 2011 at 7:36 pm

In my earlier comment I need to make clear that Mason had been flying for over 8 eight hours with no food or water …Mr. Spessard showed no respect for the great job he did and has no clue what that takes out of a person…..He even snidely asked Mason… ” You mean you can’t fly for more than eight hours ?”
Whatever rock they dug this guy out from under they need to put him back post haste….. the only thing Spessard has in common with flying is making people do that out of a room when he enters it…..

What is TLO?

What is TLO?

The Lost Ogle http://www.thelostogle.com/

I got it. TY

I saw this on TLO just now

The story with Mason is that the new news director Todd Spessard ordered Mason back up to fly after the Piedmont tornadoes when he was exhausted and had, had no food or water for over 8 hours. Mason told him he was exhausted, and needed some rest…. but Spessard continued to put Mason under duress. A verbal exchange ensued and Mason was suspended and then let go. FAA states that pilots will determine when flying is unsafe, not arrogant, ignorant news directors.
Reply
Tracey Williamson says:
June 9, 2011 at 7:18 pm

By the way Isn’t the new, news director at News 9 Todd Spessard the same news director who cost the last station he worked at KSNW, over 1.1 million dollars in a lawsuit for pushing and running a story on the BTK killer – accusing the wrong man after he had been cleared ???…. the jury even talked about how uncaring and arrogant Mr. Spessard was…they got that right…..who hired that bozo anyway…. ??? News 9 your stock has gone way down……..
Reply
Tracey Williamson says:
June 9, 2011 at 7:36 pm

In my earlier comment I need to make clear that Mason had been flying for over 8 eight hours with no food or water …Mr. Spessard showed no respect for the great job he did and has no clue what that takes out of a person…..He even snidely asked Mason… ” You mean you can’t fly for more than eight hours ?”
Whatever rock they dug this guy out from under they need to put him back post haste….. the only thing Spessard has in common with flying is making people do that out of a room when he enters it…..

Must be the same idiot responsible for hiring that buffoon Stan Miller.

I saw this on TLO just now

The story with Mason is that the new news director Todd Spessard ordered Mason back up to fly after the Piedmont tornadoes when he was exhausted and had, had no food or water for over 8 hours. Mason told him he was exhausted, and needed some rest…. but Spessard continued to put Mason under duress. A verbal exchange ensued and Mason was suspended and then let go. FAA states that pilots will determine when flying is unsafe, not arrogant, ignorant news directors.
Reply
Tracey Williamson says:
June 9, 2011 at 7:18 pm

By the way Isn’t the new, news director at News 9 Todd Spessard the same news director who cost the last station he worked at KSNW, over 1.1 million dollars in a lawsuit for pushing and running a story on the BTK killer – accusing the wrong man after he had been cleared ???…. the jury even talked about how uncaring and arrogant Mr. Spessard was…they got that right…..who hired that bozo anyway…. ??? News 9 your stock has gone way down……..
Reply
Tracey Williamson says:
June 9, 2011 at 7:36 pm

In my earlier comment I need to make clear that Mason had been flying for over 8 eight hours with no food or water …Mr. Spessard showed no respect for the great job he did and has no clue what that takes out of a person…..He even snidely asked Mason… ” You mean you can’t fly for more than eight hours ?”
Whatever rock they dug this guy out from under they need to put him back post haste….. the only thing Spessard has in common with flying is making people do that out of a room when he enters it…..

I have a friend of a friend in the weather dept at KWTV and that is exactly the story I heard.

The story may not be over yet; tonight on the 10 p.m. news, his name was mentioned as "Sky-9 pilot Mason Dunn" (in a story about the floods a year ago today) and the usual practice there (as at nearly all TV stations) is never to mention ex-employees, especially recent ones. Anyone remember when Randy Renner was caught in an embarassing situation and summarily vanished from KWTV's sight -- even though at the time he was featured host of a regular show there!

I would imagine if Mason Dunn shows back up at KWTV, it will be quickly followed by the sudden departure of a news director.

I would imagine if Mason Dunn shows back up at KWTV, it will be quickly followed by the sudden departure of a news director.

I believe that will happen. News Director are not the highest position, so that guy is doomed. They all know about this site and they are very much aware that we are on the situation day-by-day.

I believe that will happen. News Director are not the highest position, so that guy is doomed. They all know about this site and they are very much aware that we are on the situation day-by-day.
Not likely, broadcast management is to short sighted with their heads firmly up their rears. Also the former news director is now a VP at Griffin Comm.My understanding is that Mason and the former News Director also butted heads. So his firing seems to have the support of higher ups.
Not agreeing on his firing, just saying it probably wont be reversed.

