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154-570: The Air Mail scandal , also known as the Air Mail fiasco , is the name that the American press gave to the political scandal resulting from a 1934 congressional investigation into the awarding of contracts to certain airlines to carry airmail and the subsequent disastrous use of the U.S. Army Air Corps (USAAC) to fly the mail after the contracts were revoked. During the administration of U.S. President Herbert Hoover , Congress passed

308-454: A Douglas C-29 Dolphin took off from Floyd Bennett Field , New York on a flight to Langley Field to ferry a mail aircraft and ditched when both engines failed a mile off of Rockaway Beach . Waiting for a rescue attempt in heavy seas, the passenger on the amphibian drowned. President Roosevelt, publicly embarrassed, ordered a meeting with Foulois that resulted in a reduction of routes and schedules (which were already only 60% of that flown by

462-477: A Senate investigation. The investigation resulted in a citation of contempt of Congress on February 5, 1934, against attorney William P. MacCracken Jr. , who helped draft the law while working for the government and brokered the meeting of the airlines. It was the only action taken against any former Hoover Administration official for the scandal. Two days later, Hoover's successor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt , cancelled all existing air mail contracts with

616-456: A photographer or camera person. In the second phase, they organize the material, determine the focus or emphasis (identify the peg), and finally write their stories. The story is then edited by news or copy-editors (U.S. style) or sub-editors in Europe, who function from the news desk . The headline of the story is decided by the news desk, and practically never by the reporter or the writer of

770-409: A 150-pound passenger $ 450 per ticket (equal to $ 7985 in 2024 dollars) in lieu of carrying an equivalent amount of mail. William P. MacCracken Jr. became the first federal regulator of commercial aviation when then- Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover named him the first Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics in 1926. During World War I he had served as a flight instructor, had served on

924-709: A DH.4 power plant, was adopted. The Liberty was also eventually adopted by the British to power the DH.9A variant of the type. After the war, a number of firms, most significant of these being Boeing , were contracted by the U.S. Army to remanufacture surplus DH.4s to the improved DH.4B standard. Internally referred to by Boeing as the Model 16 , deliveries of 111 aircraft from this manufacturer took place between March and July 1920; reportedly, roughly 50 of these were returned for further refurbishments three years later. During 1923,

1078-684: A cabinet meeting on the morning of February 9, 1934, assured President Roosevelt that the Air Corps could deliver the mail. That same morning, shortly after conclusion of the cabinet meeting, second assistant postmaster general Harllee Branch called Foulois to his office. A conference between members of the Air Corps, the Post Office, and the Aeronautics Branch of the Commerce Department ensued in which Foulois, asked if

1232-403: A coast-to-coast, transcontinental airmail service, between San Francisco and New York, a distance of 2,680 mi (4,310 km), involving night flight, the first services starting on 21 August 1924. The DH-4 continued in Post Office service until 1927, when the last airmail routes were passed to private contractors. War-surplus DH-4s were available cheaply in sufficient quantities to stimulate

1386-421: A cost per mile of $ 1.10. Most were small, under-capitalized companies flying short routes and old equipment. Subsidies for carrying mail exceeded the cost of the mail itself, and some carriers abused their contracts by flooding the system with junk mail at 100% profit or hauling heavy freight as air mail. Historian Oliver E. Allen, in his book The Airline Builders , estimated that airlines would have had to charge

1540-710: A daily run between Washington, D.C. , and New York City with an intermediate stop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . The operation was put together in ten days by Major Reuben H. Fleet , the executive officer for flying training of the Division of Military Aeronautics , and managed by Captain Benjamin B. Lipsner , a non-flyer. Starting with six converted Curtiss JN-4HM "Jennies" , two of which were destroyed in crashes, and later using Curtiss R-4LMs , in 76 days of operations Air Service pilots moved 20 tons of mail without

1694-524: A few more into target tugs ( DH.4M-1K ). Thirty of the aircraft ordered by the Army were diverted to the Navy for Marine Corps use, these designated O2B-1 for the base model, and O2B-2 for aircraft equipped for night and cross-country flying . The Airco DH.4 was a conventional tractor two bay biplane of all-wooden construction. It was entirely built of traditional materials. The forward fuselage section and

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1848-898: A frivolous luxury for the few remaining affluent, had doubled following restructuring. Much of this if not all was the result of the postal subsidies, funded by taxpayers. The air mail scandal began when an officer of the New York Philadelphia and Washington Airway Corporation, known as the Ludington Airline , was having a drink with friend and Hearst newspaper reporter Fulton Lewis Jr. Ludington Airline, established and owned by brothers Townsend and Nicholas Ludington , began offering an hourly daytime passenger shuttle on September 1, 1930, just two weeks after Eastern Air Transport (EAT) began its first passenger operations between New York City and Richmond, Virginia . Using seven Stinson SM-6000B tri-motors , Ludington Airline became

2002-518: A further pair of prototypes, configured to suit the service's own requirements, for evaluation purposes; however, according to Bruce, it is unlikely that the second of these was ever constructed. Following trials with the first of these prototypes, orders were placed for the production of DH.4s to equip the Royal Naval Air Service . During late 1916, the first order for 50 DH.4s, powered by 250 hp (190 kW) Eagle III engines,

2156-457: A great impact on future policies. During the 1920s, radio became a news medium, and was a significant source of breaking news. Although, during World War I, radio broadcasts in America were only given information about Allied victories because Great Britain had a monopoly on the transatlantic radio lines. For the newspapers, the government suppressed any radical or German papers during and after

2310-505: A greater number of miles and making three extra stops in just an hour's more time. Only two additional Army pilots were killed flying the mail after the resumption of operations, on March 30 and April 5. By May 17 all but one mail route, CAM 9 (Chicago to Fargo, North Dakota ), had been restored to civil carriers. AACMO relinquished this last route on June 1, 1934. In all, 66 major accidents, ten of them with fatalities, resulted in 13 crew deaths, creating an intense public furor. Only five of

2464-487: A group of four RNAS DH.4s were jointly credited with the sinking of the German U-boat UB 12 on 19 August 1918. The DH.4 proved a huge success and was often considered the best single-engined bomber of World War I. Even when fully loaded with bombs, with its reliability and impressive performance, the type proved highly popular with its crews. The Airco DH.4 was easy to fly, and especially when fitted with

2618-546: A low bid of 25 cents a mile. Ludington's general manager, former Air Service aviator Eugene L. Vidal , eager to curtail Ludington's growing losses with a lucrative mail subsidy, had offered the extremely low bid to Brown in order to demonstrate Ludington's commitment to the route extension plan "at or below cost." Lewis did not think much about the conversation until he later read the Post Office Department's announcement that had awarded Ludington's arch-rival

2772-454: A memo that Brittin claimed was personal and unrelated to the investigation. Brittin later tore up the memo and discarded it. Black charged MacCracken with Contempt of Congress on February 5 and ordered him arrested. During a five-day trial the Senate deemed him a lobbyist not protected by lawyer-client privilege and voted to convict him. Disregarding as Black did the fact that all but two of

2926-467: A new emphasis on computer-assisted reporting and a new blending of media forms emerged, with one reporter preparing the same story in print, online, and on camera for a newspaper's cable station. A "medium" (plural "media") is a carrier of something. Common things carried by media include information, art, or physical objects. A medium may provide transmission or storage of information or both. The industries which produce news and entertainment content for

