The future of aviation24.be - becoming too mainstream ?

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Inquirer
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BRU A380-ready in December: press briefing about the A380

Post by Inquirer »

If I may add a little remark to this discussion?

IMHO, you guys are becoming a fair bit too mainstream these days, here on luchtzak.be.
In my eyes, this website is (was?) the place to come to for aviation scoops, to learn things not known yet and to join in on a discussion forum if you'd have a question or some time to spare.

However, as of recent I've noticed on at least 2 occasions (one was the opening of BRU by Cathay Pacific where I brought the scoop, and now this one) that this site deliberately choses NOT to be the news breaker you'd expect it to be, but rather deliberately decides to withhold quite interesting information even!?
It probably feels great to be given 'off the record' information upfront, but please keep in mind it greatly devaluates the value and even the main reason of existence of this website in the process.

One advice if I may: if you want this website to keep florishing, please don't be tempted by allegedly generous offers by airport, airlines or other companies to share 'so called sensitive information with you on condition of undisclosure, because what they are actually trying to do with such an offer is just to protect their own personal interests, nothing more. Being allegedly taken into confidence may be flattering for your ego maybe, bad in the long run it's bad for your project as your website is simply turned into an alternative official communication channel, rather than an independent and ground breaking news website it is (was?).

Just a kind advice in order for you to keep up the good work.

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sn26567
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Re: BRU A380 ready in december, press briefing today about the A380?

Post by sn26567 »

Inquirer wrote: 11 Oct 2017, 10:44 If I may add a little remark to this discussion?

IMHO, you guys are becoming a fair bit too mainstream these days, here on aviation24.be.
In my eyes, this website is (was?) the place to come to for aviation scoops, to learn things not known yet and to join in on a discussion forum if you'd have a question or some time to spare.
Out of topic, but interesting remark to which I'd like to respond.

Sometimes, coming up too early with a hot news item results in false information being spread around. We prefer to be sure if there is only a rumour.

And we still try to be the first whenever possible. An example: the fate of OO-SNA #Trident which was not used by the Red Devils to go to Sarajevo. In that case, Het Nieuwsblad took over our scoop!
André
ex Sabena #26567

Apuneger
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BRU A380-ready in December: press briefing about the A380

Post by Apuneger »

If I may add my personal opinion to André's comments:

I think the site has grown considerably over the past few years in terms of visitors and social media followers. As a result of this, it has become more and more important to check and double-check sources. Even though we fully appreciate the contribution of newsworthy inside information or rumours, the website's credibility remains of vital importance, taking into account the increased audience.

So, a balance has to be made on the news item, the credibility, the checking of sources with official media contacts, news embargoes, etc. It can be nice to publish a scoop, but if the information ends up to be wrong, your credibility goes down the drain. Furthermore, occasionally you simply have to respect an embargo on official press releases.

What would you prefer: 2 scoops based on dubious / false information ruining our credibility or 3 decent articles with correct and factual information?

As André said, we will continue to try to be first whenever possible, but if the info has to be checked, we will check.

So, to conclude, it is my personal opinion that checking and double-checking sources if/when needed, respecting news embargoes, awaiting reacting from our media contacts will actually increase the value of this site instead of decreasing, as it will greatly improves our credibility.

Best regards,
Ivan
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Acid-drop
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Re: BRU A380 ready in december, press briefing today about the A380?

Post by Acid-drop »

What would you prefer: 2 scoops based on dubious / false information ruining our credibility or 3 decent articles with correct and factual information?
The news part should be for verified information.
But clearly, the forum added value is different. We can afford gossips here.
My messages reflect my personal opinion which may be different than yours. I beleive a forum is made to create a debate so I encourage people to express themselves, the way they want, with the ideas they want. I expect the same understanding in return.

convair
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Re: BRU A380 ready in december, press briefing today about the A380?

Post by convair »

This discussion might be becoming a topic in itself.

Inquirer's comment is valid imho. But André's and Apuneger's answers are also to the point. It seems that various sources are considering him as a journalist and the "official" voice of this site; hence it's difficult for him and for other "official" voices to publish unchecked news.

But, imho, this shouldn't prevent anybody to report interesting rumors, as long as they are presented as such.

Apuneger
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Re: BRU A380 ready in december, press briefing today about the A380?

Post by Apuneger »

Acid-drop wrote: 11 Oct 2017, 12:26 The news part should be for verified information.
But clearly, the forum added value is different. We can afford gossips here.
Couldn't agree more.

Best regards,
Ivan
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sn26567
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Re: BRU A380 ready in december, press briefing today about the A380?

Post by sn26567 »

That should indeed be a topic of discussion by itself. Let me just answer the following:

1. Finances. All of the members of the web team work free of charge and even spend money (e.g. car and public transport costs, parking at the airport to participate in press conferences and visits, etc.) to make this site as lively and up-to-date as possible. There are paid advertisements on the website, but they barely cover the costs: servers, maintenance, software and updates, etc. We all do this because it is our passion.

2. Our news section on the main page must be absolutely credible, avoiding rumours and "fake news" (except on April 1).

3. The forum remains open for all kind of discussions, even rumours. I am not aware of rumours having been deleted. We may mention that official news is under embargo, but if something is posted in the forum, we shall certainly not delete it, like the current A380 gate news. But we did not yet publish anything on the A380 gate on the main page (unlike other media that I don't need to mention), because the news has not been confirmed and verified.

I hope this clarifies our position.
André
ex Sabena #26567

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luchtzak
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Re: The future of aviation24.be - becoming too mainstream ?

Post by luchtzak »

News section vs discussion forums

Since 2014 we implemented a newspaper style on the website and starting writing our own articles, simply because other media published articles on their website based on the information that was available in our forums. Besides for over a decade André (sn26567) has put time and effort to take this website from 'just a forum' to a complete aviation website.

sn26567 and apuneger (Ivan) mentioned that our main page must be absolutely credible, the news about the A380 was incomplete. Aviation24.be has asked Brussels Airport for more news, they asked us to wait in return for a scoop. Another example: if we didn't remove an AMARE picture from our forums early 2017 the entire fun of the Brussels Airlines Amare event would have been spoiled. In return Brussels Airlines provided us the pictures upfront so we could scoop.

As everybody is responsible for its own content, we will not remove forum messages (unless they don't comply with our forum rules)

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luchtzak
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Re: BRU A380-ready in December: press briefing about the A380

Post by luchtzak »

Inquirer wrote: 11 Oct 2017, 10:44one was the opening of BRU by Cathay Pacific where I brought the scoop
Did aviation24.be avoid bringing the scoop or maybe nobody of the news team was online to bring the scoop ? I can't remember ...

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luchtzak
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Re: The future of aviation24.be - becoming too mainstream ?

Post by luchtzak »

Financial status

I would like to be very clear about the financial status of the website: between 2008 and 2016 I paid more for keeping the site running than I earned from advertising. A real company would have gone bust a zillion times.

As companies started to ask to advertise on the website and I didn't had a VAT-number I started as a self-employed with a second income from June 2017. No secrets: you can follow me via BE 0677.418.306

The objective for 2017 is: pay all the bills (hosting, taxes, website improvements, advertising on social media, ...) and to break-even. No secrets either.

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