Braniff and the Press: Who Got Taken For a Ride?

On Braniff’s recent highly publicized pre-inaugural DFW-to-London flight, the passenger list included many members of the local media corps. Because Braniff was providing free transportation and paying hotel and other bills in London, the question of “press freebies” was raised, predictably.

The trip became a peculiar integrity game as the various press organizations deliberated whether or not they would let Braniff pick up their tabs. The situation was further complicated by the fact that Braniff claimed CAB regulations prohibited media representatives from paying, even if they wanted to, because it wasn’t a commercial flight.

The press showed a wide range of philosophies toward freebies. Channel 8 paid its own way entirely, sending a check to Braniff covering estimated costs, including transportation costs in spite of the alleged CAB prohibition. Then there is KRLD’s Alex Burton, who says without qualms, ’”Policy decision? Hell, no. I’d never been to London. So I said, ’Hell, yes, I’ll go.’” The decisions of the various media outlets are probably not meaningful, but they are intriguing:



WFAA-TV, Channel 8:Three employees. Paid fully by the station. Marty Haag, news director: “We went to London because the live-satellite coverage gave us a chance to stretch our legs technologically. But our policy is to pay our own way whenever possible.”

KXAS-TV, Channel 5: Two employees (and wives). Paid fully by Braniff. Lee El-sesser, news director: “We felt it was a significant story. We explained the situation to management, who checked FCC and our own policy regulations and told us that for Braniff to pay was all right.”

KDFW-TV, Channel 4: Sent no employees. Wayne Thomas, news director: “We felt there was not enough of news value to challenge our policy against junkets or any kind of free ride.”

Dallas Times Herald: One employee. Paid by the paper. Ken Johnson, editor: “We thought it was worth doing as a people story. But we have a rigid policy against anything free. If the CAB prohibits our paying, we’ll give the money to charity.”

Dallas Morning News: Four employees (and wives). Paid by Braniff. Tom Simmons, executive editor: “We felt that it was a historic occasion. So we accepted Braniff’s invitation.”

Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Two employees (and one wife). Paid mostly by Braniff. Phil Meeks, general manager: “It was obviously a news event. We paid for our reporter’s return trip. It was a kind of compromise.”

KVIL-FM: One employee (and wife). Paid by Braniff. Andy McCollum, news director: “It was a news and promotional opportunity that happened to be free.”

WFAA-AM: One employee. Paid by Braniff. Jess Smith, news director: “There were no implied commitments and no prior obligations to Braniff. No guaranteed stories. So we felt there was no conflict.”

KRLD-AM: One employee (and wife). Paid by Braniff. Alex Burton, reporter: “If I was concerned about being a whore, it would take a lot more than a trip to buy me.”