3080-499: A new style of investigative journalism that revealed the corrupt practices of government officials. These exposing articles became featured in many newspapers and magazines. The people who wrote them became labeled as "muckrakers". They became very influential and were a vital force in the Progressive reform movement. However, after 1912 muckraking declined. The public began to think the exposés were sensationalized, but they did make

3234-578: A partial squadron in the Central Zone. On February 22 a young pilot departing Chicago in an O-39 flew into a snow storm over Deshler, Ohio , and became lost after his navigational radio failed. Fifty miles off course, he bailed out but his parachute caught on the tail section of his airplane and he was killed. That same day in Denison, Texas , another pilot attempting a forced landing was killed when his P-26A flipped over on soft turf. The next day,

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3388-405: A passenger list of airlines officials and news reporters, they flew from Douglas Aviation's plant at Burbank, California , to Newark, New Jersey. Bypassing several regular stops to stay ahead of a blizzard , the stunt established a new cross-country time record of just over 13 hours, breaking the old record by more than five hours. The DC-1 arrived on the morning of February 19 only two hours before

3542-577: A single fatality or serious injury, achieving a 74% completion rate of flights during the summer thunderstorm season. Air mail operations by the U.S. Post Office began in August 1918 under Lipsner, who resigned from the Army on July 13 to take the post. Lipsner procured Standard JR-1B biplanes specially modified to carry the mail with twice the range of the military mailplanes, the first civil aircraft built to U.S. government specifications. For nine years, using mostly war-surplus de Havilland DH.4 biplanes,

3696-414: A vice president of North American Aviation (Eastern Air Transport's parent holding company ) and Jack Frye of Transcontinental and Western Air, both of which had lost their mail contracts, flew T&WA's prototype Douglas DC-1 airliner "City of Los Angeles," which was still in flight test , across the country on the last evening before the Air Corps operation began. Carrying a partial load of mail and

3850-499: A well-established system of maintenance facilities along their routes. Initial plans were made for coverage of 18 mail routes totalling nearly 12,000 miles (19,000 km); and 62 flights daily, 38 by night. On February 14, five days before the Air Corps was to begin, General Foulois appeared before the House of Representatives Post Office Committee outlining the steps taken by the Air Corps in preparation. In his testimony he assured

4004-486: A workplace may broadcast very limited ad hoc soundbites to a small population within its range. The sequencing of content in a broadcast is called a schedule . Television and radio programs are distributed through radio broadcasting or cable , often simultaneously. By coding signals and having decoding equipment in homes, the latter also enables subscription -based channels and pay-per-view services. A broadcasting organization may broadcast several programs at

4158-532: A “route certificate” giving it the right to haul mail for 10 additional years. The third and most controversial provision gave Brown authority to "extend or consolidate" routes in effect according to his own judgment. Within days of its passage, United Aircraft and Transport Company (UATC) acquired the controlling interest of National Air Transport after a brisk but brief struggle between UATC and Clement M. Keys of NAT. The merger, begun in February 1930 to plug

4312-700: Is a lightweight and disposable publication (more specifically, a periodical ), usually printed on low-cost paper called newsprint . It may be general or of special interest, and may be published daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, bimonthly, or quarterly. General-interest newspapers are usually journals of current news on a variety of topics. Those can include political events , crime , business , sports , and opinions (either editorials , columns , or political cartoons ). Many also include weather news and forecasts . Newspapers increasingly use photographs to illustrate stories; they also often include comic strips and other entertainment, such as crosswords . A story

4466-498: Is a single article, news item or feature , usually concerning a single event , issue, theme , or profile of a person. Correspondents report news occurring in the main, locally, from their own country, or from foreign cities where they are stationed. Most reporters file information or write their stories electronically from remote locations. In many cases, breaking stories are written by staff members, through information collected and submitted by other reporters who are out on

4620-531: Is given a byline for the piece that is published; his or her name appears alongside the article. This process takes place according to the frequency of the publication. News can be published in a variety of formats ( broadsheet , tabloid , magazine and periodical publications) as well as periods (daily, weekly, semi-weekly, fortnightly or monthly). A newsmagazine , is a usually weekly magazine featuring articles on current events. News magazines generally go more in-depth into stories than newspapers, trying to give

4774-417: Is often used. Broadcasting forms a very large segment of the mass media . Broadcasting to a very narrow range of audience is called narrowcasting . In a broadcast system (television), journalists or reporters are also involved with editing the video material that has been shot alongside their research, and in working on the visual narrative of the story. Broadcast journalists often make an appearance in

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4928-462: The 2004 United States presidential election , published June 1, 2006. By June 8, there had been no mainstream coverage of the documented allegations by President John F. Kennedy's nephew. On June 9, this sub-story was covered by a Seattle Post-Intelligencer article. Media coverage during the 2008 Mumbai attacks highlighted the use of new media and Internet social networking tools, including Twitter and Flickr , in spreading information about

5082-613: The Australian airline QANTAS , flying its first airmail service in 1922. Twelve DH.4s forming part of the Imperial Gift to Canada were used for forestry patrol and survey work, spotting hundreds of forest fires and helping to save millions of dollars worth of timber, with the last example finally being withdrawn in 1927. The U.S. Post Office also adopted the DH-4 to carry air mail. The Service acquired 100 of them from

5236-629: The Fisher Body Corporation , and the Standard Aircraft Corporation produced this Americanized variant of the DH.4, featuring over 1,000 modifications from the original British design, to equip the American air services. A total of 9,500 DH.4s were ordered from American manufacturers, of which 1,885 actually reached France during the war. In American production, the new Liberty engine , which had proved suitable as

5390-566: The Internet . The Internet has allowed the formal and informal publication of news stories through mainstream media outlets, social media platforms, as well as blogs , vlogs , and other self-published news stories. By covering news, politics, weather, sports, entertainment, and vital events, the daily media shape the dominant cultural, social and political picture of society. Beyond the media networks, independent news sources have evolved to report on events which escape attention or underlie

5544-615: The Kelly Act (also known as the Air Mail Act of 1925 ) authorized the Post Office Department to contract with private airlines for feeder routes into the main transcontinental system. The first commercial air mail flight was on the 487-mile (784 km) route CAM (Contract Air Mail) No. 5 from Pasco, Washington , to Elko, Nevada , on April 6, 1926. By 1927 the transition had been completed to entirely commercial transport of mail, and by 1929 45 airlines were involved in mail delivery at

5698-680: The Lost Battalion of the 77th Division , cut off by German troops during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive ; while Second Lieutenant Ralph Talbot and Gunnery Sergeant Robert G. Robinson of the United States Marine Corps (USMC) were awarded the Medal of Honor for beating off attacks from 12 German fighters during a bombing raid over Belgium on 8 October 1918. The type flew with 13 U.S. squadrons by

5852-484: The McNary-Watres Act after its chief sponsors, Sen. Charles L. McNary of Oregon and Rep. Laurence H. Watres of Pennsylvania , authorized the postmaster general to enter into longer-term airmail contracts with rates based on space or volume, rather than weight. The Act gave Brown strong authority (some argued almost dictatorial powers) over the nationwide air transportation system. The main provision of

