Seven News Melbourne’s Health Reporter Karen O’Sullivan was driving to work on the Calder Fwy > Tullamarine Fwy & exited straight to Essendon Airport/DFO, Essendon Fields (which is the suburb).
She was not long after on the phone to The Morning Show.
How’s that for journalism 
Apparently Ten News have their hands on actual footage of the plane crashing into the building
Nine News Melbourne
Classy 
Yes, Ten got a bit of scoop with that one.
Amazing really, I travel through that intersection most days.
ABC News Victoria on location this evening. Ben Knight presenting outside DFO
First on the scene to cover the report
What caused every major news outlet in Melbourne (including TV Networks, Nine, Seven and TEN as well as The Age and Herald Sun) to get it wrong about an Air Ambulance being involved in the tragedy at Essendon?
3AW appear to be the only news services who held off on mentioning it was an Air Ambulance involved, in fact, 3AW appear to be the first to mention it was NOT an Air Ambulance involved.
The Herald Sun official account also didn’t mention the Air Ambulance however one of their reporters does retweet about the Air Ambulance being involved.
I can’t mind read and I wasn’t in any of the news rooms at the time however by going back through the mornings tweets I’m wondering where the confusion about an Air Ambulance being involved came from and how that message evolved.
I’m not pointing the figure at @JimmyTraffic either as I have no idea where he got his initial information from however I would be interested to know.
This post is more about how the majors got it wrong and why did they feel the need to mention the Air Ambulance until they had confirmation?
At 9:04 am @JimmyTraffic tweets
BREAKING Reports that an Air Ambulance King Air has CRASHED near Runway 17 at ESSENDON AIRPORT
This is picked up and retweeted by 68 other people.
The Herald Sun account @HeraldSun is also quick of the mark tweeting at the same time:
BREAKING: Reports of an explosion near Essendon Airport. More to come.
At 9:07 am The Age website places @JimmyTraffic’s tweet online on their Melbourne Express page with the comment
We are hearing reports of an air ambulance crash at Essendon Airport.
At 9:11 am @JimmyTraffic further tweets:
BREAKING King Air Air Ambulance has crashed into DFO near Ess Airport off Runway 1 Bulla Rd, TULLA FWY and CALDER FWY are ALL NOW CLOSING
The word ‘Reports’ has been removed and it now appears @JimmyTraffic has confirmation it was an Air Ambulance aircraft.
This new tweet is picked up and retweeted by 19 other people including @mmmhotbreakfast (Triple M Breakfast’s official Twitter account), @ewangiles (Triple M Producer), @scopelianos (ABC News producer) and @AndieHamblin (Herald Sun Crime Reporter)
At the same time @lynnescrivens (7 News Melbourne Producer) tweets:
Reports its an Air Ambulance thats crashed into DFO at Essendon next to airport. @7NewsMelbourne . PIctures show huge fire
This is retweeted by the official @7NewsMelbourne Twitter account a short time later.
A minute later @TheAge tweets:
LIVE Tulla Fwy closed in both direction after ambulance crash at Essendon airport
The official 3AW Twitter account tweets about the incident but does not mention the Air Ambulance being involved:
LATEST | There’s been a major incident at Essendon Airport
At 9:14 am @JimmyTraffic tweets
AIR AMBULANCE KING AIR - Crashed into DFO off Runway 17 at ESSENDON AIRPORT - Reports that Aircraft had just taken off R17 #Essendon
This is picked up and retweeted by 15 other people including @GeorgiMcKerrow (TEN News Reporter) and @scopelianos (ABC News producer)
At 9:15 @CandiceWyatt10 (Channel 10 Reporter) tweets:
An air Ambulance has crashed, as a result DFO is on fire, and two major freeways are CLOSED @tennewsmelb
This is picked up and retweeted by 19 other people
At 9:17 am the official Ten News Melbourne @tennewsmelb tweets:
BREAKING: An Air Ambulance has reportedly crashed into Melbourne’s DFO outlet, neighbouring Essendon Airport. More to come #TenNews
At the same time @FoxFM tweets about the incident but nothing about an Air Ambulance involved:
BREAKING: There are reports an aircraft has crashed at Essendon airport. Updates on air soon. #Melbourne
At 9:20 AM - 21 Feb 2017 @JimmyTraffic tweets the following with AIR AMBULANCE CRASH at the start:
AIR AMBULANCE CRASH - 5 people confirmed to be on board the Aircraft as it departed Essendon Airport. Unsure if it was Victorian or Tas
This is picked up and retweeted by 25 other people including @FoxFM.
At the same time @CandiceWyatt10 (Channel TEN Reporter) tweets:
Another pic of the emergency unfolding an Essendon Airport. An Air Ambulance has crashed into DFO… (Pic via @Tsm042) @tennewsmelb
Which was also picked up and retweeted by 40 other people.
It’s now 9:27 am @3AW693 tweet further about the incident however they appear to be the first to state it is not an Air Ambulance involved:
Plane crash at Essendon DFO. 5 person charter flight; King Island flight. NOT Air Ambulance plane.
At 9:28 am the official Fox FM Twitter account @FoxFM runs the tweet:
UPDATE: Reports coming through that there were 5 people aboard a King Air Ambulance aircraft which crash landed into the DFO building.
After retweeting @JimmyTraffic they are now tweeting about an Air Ambulance being involved.
Another five minutes’ pass and corrections start appearing.
At 9:33 am @JimmyTraffic corrects his previous tweets and sends out:
BREAKING - CONFIRMING: PLANE CRASH - NOT AIR AMBULANCE… Latest Report it was a Private Charter with 5 PAX enroute to King Island #ESSENDON
At 9:33 am the official Ambulance Victoria Twitter account @AmbulanceVictoria also release the tweet:
Contrary to media reports the plane that has crashed at Essendon is not an Ambulance Victoria aircraft.
By then, however, the story that an Air Ambulance has crashed in Melbourne, Victoria has gone global.
Well @JimmyTraffic has since tweeted - “Incident initially reported as Air Ambo following eyewitness accounts - similar model aircraft, similar markings to some Air Ambos.” so it sounds like his initial tweets were based on conjecture and the networks just ran with it rather than waiting to confirm for themselves.
No unusual in the current environment - report now, correct later. I don’t blame them personally, they are just giving their audience at home the latest information that they have access to. Long gone are the days of having the luxury of time to put together a story for the 6pm news or tomorrow’s front page.
Every chance it was a tip from a source at an agency dealing with it that proved to be wrong. Wouldn’t have been done to deceive.
Natalie Barr and Sylvia Jeffreys both on location from Melbourne this morning.
Oh how I hate the two networks trying to compete with these morning shows to a ridiculous degree.
Given its a very similar plane to those used by air ambulance and Essendon is used for medivac it’s not a great leap (not to say it was the right call) to put those two together
Oh I’m positive there would have been no malice intended and again I’m not picking on anyone specific person I’m more interested in how it involved and why if 3AW weren’t going with the Air Ambulance angle why was everyone else?
That fits @JimmyTraffic’s first tweet where he includes fhe word ‘reports’ which to me reads that there is no confirmation, which is fine, however subsequent tweets seem to infer that it’s been confirmed.
Sure they don’t have time to wait until 6pm however they aren’t reporting information, they’re reporting on conjecture. If I want uneducated guesses don’t I have the internet for that? The fact that a plane had crashed was surely enough solid, confirmed information to report on.
Not that I’m a fan of 3AW or associated with them, however if they never talked about the Air Ambulance being involved (perhaps they did on air however I’m basing this on tweets) why are the others?
