DC area interview subject?
 

Hi,

I'm a journalist in Washington DC with a major news network, working on a story for a bunch of our affiliates around the country about the state of frequent flier miles. I am not posting my work email address here because last time I put it on the web, I got a lot of spam. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I am looking to interview a DC-area resident with a lot of frequent flier miles who has had trouble redeeming them for their ideal travel itinerary. Preferably someone who has had to make compromises (changing their travel plans - dates or destinations - or redeeming their miles in alternative way - for products, theater tix, etc.) or has just let them sit in their accounts, unredeemed.

If this sounds like you, please email me (rather than posting here, if possible) with your name, daytime phone number, and a little about your experiences.

Please respond only if you feel like you really fit this description. If you're responding for someone you know who fits the bill, please ask them for your permission before you give me their information -- I don't want to catch anyone unawares!

Thanks,

Karen McKinley
email: [email protected]

Edited to say: I would swing by the DC area happy hour tonight and introduce myself in person - but alas will be on a plane tonight...!

[This message has been edited by karenhey (edited 01-22-2003).]

I don't fit the bill, since I'm not from the DC area, but ...

I must confess to being a tad disturbed by what seems, on the surface, to be an attempt to document a predetermined conclusion rather than to find out what's really going on. Could you explain why you're only looking for people who have had trouble redeeming miles? There are plenty of others, myself included, who have had no trouble redeeming miles, or whose troubles have been minimal and have not interfered with the essence of their plans. If you already have plenty of those and need some others to balance the story, fine, but inquiring minds want to know if this will be a balanced report or will just give the side of the story you seem to be looking for in this post.

At this point, I am trying to find out IF such problems are prevalent. I certainly know of many who have had good experiences. Although the story is just in the early stages, so may be evolving, the plan is to talk about how miles programs are/may be changing, and among other things different options for redeeming all those miles that are out there. Thanks.

Out of nothing more than curiousity......may I ask what difference the DC area residency has to do with the story?
Truly not trying to be difficult, just 1) not from DC, and 2) curious.
Best wishes in any event.

Welcome to FT, Karen. It's always nice to have reporters checking in for the latest FF buzz from time to time.

Please keep in mind that the rubric for this particular forum is "The official get together page for the FlyerTalk community." Meaning, queries such as yours while welcome if well-itentioned, don't really belong here. I think MilesBuzz is the more appropriate forum. Of course, the moderator of that forum may think it more appropriate for TravelBuzz and it may be moved yet again.

Cheers.

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essxjay
FT Community moderator

Come on by the Happy Hour - we'll all be there.

I was interviewed by Consumer Reports TV about three years ago on this very issue.

A P.S. before moving ...

As a former 16-year journalist myself, I can vouch for the validity of Karen's approach on this. Sure, reporters start out with some idea of the story they're after. But a good reporter -- and I think Karen has demonstrated this in her reply to Efrem -- will certainly revise the thesis of the story if evidence warrants it.

Let's give her some credit (unless she proves uncreditworthy http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif ) if not some good, solid input.

Hey folks, we're always kvetching that "the media" (how I *hate* that expression) is always getting it wrong. Let's prove the obverse ... ess

If you want a story on mileage redemption problems, post your request in the Continental forum.

Happy hour? What happy hour? where?

Or perhaps encourage someone from the CO board to post a link to here to avoid the no-no of cross-posting? (BTW, the original poster state she would prefer to be e-mailed directly.)

Karen, I'm a former 5-year DC resident in agreement with the post above. No problems here with redeeming miles on US, other than maybe needing to move preferred dates a day or two. Reading the airline boards here should give you something of a feel for which carriers' frequent flyers are having trouble with redemption.

Karen, I'd be happy to talk to you, but unfortunately for your story, I've only had good experiences. Nobody in my family has ever had a problem redeeming our miles for flights that we want.

I'm having a hard time understanding her approach. If she is looking for a story on miles redemption, fine, but to look just for one side right off the bat, I'm not so sure. If Karen talked to 20 of us, and 15 reported many problems with mileage programs, then fine report that, but what if she gets 15 stories that everything is fine in the paradise, will she still do the story?

Whew!
Good luck, Karen.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum95/HTML/002476.html

Good crowd. Just got back - but it is C*O*L*D out.

Weren't they talking about global warming or something?

Think they meant global cooling instead?

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Flying an aeroplane with only a single propeller to keep you in the air. Can you imagine that?

— Captain Jean Luc Picard

I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt too, which is why my post was phrased as a question with a request for explanation rather than a rant or flame. However, if one starts one's first FT post with a one-sided request with no further explanation at that time, I think my question was called for.