6006-682: The National Guard . In both the Western and Eastern zones, these became the aircraft of choice, modified to carry 160 pounds of mail in their rear cockpits, and in their nose (bombardier/navigator) compartments where those existed. Better-suited planes such as the new Martin YB-10 bomber and Curtiss A-12 Shrike ground attack aircraft were in insufficient numbers to be of practical use. Two YB-10s crashlanded when pilots forgot to lower its retractable landing gear, and there were only enough A-12s for

6160-514: The Paris Peace Conference . Several of the DH.4s used for this purpose were modified with an enclosed cabin for two passengers at the request of Bonar Law . One of these planes was extensively used by Prime Minister David Lloyd George and was sometimes called Lloyd George's airplane - probably the first aeroplane widely used by a political leader. Modified aircraft were designated DH.4A, with at least seven being converted for

6314-809: The Rolls-Royce Eagle that was adopted for production instead. The DH.4 was powered by a variety of engines, including the Eagle, the BHP, the American Liberty , Royal Aircraft Factory RAF3A , the Siddeley Puma and the Fiat . Regardless of the engine used, it drove a four-bladed propeller mounted upon the nose. Cooling for the engine was provided via an oval-shaped radiator, while a port-mounted exhaust manifold discarded waste emissions above

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6468-476: The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Overseas, SABCA of Belgium produced a further 15 DH.4s during 1926. As production progressed, various changes and improvements to the design were introduced upon the DH.4. As time went on, production DH.4s were fitted with Eagle engines of increasing power, ending with the 375 hp (280 kW) Eagle VIII, which powered

6622-597: The South East European Network for Professionalization of Media (SEENPM) . Airco DH.4 The Airco DH.4 is a British two-seat biplane day bomber of the First World War . It was designed by Geoffrey de Havilland (hence "DH") for Airco , and was the first British two-seat light day-bomber capable of defending itself. It was designed and developed specifically as a bomber , as well as aerial reconnaissance missions. The DH.4

6776-682: The United States for the American expeditionary forces in France, becoming the only American made plane to see combat in WW1. Following the Armistice of 11 November 1918 , many DH.4s were sold to civil operators where it was found to be particularly useful as a mailplane . Early commercial passenger airplane service in Europe was initiated with modified variants of the DH-4. War-surplus DH-4s became key aircraft in newly emerging air forces throughout

6930-773: The United States Army Air Corps , successor to the United States Army Air Service, until 1932. A large number of DH-4s were also used by the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps, both during the First World War and postwar. The Navy and Marine Corps received a total of 51 DH-4s during wartime, followed by 172 DH-4B and DH-4B-1 aircraft postwar and 30 DH-4M-1s with welded steel-tube fuselages (redesignated O2B) in 1925. They remained in service with

7084-557: The White House , asking them to fly only in completely safe conditions. Foulois replied that to ensure complete safety the Air Corps would have to end the flights, and Roosevelt suspended airmail service on March 11, 1934. Foulois wrote in his autobiography that he and MacArthur incurred "the worst tongue-lashing I ever received in all my military service". Norman E. Borden, in Air Mail Emergency of 1934 , wrote: "To lessen

7238-488: The mass media are often called "the media" (in much the same way the newspaper industry is called "the press "). In the late 20th century it became commonplace for this usage to be construed as singular ("The media is...") rather than as the traditional plural. "Press" is the collective designation of media vehicles that carry out journalism and other functions of informative communication, in contrast to pure propaganda or entertainment communication. The term press comes from

7392-513: The printing press of Johannes Gutenberg in the sixteenth century and which, from the eighteenth century, was used to print newspapers, then the only existing journalistic vehicles. From the middle of the 20th century onwards, newspapers also began to be broadcast (radio news and television news). The advent of the World Wide Web brought with it online newspapers, which then expanded to include online news videos and online streaming news in

7546-466: The public interest and democratic process , making it resilient to institutional corruption within the media system, economy of influence, conflicting dependence and political clientelism . Media integrity encompasses following qualities of a media outlet: The concept was devised particularly for the media systems in the region of South East Europe , within the project South East European Media Observatory , gathering organisations which are part of

7700-443: The silent era until the 1960s when television news broadcasting completely supplanted its role. As technology improved, newsreels began to incorporate sound and color, making them even more engaging for audiences. However, with the rise of television news, the popularity of newsreels began to decline, and they were eventually phased out altogether. Online journalism is reporting and other journalism produced or distributed via

7854-638: The "Billion Dollar Bonfire". With limited funds available to develop and purchase replacements, the remaining DH-4s formed a major part of American air strength for several years, used for many roles, with as many as 60 variants produced. DH-4s were also widely used for experimental flying, being used as engine testbeds and fitted with new wings. They were used for the first trials of air-to-air refueling on 27 June 1923, and one carried out an endurance flight of 37 hours, 15 minutes on 27–28 August, being refueled 16 times and setting 16 new world records for distance, speed and duration. The DH-4 remained in service with

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8008-500: The 122 aircraft assigned to the task, but the instruments were not readily available and Air Corps mechanics unfamiliar with the equipment sometimes installed them incorrectly or without regard for standardization of cockpit layout. The project, termed AACMO (Army Air Corps Mail Operation), was placed under the supervision of Brigadier General Oscar Westover , assistant chief of the Air Corps. He created three geographic zones and appointed Lieutenant Colonel Henry H. Arnold to command

8162-533: The 13 deaths actually occurred on flights carrying mail, but directly and indirectly the air mail operation caused accidental crash deaths in the Air Corps to rise by 15% to 54 in 1934, compared to 46 in 1933 and 47 in 1935. In 78 days of operations and over 13,000 hours of logged flight time, completing 65.8 percent of their scheduled flights, the Army Air Corps moved 777,389 pounds of mail over 1,590,155 miles (2,559,106 km). Aircraft employed in carrying

8316-490: The 1830s, newspapers started seeking commercial success and turned toward reportage. This began with the New York Sun in 1833. Advancements in technology made it cheaper to print newspapers and "penny papers" emerged. These issues sought out local news and coverage of society. Later, news-gathering became a central function of newspapers. With the invention of the telegraph in 1845, the " inverted pyramid " structure of news

8470-440: The 2010s. The use of the term "press", however, was maintained. Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video signals (programs) to a number of recipients ("listeners" or "viewers") that belong to a large group. This group may be the public in general, or a relatively large audience within the public. Thus, an Internet channel may distribute text or music worldwide, while a public address system in (for example)

8624-572: The Air Corps could deliver the mail in winter, casually assured Branch that the Air Corps could be ready in a week or ten days. At 4 o'clock that afternoon President Roosevelt suspended the airmail contracts effective at midnight February 19. He issued Executive Order 6591 ordering the War Department to place at the disposal of the Postmaster General "such air airplanes, landing fields, pilots and other employees and equipment of

8778-500: The Air Corps was forced by the winter weather to cancel the startup of AACMO. On February 19, the blizzard disrupted the initial day's operations east of the Rocky Mountains , where the scheduled first flight of the operation from Newark was cancelled. AACMO's actual first effort left from Kansas City, Missouri , carrying 39 pounds of mail to St. Louis . Kenneth Werrell noted of the first flight out of Cleveland: "The pilot on