And yes they do look at this site and I better shut up quick, since my username could give my identity away.

I believe that will happen. News Director are not the highest position, so that guy is doomed. They all know about this site and they are very much aware that we are on the situation day-by-day.

I think you need to look into how these places are run. He may not the highest, but certainly very near the top of the food chain.

In a fair world, the big-wigs at KWTV would realize that Mason gets the eyeballs on the channel, and the news director? Not so much...

Quite true, but who ever claimed that the world is fair?

The difference in quality of their weather coverage was certainly apparent over the weekend, however -- break-ins every couple of minutes although nothing was happening. That's a fine way to chase viewers to the competition in a hurry!

Appears to me Mason has grounds to sue for wrongful discharge. The news director's actions were illegal. An employer can't force someone to break the law in order to keep his job.

I'd also ask for punitive damages due to Channel 9's blatant disregard for the the pilot's health and safety, and the safety of the public if he had been involved in a crash. Very serious stuff.

http://www.faa.gov/news/fact_sheets/news_story.cfm?newsId=6762

"Current FAA regulations for domestic flights generally limit pilots to eight hours of flight time during a 24-hour period...an air carrier may not schedule any pilot and no pilot may accept an assignment for flight time in scheduled air transportation or other commercial flying if that pilot’s total flight time will exceed the regulatory limits."

Just for the record, I rather doubt ch 9 or anyone else makes hiring/firing decisions based on OKCTalk postings.

Just for the record, I rather doubt ch 9 or anyone else makes hiring/firing decisions based on OKCTalk postings.

No, they don't. You entirely missed the point. They are aware that we exposed them. They are aware that thousands of viewers are aware of their action. I doubt that KWTV as a whole was in on it. Its just that one estranged News Director. What I find sad is that the entire staff at KWTV did not protest of any kind against the firing decision.

They all know about this site and they are very much aware that we are on the situation day-by-day.

I doubt there is a news station ANYWHERE that cares about what is said on a message board...

Thunder seems to think he knows how TV stations run, there are people that would slit their mothers neck to lead the 10. I doubt a few internet postings will make a difference

No, they don't. You entirely missed the point. They are aware that we exposed them.

again, doubt that is the case...


What I find sad is that the entire staff at KWTV did not protest of any kind against the firing decision.

why? you think ANYONE in the media is willing to stand up and risk thier jobs too?!!?

Mason Dunn alone acted correctly and responsibly by refusing to fly beyond his 8 hours. He has federal aviation regulations on his side - he didn't need other Ch 9 staffers to do anything. If he had caved in and ended up in an accident, the FAA could have blamed him and revoked his pilot's license. At which point he could sue Ch 9 and probably win some damages, but his career as a pilot would be over. No employer is worth losing your professional certification.

Thunder seems to think he knows how TV stations run, there are people that would slit their mothers neck to lead the 10. I doubt a few internet postings will make a difference

Really? In 2011? They still think a 10:00 local newscast in Oklahoma City really matters? Such self-importance in that industry. If it does matter today at all, give it another couple of years and they'll all be like the 5:30 network evening news.

There is a Facebook page with the latest information on this. Just type in The Canary in your search box, look for the News 9 helicopter photo.

I find this comment interesting.... you are perhaps a friend of Rob Krier ?

This will be ongoing for awhile. The reason the Ch. 9 crew did nothing is because they were given a gag order about it. The news director that had been at news 9 for 16 years and was fired to bring in Spessard did not butt heads with him as was stated, that relationship was going smoothly . Also there is a higher up at Griffin that does not like Dunn. When working with people, how many get along 100 % of the time ?
This pilot did great work for 8 years at News 9 and has been treated badly. The News 9 Facebook page is censoring and deleting posts about it.... even blocking people. There is a facebook page giving the latest info called The Canary ... it is my page. I welcome hearing from anyone about it... good or bad....

10p news must still matter, it brings in the highest ratings and some of the highest ad revenue

10p news must still matter, it brings in the highest ratings and some of the highest ad revenue

10pm "news" is basically weather, sports and the crime blotter. Do any of the local TV stations have a permanent reporter at the state capitol? City hall? Local news is crime and features with "rip and read" news of any serious value. It's an entertainment product, period.

I believe that will happen. News Director are not the highest position, so that guy is doomed. They all know about this site and they are very much aware that we are on the situation day-by-day.

I laughed.