Suppose I'm a computer journalist (I've been one) and my first post in a computer-related discussion group is a request for "people who have had reliability problems with Toshiba* laptops" for a story. What does that suggest, absent any explanation, about my objectives - and my objectivity?

Anyhow, if the answer is that she has lots of positive examples and wants to find out if there are negative ones too, that's enough for me. I'm glad I asked, because otherwise that might not have come out, but now we can get back to our regular programming.

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

*Feel free to substitute the vendor name of your choice here, or to replace this example with one related to automobiles, electric drills or any other product or service.

I've had no problems redeeming miles on AA. Being EXP doesn't hurt, of course!

Karen,

Some more anecdotal evidence to help "shape" your existing story. I'm only an AA Gold and have absolutely no trouble using miles for award travel, including a last minute trip to Chicago next week (just booked yesterday).

Good luck on your story.

- AUSMatt

Karen,

I'm in DC but I've never had any problem cashing in miles for flights and I never had status when I did it. Frankly, I think that the stories about problems are way overblown. You should keep an open mind to writing a story about how most people get the flights they want. THAT would be news, at least as defined as different from what we usually see in newspapers and magazines.

thanks for the responses everyone - here and to my email address. i got a lot, from all sorts of perspectives.

for the person who asked why dc -- it's strictly a matter of geography -- i am here, and don't have the resources to travel for this particular story (ironic huh?). http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

No problem redeeming miles on UA.
As a matter of fact, I am writing this from an Internet cafe in downtown Stockholm as part of three continent free award on Star Alliance network.

AndrewM

You guys are being way too tough on Karen. I completely understand her approach.
If most people have no problems redeeming miles, there's no story. News is the unusual - if the system is working, that's not news for most media outlets.
On the other hand, a "consumer" type piece on how to use all those miles would indeed be a great idea.
The other thing is, if a journalist does some research and hears about problems redeeming miles, then it's totally appropriate to try and find some real people and see whether their stories fit the initial premise of the story. But you can't just go out and say "I'm going to do a story on frequent flyer miles whether it's a happy story or a tragic story"... The happy story is not a story at all (unless it's an informative piece for consumers)

I disagree. I've seen an awful lot of stories about how hard it is to cash in miles and they've created something of an urban legend that you can never get what you want. Frankly, I can't remember a story about cashing in miles that had the spin that it's actually pretty good.

I don't think we're being hard on Karen. I, for one, am just suggesting what might be a more newsworthy story.

"Publish and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not"

-- Jeremiah 50:2 http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

The reason why you don't see any stories on how easy it is to redeem miles is because of the old TV News addage "If it bleeds, it leads."

marginal story, or maybe even a non-story: The Smith family has lost a combined 50 pounds by eating Kellogg's cereal in an attempt to acrue American miles. It illustrates how miles for flying have evolved into miles for buying. "We're healthy as horses thanks to this promotion," Mrs. Smith said.

GREAT story that would get great play in many publications: The Smith family has racked up $25K in debt on their mileage-producing credit cards, and will soon be evicted from their apartment next month. "We can fly around the world but we won't have any home to come back to."

Hi Karen, I strongly suggest that you post your request on the Delta board of FT. If there is one frequent flyer program that has been devalued more than any other, it is DL. Many Medallions that frequent FT are currently in the middle of a campaign to restore the cutbacks in the Skymiles program that were recently announced. DL has taken Skymiles from it's position as one of the finest frequent flyer programs just a few short years ago, to what is now the laughing stock of the industry.

The Skymiles program as it currently exists gives their elite members absolutely no incentive to continue flying on DL. So to use a phrase from a famous advertising program many years ago, "come on down" to the DL board. I am sure that you will receive a very warm reception there and also find the type of story that you wish to write.

PS, I can assure you that the DL moderators will not move your thread. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I'm sure Karen will give the good side of the miles redemption equation it's due space but you have to remember, problems are newsworthy and not the mundane.

Can anyone imagine these titles as headlines?

Man drives home and gets there safely (with picture of the guy's car parked in the driveway)

Woman buys new TV, has problems, sends it in for a warranty repair and it comes back working better than new.

Bill Clinton found in Oval Office without an intern.

It wasn't long ago that there was plenty of howling around here about the need to get media exposure for all the devaluation that was going on in the airline and hotel programs.

As they say, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

In the spirit of full dislosure, I do publish a newsletter.

Karen, I can say this:

Often times, it may be hard to redeem miles (except with AA, in my experience) but the worst part is when it comes to earning. Airlines seem to give 'em when they are due (at least to me) but the promotions and partners... THAT is always the chaser!