8932-506: The Air Mail Act changed the manner in which payments were calculated. Air mail carriers would be paid for having sufficient cargo capacity on their planes, whether the planes carried mail or flew empty, a disincentive to carry mail since the carrier received a set fee for a plane of a certain size whether or not it carried mail. The purpose of the provision was to discourage the carrying of bulk junk mail to boost profits, particularly by

9086-427: The Air Mail Act of 1930. Using its provisions, Postmaster General Walter Folger Brown held a meeting with the executives of the top airlines, later dubbed the "Spoils Conference", in which the airlines effectively divided among themselves the air mail routes. Acting on those agreements, Brown awarded contracts to the participants through a process that effectively prevented smaller carriers from bidding, resulting in

9240-618: The American aircraft manufacturing industry. News media Some of the first news circulations occurred in Renaissance Europe. These handwritten newsletters contained news about wars, economic conditions, and social customs and were circulated among merchants. The first printed news appeared by the late 1400s in German pamphlets that contained content that was often highly sensationalized. The first newspaper written in English

9394-580: The Army of the United States needed or required for the transportation of mail during the present emergency, by air over routes and schedules prescribed by the Postmaster General." In 1933 the airlines carried several million pounds of mail on 26 routes covering almost 25,000 miles (40,000 km) of airways. Transported mostly by night, the mail was carried in modern passenger planes equipped with modern flight instruments and radios, using ground-based beam transmitters as navigation aids. The airlines had

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9548-444: The Army placed an order for a new DH.4 variant from Boeing, distinguished by a fuselage of fabric-covered steel tube in place of the original plywood structure. These three prototypes were designated DH.4M-1 (M for modernized) and were ordered into production alongside the generally similar DH.4M-2 developed by Atlantic Aircraft . A total of 22 of the 163 DH.4M-1s were converted by the Army into dual-control trainers ( DH.4M-1T ) and

9702-556: The Belgium airline SNETA . G-EAJC of Aircraft Transport and Travel flew the first British commercial passenger service from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome to Paris Le Bourget on 25 August 1919, carrying a reporter from the Evening Standard newspaper and a load of newspapers and other freight. They were used by Aircraft Transport and Travel until it shut down in 1920, while Handley Page Transport and SNETA continued operating

9856-701: The Bolling Commission, the DH.4, along with the Bristol F.2 Fighter , the Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 , and French SPAD S.XIII were selected. On 27 July 1917, a single DH.4 was sent to the United States as a pattern aircraft. It was not until 1918 that the first American-built DH.4s came off the production line. Several different manufacturers, including the Boeing Airplane Corporation , Dayton-Wright Company ,

10010-454: The CAM 25 air mail route contract at 89 cents a mile as measured against Ludington's extremely low bid. By February 1933 Ludington was virtually bankrupt and sold out to EAT for a "bottom basement price of $ 260,000." Lewis sensed there was a story to be written. He brought the story to the attention of William Randolph Hearst and, although Hearst would not print it, was given approval to investigate

10164-655: The Chicago Aeronautical Commission, and was a member of the board of governors of the National Aeronautical Association when selected by Hoover. MacCracken left the Commerce Department in 1929 and returned to his private law practice, where he continued to be involved in the growth of commercial aviation by representing many major airlines . Postmaster General Walter Folger Brown sought to improve

10318-653: The DH.4 in most respects. It was left to the further developed DH.9A , with the American Liberty engine, to satisfactorily replace the DH.4. When the Independent Air Force was set up in June 1918 to carry out strategic bombing of targets in Germany , the DH.4s of 55 Squadron formed part of it, being used for daylight attacks. 55 Squadron developed tactics of flying in wedge formations, bombing on

10472-485: The DH.4 until 1921. One aircraft was used by Instone Air Lines until its merger into Imperial Airways in 1924. On September 4, 1922, Jimmy Doolittle made the first cross-country flight, flying a de Havilland DH-4 – which was equipped with early navigational instruments – from Pablo Beach (now Jacksonville Beach ), Florida, to Rockwell Field , San Diego, California, in 21 hours and 19 minutes, making only one refueling stop at Kelly Field . The DH.4 were also used by

10626-606: The Eagle, extensive investigations into the use of alternative engines for the DH.4 were conducted. This resulted in aircraft being outfitted with a diverse range of engines; these included the BHP (230 hp (170 kW), the Royal Aircraft Factory RAF3A (200 hp (150 kW)), the Siddeley Puma (230 hp (170 kW)) and the 260 hp (190 kW) Fiat , all of which were used to power production aircraft, with varying degrees of success. None of these engines proved to be capable of matching

10780-467: The Great Depression, hampered by pay cuts and a reduction of flight time, operated almost entirely in daylight and good weather. Duty hours were limited and relaxed, usually with four hours or less of flight operations a day, and none on weekends. Experience levels were also limited by obsolete aircraft, most of them single-engine and open cockpit planes. Because of a high turnover-rate policy in

10934-645: The Marine Corps until 1929, being used against rebel factions in Nicaragua in 1927, carrying out the first dive-bombing attacks made by U.S. military forces. The U.S. Navy converted some DH-4M-1s into primitive air ambulances that could carry one stretcher casualty in an enclosed area behind the pilot. Following the end of the First World War, large numbers of DH.4s and DH.4As were used to operate scheduled passenger services in Europe by such airlines as Aircraft Transport and Travel , Handley Page Transport and

11088-500: The Post Office built and flew a nationwide network. In the beginning the work was extremely dangerous; of the initial 40 pilots, three died in crashes in 1919 and nine more in 1920. It was 1922 before an entire year ensued without a fatal crash. As safety and capability grew, daytime-only operations gave way to flying at night, assisted by airway beacons and lighted emergency landing fields. Regular transcontinental air mail delivery began in 1924. In 1925, to encourage commercial aviation,

11242-750: The RAF, and a further nine for civil use. At the time of its entry into the war, the United States Army Air Service lacked any aircraft suitable for front line combat. It therefore procured various aircraft from the British and French, one being the DH.4. As the DH-4 , it was manufactured mostly by Dayton-Wright and Fisher Body for service with the United States from 1918, the first American built DH-4 being delivered to France in May 1918, with combat operations commencing in August 1918. The powerplant

11396-791: The RFC, the RNAS also used the DH.4. During the spring of 1917, No. 2 Squadron became the first unit of the service to receive examples of the type. The RNAS flew their DH.4s over both France and over Italy , specifically the Aegean front in the latter case. The DH.4 was typically used to conduct coastal patrols by the RNAS. One such flight, crewed by the pilot Major Egbert Cadbury and Captain Robert Leckie (later Air Vice-Marshal) as gunner, shot down Zeppelin L70 on 5 August 1918. In another incident,

11550-583: The Rolls-Royce Eagle engine, its speed and altitude performance gave it a good deal of invulnerability to German fighter interception, so that the DH.4 often did not require a fighter escort on missions, a concept furthered by de Havilland in the later Mosquito of the Second World War. A drawback of the design was the distance between pilot and observer, as they were separated by the large main fuel tank. This made communication between

11704-604: The Rolls-Royce powered version, but as the "Liberty Plane" it became the US Army Air Service standard general purpose two-seater, and on the whole was fairly popular with its crews. Aircrew operating the DH-4 were awarded four of the six Medals of Honor awarded to American aviators. First Lieutenant Harold Ernest Goettler and Second Lieutenant Erwin R. Bleckley received posthumous awards after being killed on 12 October 1918 attempting to drop supplies to