There is a Facebook page with the latest information on this. Just type in The Canary in your search box, look for the News 9 helicopter photo.

Here's the direct link for it - http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Canary/230535246972194

So you're his brother, eh? And here's what Tracey Dunn Williamson had to say about it -

After the Piedmont tornadoes, Mason had been flying for over 8 hours to cover them with no food or drink. When he got back to the station it was dark... Spessard ordered him back up. Mason said " I'm exhausted and need some rest. " Spessard snidely remarked... " You mean you can't fly for more than 8 hours ?"
Spessard pushed Mason further, pulled him into his office... they got into a heated verbal argument and Mason was suspended for a week, then let go.
This news director was ordering Mason back up to fly in the dark, when he was exhausted, over an area without power, which means no beacons on the towers... very dangerous...
Mason was not given a termination letter, no reason was cited for his termination, they failed to make him sign a gag order..... which all of News 9's employees have been given over this.

Sounds to me like they Dunn goofed when they hired this Spessard turkey.

Mason is not the only casualty of war over at 9...they have fired/let go/canned/etc more than 20 people this year. Most are behind the scenes folks..A lot of the new media people, their News Director (who had been there 15+ years), Production manager, Assignment editor, etc..
I hear more heads are on the chopping block.

i am on Mason Dun side what if something bad happen and he crash and get injured he could sue News 9 and people could stop watching them and then they get bad ratings

Mason is not the only casualty of war over at 9...they have fired/let go/canned/etc more than 20 people this year. Most are behind the scenes folks..A lot of the new media people, their News Director (who had been there 15+ years), Production manager, Assignment editor, etc..
I hear more heads are on the chopping block.So that's what the all-new redesign of their logo and general format meant...

It's too bad. I hate to see what was arguably the best of the local network stations (despite its being the CBS affiliate) go downhill so rapidly!

I watch whichever station has the best storm coverage in MY area so guess there's one less station to flip through.

I tried to find the Canary and had no luck. If you could message me the link, I'd love to check it out.

Here's the link again: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Canary/230535246972194

I Liked the Canary page. Thanks for posting the link.

I saw SkyNews 9 heading to a grassfire a few days ago. They never "interviewed" or spoke with the pilot so I am assuming it was not Mason. Anyone know who was piloting the chopper?

the facebook page on here now no longer is around so i have made one now http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sky-news-9-HD/211230032252091 please like the page and let me know if you would like KWTV news 9 to hire Mason back

... please like the page and let me know if you would like KWTV news 9 to hire Mason back

That's not gonna happen. How often have you seen tv stations admit they screwed up...especially in personnel matters? I do think Ch. 9's news director screwed up though. I think he lacked the history in this market to: #1 understand how important choppers are to weather coverage...and #2 know how few pilot/reporters have come through here. There have really only been 3 guys who could combine the skills of being able to talk live with flying a chopper in REALLY bad weather...Leo Gallanis, Jim Gardner, and Mason Dunn.

I wrote an email to kwtv, not that it will make a difference. They'll just delete it but I feel like if we have an opinion, we should at least try to make it known to them. They'll just censor as much as they can to keep it from making it's way to the public, but why not at least put some support behind someone that has helped cover storms to keep us safe? And he works in a nice calm manner, unlike his fellow "storm center" co-workers. Mr. Dunn is at least level-headed and doesn't over sensationalize when he reports....he does just that, reports.

Oh wait, now that I think about it, maybe that helped him get fired. He should probably have told everyone they were going to die if they weren't underground. That usually seems to help out the folks at that station (Mr. England). Throw a few crazy comments out there about how overly-dangerous things are and how the world is going to end, make some ratings, right? ugh.

Interesting development: I just went to their web site and looked for the staff bios, in both the news and the weather sections. NONE of them is there any more, and I got a number of "404" (unable to connect) error messages in various parts of each page. Wonder what's going on out there?

They do have a page about the chopper back up, but the only person mentioned by name on it is the vendor who assembled the special electronics gear...

Oh wait, now that I think about it, maybe that helped him get fired. He should probably have told everyone they were going to die if they weren't underground. That usually seems to help out the folks at that station (Mr. England).

Sorry, bomber, but you couldn't be more wrong. My job after the May 3rd tornado was to go out into the field and talk to survivors. I lost count of how many said that they were ignoring the warnings until Gary told them that they wouldn't survive unless they were underground. The reason that caught their attention was because they'd never heard him say that before. If you hear stations using that phrase these days, it's because it was a huge difference-maker on May 3rd.