Seems most people I know who signed up for this or that survey, or this or that auto quote or some miles bank card thing always have to try to figure out when the miles are coming or whether it was a 'targetted' promtion, etc. That can be a pain. And then you have the ones with loopholes in them that might not even work after you spent all this time on them or something.

These marketing promos are often not even fully known about by 90% of the airline call centers and if they are, it takes several calls and maybe even emails or a letter to CS management to get the real deal! Then you find out the promo is changing and so now it gets really confusing.

I am not from DC but the last time I was there I got royally screwed by United in something that I am still disputing. Long story for another time. In the end, I am demanding a $$refund on the issue but also, I want to get MILES for compensation instead of vouchers. This is because (depsite everything said) I feel miles are worth something to me right now, and not vouchers. I personally believe that vouchers are useless and have restrictions and cannot be redeemed on line in most cases. But we like miles because we can use them to fly and buy things like magazines, etc. They are more flexible currency (although the real issue is to figure out WHAT the 'currency' is valued at--and how constant that value is!)

So good luck, and if the media wishes to pay anyone in here for sharing mile ideas, many might be glad to take a cut for being part of its quest. Maybe/maybe not...

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gifMM

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If speed is not your thing, distance may as well be. Enjoy and embrace it all!

See, that's my point - you're never going to see much coverage on the ease of redeeming miles. That's just the nature of the media.

Suppose they built a brand new airport outside Denver, and the state-of-the-art baggage moving system worked to perfection. Flyers raved about the ease of it all. No bags lost out of the thousands moving around the Denver airport. It's wonderful. This story might make the local news in Denver but only because if you're a news outlet in Denver, you've got to do a story on the new aiport and, well, the high-tech baggage moving system is as good an angle as any for your new airport story. But this story would never go beyond the local Denver media.

Now suppose they built a brand new airport outside Denver, and the state-of-the-art baggage handling system is royally screwed up beyond belief. No one can find their bags, it leads to delays, air travelors are furious and they have no idea when they might be able to get the whole mess fixed. Well, that story will be on CNN, World News Tonight, and all the rest. It will be widely reported because the system did not work like it was supposed to.

Same thing with redeeming miles - would only get widespread coverage when it doesn't work.

Objectivity for most journalists does not mean "I will do a story on redeeming frequent flyer miles and report whatever I find, whether it's good, bad or ugly."

The objectivity comes in long after the reporter decides to do a story on how some people get screwed trying to redeem miles. The objectivity is in finding one or two others who had good experiences to add some balance near the end of the report on people being screwed.

Not saying I agree with this practice or defend it, just that this is the reality.

Well said.

That's been my journalistic experience as well. The fact, unfortunate though it may be, is that a newspaper that people don't read (or a TV show that people don't watch, etc.) will not survive for long. And people don't want to read about stuff that works.

My first editor's word for what he wanted from me was "provocative." (At the time I was writing opinion columns, known in the trade as "op-ed" because they usually run on the page opposite the editorial page.) He wanted columns that would get readers stirred up, even indignant, but at least motivated to do something. A "see how nice X is, it works as it should" piece would not accomplish that.

So, much as dog breeders might regret the media fascination with dogs who bite people, and their lack of interest in dogs who don't bite people (unless they do something else newsworthy), they know they have to live with it. By the same token, we have to live with their equally unfair fascination with how FF programs don't work, usually ignoring the many ways in which they work quite well.

The good news is that, if the general public gets scared off trying to collect and redeem FF miles, it leaves more seats for us.

On that basis, Karen, go for it. Scare 'em off! Make sure nobody who reads your piece ever asks for an award seat I might want! Tell 'em we told you to, and tell 'em why!

I probably should have disclosed that I work in the media.. but i don't cover anything related to travel (I wish, that would be a sweet gig http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I suppose I have covered aviation on very rare occasions (airplane crashes). That's where reporters can be at their worst...

I was a police reporter at the Detroit Free Press when TWA 800 crashed, there were 2 Detroiters on the plane. So they sent me out to Oakland County, where one of the families lived, and told me to camp out in their front yard (with crews from 4 TV stations) and knock on their door every hour until they talked to us.

This teenage girl kept answer the door in tears (it had been less than 24 hrs since the crash that killed her parents). Anyway, the TV reporters just had to get that girl crying on camera, and they used all the tricks when she opened the front door ("tell us about your parents, we've heard they were wonderful peoeple and we want to show our viewers that side of them" and "maybe it will make you feel better to talk about it," etc., etc.)

And the Free Press photographer who was with me was like "man, we are such vultures." This was local media - in a very competetive market, granted - but I can imagine the pressure to "get the story" is much greater on a national level.