11858-618: The Roosevelt administration's handling of the crisis. Aviation icon and former air mail pilot Charles A. Lindbergh stated in a telegram to Secretary of War Dern that using the Air Corps to carry mail was "unwarranted and contrary to American principles." Even though both had close ties to the airline industry, their criticisms seriously stung the Roosevelt Administration. On March 10, President Roosevelt called Foulois and Army Chief of Staff General Douglas MacArthur to

12012-469: The Second World War. The government had little choice but to return service to the commercial airlines, but did so with several new conditions. The Air Mail Act of June 12, 1934, drafted at the height of the crisis by Black (and known as the "Black- McKellar bill"), restored competitive bidding, closely regulated airmail labor operations, dissolved the holding companies that brought together airlines and aircraft manufacturers, and prevented companies that held

12166-447: The Senate, he was found in contempt of Congress . Hoover appointed Brown as postmaster general in 1929. In 1930, with the nation's airlines apparently headed for extinction in the face of a severe economic downturn and citing inefficient, expensive subsidized air mail delivery, Brown requested supplementary legislation to the 1925 act granting him authority to change postal policy. The Air Mail Act of 1930, passed on April 29 and known as

12320-527: The Vietnam War, the media reporting directly challenged the government, drawing attention to the "credibility gap" — official lies and half-truths about the war. Television news continued to expand during the 1970s, and by 1990, more than half of American homes had cable systems and nationally oriented newspapers expanded their reach. With technological advancements in the newsroom, notably the Internet,

12474-497: The War Department, most pilots were Reserve officers who were unfamiliar with the civilian airmail routes. Regarding equipment, the Air Corps had in its inventory 274 Directional gyros and 460 Artificial horizons , but very few of these were mounted in aircraft. It possessed 172 radio transceivers, almost all with a range of 30 miles (48 km) or less. Foulois eventually ordered the available equipment to be installed in

12628-580: The Western Zone, Lieutenant Colonel Horace M. Hickam the Central Zone, and Major Byron Q. Jones the Eastern Zone. Personnel and planes were immediately deployed, but problems began immediately with a lack of proper facilities (and in some instances, no facilities at all) for maintenance of aircraft and quartering of enlisted men, and a failure of tools to arrive where needed. Sixty Air Corps pilots took oaths as postal employees in preparation for

12782-582: The administrations of both presidents, the scandal resulted in the restructuring of the airline industry, leading to technological improvements and a new emphasis on passenger operations, and the modernization of the USAAC. The first scheduled airmail service in the United States was conducted during World War I by the Air Service of the United States Army between May 15 and August 10, 1918,

12936-499: The aircraft, observing good stability in flight, light flying controls and its relatively comfortable crew positions. During its flights with the CFS, it was able to attain previously unheard-of time-to-altitude figures, unmatched by any of its predecessors. While flying trials with the prototype had been producing promising results, it soon became clear that the BHP engine would require a major redesign prior to entering production. Even by

13090-525: The airlines and ordered the USAAC to deliver the mail until new contracts could be awarded. The USAAC was ill prepared to conduct a mail operation, particularly at night, and from its outset on February 19 encountered severe winter weather. The operation suffered numerous plane crashes, resulting in the deaths of thirteen airmen and severe public criticism of the Roosevelt Administration . Temporary contracts were put into effect on May 8 by

13244-411: The airlines), and strict flight safety rules. Among the new rules were restrictions on night flying: forbidding pilots with less than two years' experience from being scheduled except under clear conditions, prohibiting takeoffs in inclement weather, and requiring fully functional instruments and radio to continue on in poor conditions. Control officers on the ground were made responsible for enforcement of

13398-527: The army in 1918, and retrofitted them to make them safer, denominating them as the DH.4B. In 1919, the DH-4B was standardised by the US Post Office, being modified to be flown from the rear cockpit with a 400 lb (180 kg) watertight mail compartment replacing the forward cockpit. The airmail DH-4B were later modified with revised landing gear and an enlarged rudder . DH-4s were used to establish

13552-475: The attacks on Roosevelt and Farley, Democratic leaders in both houses of Congress and Post Office officials placed the blame for all that had gone wrong on the shoulders of Foulois." Other supporters of the president outside of the government muted criticism of the administration by focusing on and excoriating Lindbergh, who had also made headlines by publicly protesting the cancellation of the contracts two days after they were announced, "as if his telegram had caused

13706-418: The attacks, observing that Internet coverage was often ahead of more traditional media sources. In response, traditional media outlets included such coverage in their reports. However, several outlets were criticized as they did not check for the reliability and verifiability of the information. Some public opinion research companies have found that a majority or plurality of people in various countries distrust

13860-549: The cancellation of all domestic air mail contracts. However, not stated to the public was that the decision had overridden Farley's recommendation that it be delayed until June 1, by which time new bids could have been received and processed for continued civilian mail transport. Without consulting either Army Chief of Staff Douglas MacArthur or Chief of the Air Corps Major General Benjamin Foulois , Secretary of War George H. Dern at

14014-695: The committee that the Air Corps had selected its most experienced pilots and that it had the requisite experience at flying at night and in bad weather. In actuality, of the 262 pilots eventually used, 140 were Reserve junior officers with less than two years flying experience. Most were second lieutenants and only one held a rank higher than first lieutenant . The Air Corps had made a decision not to draw from its training schools, where most of its experienced pilots were assigned. Only 48 of those selected had logged at least 25 hours of flight time in bad weather, only 31 had 50 hours or more of night flying, and only 2 had 50 hours of instrument time . The Air Corps during

14168-423: The crew members difficult, especially in combat with enemy fighters. There was also some controversy (especially in American service) that this placement of the fuel tank was inherently unsafe. In fact, most contemporary aircraft were prone to catching fire in the air. The fire hazard was reduced, however, when the pressurised fuel system was replaced by one using wind-driven fuel pumps late in 1917, although this

14322-520: The deaths." Despite an 11th fatality from a training crash in Wyoming on March 17, the Army resumed the program again on March 19, 1934, in better weather, using only nine routes, limited schedules, and hurried improvements in instrument flying. The O-38E, which had been involved in two fatal accidents at Cheyenne, Wyoming , was withdrawn completely from the operation despite its enclosed cockpit because of its propensity to go into an unrecoverable spin in

14476-590: The efficiency of the air mail carriers in furtherance of a national transportation plan. Requiring an informed intermediary, Brown asked MacCracken to preside over what was later scandalized as the Spoils Conferences , to work out an agreement between the carriers and the Post Office to consolidate air mail routes into transcontinental networks operated by the best-equipped and financially stable companies. This relationship left both exposed to charges of favoritism. When MacCracken later refused to testify before

14630-462: The end of 1918. Following the end of the First World War, America had a large surplus of DH-4s, with the improved DH-4B becoming available, although none had been shipped to France. It was therefore decided that there was no point in returning aircraft across the Atlantic, so those remaining in France, together with other obsolete observation and trainer aircraft, were burned in what became known as