I haven't been involved in any of the Sept. 11 coverage but maybe that was an exception, I don't know. I would guess that reporters were a tad gentler (but not out of the goodness of their hearts. Only because they had to show some compassion for political reasons - they couldn't descend on the victims like vulture so much because that would be incredibly bad PR)

Disclaimer: I think people who work for niche media and speciality publications for specific industries - that sort of thing - have higher ethical standards than reporters at mainstream national media organizations.

just one more thing - man I'm getting wayyy off the topic, feel free to yank me into the "reporters behaving badly" thread...

But I've gotta add that TWA 800 claimed another Detroiter - a well-known music director at the largest church in the city, Word of Faith on the Northwest side - and I was lucky enough to cover his funeral. We dealt very sensistively with his family and the funeral and all. This being Detroit, the 100-voice choir at this guy's 10,000-member church was absolutely incredible. Probably a few them had Motown recording contracts...

Anyway, just wanted to add that media isn't all bad - I just like to mention the dark side because most people don't see the cut-throat reporting that's done to get stories (unless they have the very unfortunate situation of losing someone in a tragic accident or crime) Those smiling anchor people who read the news kind of obscure the seemy side of the biz.

But Karen seems like a nice enough person http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

With 20+ years in the industry, I find it amazing so many FTers are journalists.

Provocative is great for Opinions (what we now call our op-ed, since op-ed is usually letters} but not for news. Unfortunately, I frequently hear our reporters setting out to "prove" something. Everybody has their own point of view. Good grief, we ran a puff piece in Business about an attorney who's firm is behind every class action suit ever filed. I personally would have run an article explaining how he's gotten rich at the expense of shareholders, like moi, in little companies that aren't really doing anything wrong.

Never had trouble redeeming miles, AA, Southwest, United. With FewMiles' advice I pulled off a trip to Paris gaining miles and status that my editor said sounded illegal. Not. But it was great fun.




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lili
shopping her way to first class

[QUOTE]Originally posted by jmartin:
[B] I probably should have disclosed that I work in the media.. but i don't cover anything related to travel (I wish, that would be a sweet gig http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

in reference to this part of your post, what if the travel section reporters are in a sense, making money for writing about the very things we all toil about to come up with in here and share?

This is a public forum so all they have to do is land that job, know a few things and then come here to ask us to more personally clarify what it is exactly that we did on XYZ promo or something and they have their story.

they make coin for the article, we get merely named (or blasted for this), and it goes on...

Not that Karen is doing this but man, we all should write for our local pubs, eh?
Maybe I will write a book on this stuff and copy/paste everything I like in here that relates to my own issues in order to do so--being certain, of course, to name names so as to unprotect the guilty! ha ha.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gifMM

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If speed is not your thing, distance may as well be. Enjoy and embrace it all!

Sorry, but I think reporters deserve a bit more credit than that. (I may be biased, but my work with the media doesn't cover much of my time in the work force and has never been my major source of income.) They get ideas and information from lots of places. Nobody can get an article by taking a bunch of FT posts, or bar-room discussions, or anything else, and piecing them together. What reporters get paid for (not very much, BTW) is finding interesting ideas, realizing that they'd make interesting articles, figuring out where they can find enough additional information to flesh them out, digging up that information (which nearly always involves asking people somehow), organzing it all into a coherent whole that makes a point and grabs readers while fitting into some predetermined word count, getting the grammar more or less OK (copy editors can usually finish that bit), coping with the editorial and other personalities they run into along the way...

Anyone who thinks a writer can make a living by lurking here or anywhere else on the Net, using copy/paste commands on random posts and shipping off the result, ought to try it for a while. I'd make sure your rent is paid a few months in advance before trying.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

If you wrote a book though, wouldn't much of the useful information become dated by the time it was published?

Personally, I think you'd have to use a medium with great immediacy like the Internet. And then, you'd be looking at competition from people who already do it, sites "More Room Throughout," PGary's site, all the FlyerTalk forums and others.

BTW, if any of you journalists oversee education reporters, a quick advertisement for seminars put on by Columbia University Teacher's College (Hechinger Institute for Education and the Media) - they host seminars for education reporters and editors from major newspapers throughout the country.

Last time I flew, it was to a Hechinger seminar in Racine, Wisconsin. U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige was one of the presenters, got to visit with him a lot, not everyday I get to rub shoulders with a guy like that, you know. These seminars are first-rate, and most of the expenses are paid by Hechinger and various foundations so your newspaper only has pay a minimal amount for a reporter or editor to attend.