14784-538: The end of the Great War. One of the more elaborate modifications of the DH.4 was the adaption of the type as a seaplane. It was furnished with large floats , which were allegedly based upon the design of those used upon the German Hansa-Brandenburg W.29 seaplane. According to Bruce, while no such aircraft entered into operational service as a result of competition from other aircraft to perform

14938-437: The end of the hearings on the last day of January, MacCracken was subpoenaed to testify duces tecum "instanter" and appeared, but refused to produce files, citing attorney-client privilege unless the clients waived the privilege (which all did within a week of his appearance). However, the next day MacCracken's law partner gave Northwest Airways vice president Lewis H. Brittin permission to go into MacCracken's files to remove

15092-516: The engine's endorsement by William Beardmore . During the summer of 1916, a second prototype, equipped with the Rolls-Royce engine, conducted its first flight. In response to its favourable performance, the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) decided to place an initial order for the type during late 1916. Separately to the RFC's interactions with the DH.4, it had received substantial interest from the Royal Navy as well. The Admiralty decided to order

15246-512: The existing contracts (the controversial transcontinental mail routes CAM 33 and CAM 34) had been awarded to the low bidder by Postmaster General Harry S. New during the Coolidge Administration , on February 7, 1934, Roosevelt's postmaster general, James A. Farley , announced that he and President Roosevelt were committed to protecting the public interest and that as a result of the investigation, President Roosevelt had ordered

15400-468: The field gathering information for an event that has just occurred and needs to be broadcast instantly. Radio and television reporters often compose stories and report "live" from the scene. Some journalists also interpret the news or offer opinions and analysis to readers, viewers, or listeners. In this role, they are called commentators or columnists. Reporters take notes and also take photographs or shoot videos, either on their own, by citizens or through

15554-476: The first U. S. airline in history to make a profit carrying nothing but passengers. However it began operating in the red when the novelty of cheap air travel wore off as the Great Depression deepened and competition with arch-rival EAT intensified. The Ludington officer mentioned to Lewis that in 1931 the carrier could not get a proposed "express service" air mail contract to extend CAM 25 (Miami to Washington via Atlanta) to Newark, New Jersey , not even by submitting

15708-469: The first air mail flight needed three tries and three aircraft to get aloft. Ten minutes later, he returned with a failed gyro compass and cockpit lights, and obtained a flashlight to read the instruments." Snow, rain, fog, and turbulent winds hampered flying operations for the remainder of the month over much of the United States. The route from Cleveland to Newark over the Allegheny Mountains

15862-521: The fuel tank was positioned. While the crew arrangement provided good fields of view for both the pilot and observer; however, it had the noticeable downside of causing communication problems between the two crew members, particularly during combat situation, where the speaking tube that linked the two cockpits was of only limited use. On the majority of American-built aircraft, the pilot's seating and fuel tank arrangement were switched around; aviation author Peter M Bowers credits this change with improving

16016-416: The internet is true. A major problem is the issue of unbiased articles showing up in a timeline next to fake articles. This makes it hard for others to determine between what is fact and what is opinion. Specifically, the media coverage during the 2016 United States presidential election saw numerous misleading articles for both candidates. Media integrity refers to the ability of a news media outlet to serve

16170-508: The leader's command and with the massed defensive fire of the formation deterring attacks by enemy fighters. Despite heavy losses, 55 Squadron continued in operation, the only one of the day bombing squadrons in the Independent Force which did not have to temporarily stand down owing to aircrew losses. After the Armistice , the RAF formed No. 2 Communication Squadron , equipped with DH.4s to carry important passengers to and from

16324-520: The mail carriers on September 28, 1933, and brought about public awareness of what became known as "the Black Committee". The special Senate committee investigated alleged improprieties and gaming of the rate structure, such as carriers padlocking individual pieces of mail to increase weight. Despite showing that Brown's administration of the air mail had increased the efficiency of the service and lowered its costs from $ 1.10 to $ 0.54 per mile, and

16478-855: The mail were the Curtiss B-2 Condor , Keystone B-4 , Keystone B-6 , Douglas Y1B-7 and YB-10 bombers; the Boeing P-12 and P-6E fighters; the Curtiss A-12 Shrike; Bellanca C-27C transport; and the Thomas-Morse O-19 , Douglas O-25 C, O-39, and two models of Douglas O-38 observation aircraft. Among the 262 Army pilots flying the mail were Ira C. Eaker , Frank A. Armstrong , Elwood R. Quesada , Robert L. Scott , Robert F. Travis , Harold H. George , Beirne Lay Jr. , Curtis E. LeMay , and John Waldron Egan, all of whom would play important roles in air operations during

16632-407: The major carriers present at the "Spoils Conference", all received new contracts for their old routes with the exception of United, "the one airline completely innocent of any possible charge of collusion." United's routes were awarded instead to regional independents Braniff Airways and Bowen Air Lines , which managed its routes so badly it soon sold out to Braniff. The biggest winner of the scandal

16786-479: The major stories. In recent years, the blogosphere has taken reporting a step further, mining down to the experiences and perceptions of individual citizens. A growing phenomenon, the blogosphere can report news overlooked by the press and TV networks. Due to the rise of social media involvement in news, the most common news value has become entertainment in recent years. Apropos of this was Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 's 11,000-word Rolling Stone article apropos of

16940-469: The majority of frontline DH.4s by the end of 1917. However, this transition was greatly hindered as by January 1917, it had become clear that there was a chronic shortage of Rolls-Royce aero engines, and of the Eagle in particular; it has been claimed by Bruce that this shortfall was partially the result of protracted decision-making on the part of the Air Board. In response to the limited availability of

17094-399: The mobilization of American industry to set about the production of contemporary combat aircraft. As there were no suitable aircraft domestically, a technical commission, known as the Bolling Commission, was dispatched to Europe to seek out the best available combat aircraft and to make arrangements to enable their production to be established in the United States. As a result of the efforts of

17248-446: The mountainous terrain. In early April the Air Corps removed all pilots with less than two years' experience from the operation. The Air Corps began drawing down AACMO on May 8, 1934, when temporary contracts with private carriers were put into effect. On AACMO's last night of coast-to-coast service on May 7–8, YB-10s were used on four of the six legs from Oakland, California , to Newark to match Rickenbacker and Frye's DC-1 stunt, flying

17402-498: The new postmaster general, James A. Farley , in a manner nearly identical to that of the "Spoils Conference" that started the scandal. Service was completely restored to the airlines by June 1, 1934. On June 12, Congress passed the Air Mail Act of 1934 cancelling the provisions of the 1930 law and enacting punitive measures against executives who were a part of the Spoils Conference. Although a public relations nightmare for

17556-763: The newly merged Transcontinental and Western Air over the central transcontinental route. After initial rejection of the Postmaster General's decision, final approval of the contract award to T&WA was approved by Comptroller General of the United States John R. McCarl on January 10, 1931, on the basis that United's puppet concern was not a "responsible bidder" by the definition of McNary-Watres, in effect validating Brown's restructuring. These three carriers later evolved into United Airlines (the northern airmail route, CAMs 17 and 18), Trans World Airlines (the mid-United States route, CAM 34) and American Airlines (the southern route, CAM 33). Brown also extended

17710-557: The news media. Fake news articles are untruthful-on-purpose stories. They have the purpose of misleading the reader to think one way. With the rise of new media through social media, there has been an increase in fake news. This increase in fake news has progressed over time and continues to show, especially in today's media. The use of Twitter, Facebook, etc. has made it easier for false or misleading articles to be seen. The amount of misleading news articles that are produced are causing audiences to believe that every piece of information on

17864-503: The news story at the beginning or end of the video clip. In television or broadcast journalism , news analysts (also called newscasters or news anchors) examine, interpret, and broadcast news received from various sources of information. Anchors present this as news, either videotaped or live, through transmissions from on-the-scene reporters (news correspondents). News films ("clips") can vary in length; there are some which may be as long as ten minutes, others that need to fit in all

18018-590: The observer was provided with a 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis gun mounted upon a Scarff ring . Production of the DH.4 was performed by a variety of companies beyond Airco themselves; these included F.W. Berwick and Co, Glendower Aircraft Company, Palladium Autocars, Vulcan Motor and Engineering, and the Westland Aircraft Works . By the end of production, a total of 1,449 aircraft (from orders for 1,700 aircraft) were constructed in Britain for

18172-599: The obvious partisan politics involved in investigating what appeared to be a Republican scandal involving Herbert Hoover by a Democratic -controlled committee, the hearings raised serious questions regarding its legality and ethics. Black announced that he had found evidence of "fraud and collusion" between the Hoover Administration and the airlines and held public hearings in January 1934, although these allegations were later found to be without basis. Near

18326-791: The old contracts from obtaining new ones. The new rules were put into effect in March before formal passage of the bill with the announcement that temporary contracts for up to a year would be awarded by Farley. The industry's response, with the tacit consent of the government, was simply to reorganize and change names; for example, Northwest Airways became Northwest Airlines and Eastern Air Transport became Eastern Air Lines. The vertically integrated United Aircraft and Transport Corporation (UATC) appeared to be its particular target and broke up on September 26, 1934, into three companies: United Air Lines Transportation Company , United Aircraft Manufacturing Company , and Boeing Aircraft Company . Ironically, of

18480-460: The only gap in UATC's cross-country network of airlines, had been amicable until three weeks before its finalization, when Keys reversed his initial approval. Ironically Brown was angered by the negotiations, worried that the specter of a potential monopoly would endanger the imminent passage of the Air Mail Act. The merger swiftly created the first transcontinental airline. On May 19, three weeks after

18634-613: The passage of McNary-Watres, at the first of the "Spoils Conferences", Brown invoked his authority under the third provision to consolidate the air mail routes to only three major companies independently competing with each other, with the goal of forcing the plethora of small, inefficient carriers to merge with the larger. Further meetings between the larger carriers, presided over by Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics William P. MacCracken Jr., continued into June that often developed into harsh wrangling over route distribution proposals and consequent animosity towards Brown. After what

18788-427: The performance of the Eagle engine, which remained the preferred options despite the persistent supply constraints. At the time of entry of the United States into the First World War on 6 April 1917, the aviation section of the U.S. Signal Corps was unprepared, not being equipped with any aircraft suitable for combat. However, considerable optimism and energy was put into addressing this identified need, leading to

18942-413: The piece. Often, the news desk also heavily re-writes or changes the style and tone of the first draft prepared by the reporter / writer originally. Finally, a collection of stories that have been picked for the newspaper or magazine edition , are laid out on dummy (trial) pages, and after the chief editor has approved the content, style and language in the material, it is sent for publishing . The writer

19096-453: The pilot's safety in the event of a crash, as well as allowing for better communication with the observer. The DH.4 was armed with a single forward-firing synchronised Vickers machine gun along with either one or two .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis guns fitted on a Scarff ring fired by the observer. In terms of bomb load, it accommodate a maximum payload of 460 lb (210 kg), which could be mounted upon external racks. Throughout

19250-533: The reader an understanding of the context surrounding important events, rather than just the facts. A newsreel was a documentary film common in the first half of the 20th century, that regularly released in a public presentation place containing filmed news stories. Created by Pathé Frères of France in 1908, this form of film was a staple of the typical North American, British , and Commonwealth countries (especially Canada, Australia and New Zealand) , and throughout European cinema programming schedule from

19404-436: The relevant information and material in two or three minutes. News channels these days have also begun to host special documentary films that stretch for much longer durations and are able to explore a news subject or issue in greater detail. The desk persons categorise news stories with various formats according to the merit of the story. Such formats include AVO, AVO Byte, Pkg, VO SOT, VOX POP, and Ancho Visual. A newspaper

19558-406: The restrictions in their areas. On March 8 and 9, 1934, four more pilots died in crashes, totaling ten fatalities in less than one million miles of flying the mail. (Meanwhile, the crash of an American Airlines airliner on March 9, also killing four, went virtually unnoticed in the press.) Rickenbacker was quoted as calling the program "legalized murder", which became a catchphrase for criticism of

19712-413: The role, a number of DH.4 seaplanes were produced for trial purposes at Felixstowe and were successfully flown. The DH.4 entered service with the RFC in January 1917, first being used by No. 55 Squadron . More squadrons were equipped with the type to increase the bombing capacity of the RFC, with two squadrons re-equipping in May, and a total of six squadrons by the end of the year. During late 1917,

19866-410: The same time, through several channels ( frequencies ), for example BBC One and Two . On the other hand, two or more organizations may share a channel and each use it during a fixed part of the day. Digital radio and digital television may also transmit multiplexed programming, with several channels compressed into one ensemble . When broadcasting is done via the Internet the term webcasting

20020-441: The service and began training. On February 16, three pilots on familiarization flights were killed in crashes attributed to bad weather. This presaged some of the worst and most persistent late winter weather in history. Further attention was drawn to the startup when the airlines delivered a "parting shot" in the form of a publicity stunt to remind the public of its efficiency in mail service. World War I legend Eddie Rickenbacker ,

20174-523: The smaller and inefficient carriers, and to encourage the carrying of passengers. Airlines using larger planes designed to carry passengers would increase their revenues by carrying more passengers and less mail. Awards would be made to the “lowest responsible bidder” that had owned an airline operated on a daily schedule of at least 250 miles (402 kilometers) for at least six months. A second provision allowed any airmail carrier with an existing contract of at least two years standing to exchange its contract for

20328-548: The southern route to the West Coast . He awarded bonuses for carrying more passengers and purchasing multi-engined aircraft equipped with radios and navigation aids. By the end of 1932, the airline industry was the one sector of the economy experiencing steady growth and profitability, described by one historian as "Depression-proof." Passenger miles, the numbers of passengers, and new airline employees had all tripled over 1929. Airmail itself, despite its image to many Americans as

20482-444: The story full-time. Lewis' investigation began to develop into an air mail contract scandal. Lewis was having difficulty impressing his findings on government officials until he approached Alabama Senator Hugo Black . Black was the chairman of a special committee established to investigate ocean mail contracts awarded by the federal government to the merchant marine. Interstate Commerce Commission investigators seized records from all

20636-439: The time of flying trials with the first prototype, there had been no finalised plans for quantity production of the BHP engine. Coincidentally, another suitable and promising aeroengine, the water-cooled Rolls-Royce Eagle in-line engine, was approaching the end of its development process. According to Bruce, the Eagle shared the same basic configuration as the BHP engine, which greatly aided in its adoption by de Havilland, as did

20790-508: The type's production life, a number of alterations to the armaments, such as the ergonomics of the observer's Lewis gun and the installation of an additional Vickers gun, were implemented. A pair of DH.4s were outfitted with COW 37 mm guns for experimental purposes, but the war came to a close prior to firing trials being conducted. All armaments would typically be removed from those DH.4s that were used by civil operators, including ex-military aircraft that were sold on in great numbers following

20944-511: The underside of the tail area was covered by a 3mm plywood skin; this construction led to the fuselage being both strong and lightweight, heavily contributing to cross-bracing only being used for the four bays directly behind the rear cockpit. The nose of the aircraft was considerably longer than necessary, the cowling having been originally designed to accommodate the Beardmore Halford Pullinger (BHP) engine, rather than

21098-452: The upper wing. An unusual modification featuring on a small proportion of production DH.4s was the inversion of the engine, a design change that had been implemented in order to better accommodate the relatively-tall Ricardo-Halford-Armstrong (RHA) supercharged engine, which would otherwise unduly obstruct the pilot's forward field of view. The DH.4 was operated by a crew of two, who were accommodated in widely spaced cockpits, between which

21252-571: The uptake of the type by the RFC was accelerated due to a desire to launch retaliatory bombing raids upon Germany following such attacks having been conducted against the British mainland. While Russia had been an early customer for the DH.4, having ordered 50 of the type in September 1917, the Russian and British governments subsequently agreed to delay the former's deliveries, instead diverting those aircraft to RFC squadrons in France. As well as

21406-411: The war. With the introduction of the television came The Communications Act of 1934. It was an agreement between commercial television and the people of the United States that established that: The airways are public property; Commercial broadcasters are licensed to use the airways; The main condition for use will be whether the broadcaster served "the public interest, convenience, and necessity." During

21560-458: The world. The U.S. Army later had several companies re-manufacture its remaining DH.4s to DH.4B standard and they operated the type into the early 1930s. The DH.4 was designed by Geoffrey de Havilland as a light two-seat combat aircraft, intended to perform both day bomber and aerial reconnaissance missions. The intention was for it to be powered by the newly developed 160 hp (120 kW) Beardmore Halford Pullinger (BHP) engine. The DH.4

21714-698: Was The Weekly News, published in London in 1621. Several papers followed in the 1640s and 1650s. In 1690, the first American newspaper was published by Richard Pierce and Benjamin Harris in Boston. However, it did not have permission from the government to be published and was immediately suppressed. In 1729, Benjamin Franklin began writing a new form of newspaper that was more satirical and more involved in civic affairs than previously seen. In 1735, John Peter Zenger

21868-608: Was American, owned by Roosevelt campaign contributor "E. L." Cord , who before he acquired American was owner of a small independent carrier and had not attended the spoils conference. American was United's competitor in Dallas, trying to obtain its Chicago-to-Dallas CAM 3 route, and not only retained its contracts but gained a parallel Chicago-to-New York route, a second route from Chicago-to-Dallas with different intermediate stops, and had its southern transcontinental route shortened to reduce its operating costs. The most punitive measure

22022-594: Was a 400 hp (300 kW) Liberty L-12 and it was fitted with two forward-firing .30 in (7.62 mm) synchronized Marlin-Rockwell M1917 (a development of the Colt-Browning ) machine guns in the nose and two .30 in (7.62 mm) Lewis guns in the rear and could carry 322 lb (146 kg) of bombs. it could also be equipped with various radios like the SCR-68 for artillery spotting missions. The heavier engine reduced performance compared with

22176-527: Was accused of seditious libel by the governor of New York, William Cosby . Zenger was found not guilty, largely in part to his attorney Andrew Hamilton, who later wrote a paper in which he argued that newspapers should be free to criticize the government as long as it was true. Later, with the ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791, freedom of the press would be guaranteed by the First Amendment. In

22330-486: Was compelled to leave his position as National Air Transport's general manager because he had attended the "spoils conferences," this despite offering damaging testimony against Brown to the Black Committee. The effect of the entire scandal was to guarantee that mail-carrying contracts remained unprofitable, and pushed the entire industry towards carrying passengers, which had been Brown's original goal as incentive for developing new technologies, increasing safety, and growth of

22484-460: Was described as a " shotgun marriage " between Transcontinental Air Transport and Western Air Express in July to achieve the second of the three companies (UATC was the first), competitive bids were solicited by the Post Office on August 2, 1930, and opened August 25. A surprise competitive bidding struggle ensued between UATC, through a quickly formed skeleton company it called "United Aviation," and

22638-400: Was developed in parallel to the rival Bristol Fighter . During August 1916, the prototype DH.4 made its first flight, powered by a prototype 230 hp (170 kW) BHP engine. Initial flight tests revealed it to have favourable handling and performance. The Central Flying School (CFS) conducted early evaluation flights using the prototype, leading to it producing a favourable report on

22792-454: Was developed. Through the latter half of the 1800s, politics played a role in what newspapers published. By the end of the century, modern aspects of newspapers, such as banner headlines, extensive use of illustrations, "funny pages", and expanded coverage of organized sporting events, began to appear. Also, media consolidation began with many independent newspapers becoming part of "chains". The early 1900s saw Progressive Era journalists using

22946-540: Was dubbed "Hell's Stretch" by airmail pilots. In the Western Zone, Arnold established his headquarters in Salt Lake City . In the winter of 1932–1933, he and many of his pilots had gained winter flying experience flying food-drop missions to aid Indian reservation settlements throughout the American Southwest isolated by blizzards. As a result of this experience and direct supervision, Arnold's zone

23100-441: Was not initially adopted by American-built aircraft. The otherwise inferior DH.9 brought the pilot and observer closer together by placing the fuel tank in the usual place, between the pilot and the engine. Despite its success, numbers in service with the RFC actually started to decline from spring 1918, mainly due to a shortage of engines, and production switched to the DH.9, which turned out to be disappointing, being inferior to

23254-407: Was received from the RFC. According to Bruce, it was not a surprise to most observers that the Eagle had been selected to power the first batch of production DH.4s. The initial production aircraft were largely identical to the second prototype, the main difference being the adoption of armament, which included a single synchronised 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun for the pilot, while

23408-520: Was the only one in which a pilot was not killed. The Western Zone's first flights were made using 18 Boeing P-12 fighters, but these could carry a maximum of only 50 pounds of mail each, and even that amount made them tail-heavy. After one week they were replaced by Douglas O-38 variants including the Douglas O-35 and its bomber version, the B-7, and Douglas O-25C observation biplanes borrowed from

23562-444: Was to ban all former airline executives alleged to have colluded from further contracts or working for airlines that obtained one. United Airlines ' president, Philip G. Johnson , chose to leave the United States and helped to form Trans-Canada Airlines . At the age of 52 William Boeing took early retirement as UATC's chairman of the board on September 18 rather than ever deal again with the federal government. Colonel Paul Henderson

23716-448: Was to have been powered by the new 160 hp (120 kW) Beardmore Halford Pullinger (BHP) engine, but problems with that resulted in numerous other engines being used, perhaps the best of which was the 375 hp (280 kW) Rolls-Royce Eagle engine. The DH.4 first flew in August 1916 and it entered operational service in France on 6 March 1917 less than a year later. The majority were manufactured as general purpose two-seaters in

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