Judicious editing or crass censorship?

In my Nov. 11 post, “Times-News untruths,” I demonstrated how the newspaper’s so-called public editor, Kevin Cuneo, grossly dissembled in describing how letters to the editor are treated by contrasting a letter I submitted for publication several months ago which was not published with Cuneo’s purported letter-editing criteria. Those which are published, I said, are usually butchered beyond recognition.

Then in my Nov. 13 post, “And now, a word from the captain…,” I quoted copiously from a letter to the editor published Nov. 12 submitted by a local pilot who flies passenger aircraft for Continental Airlines, Captain Dennis Kudlak.In it, he sharply criticized management of Erie International Airport by the current director and airport authority.

I then called Capt. Kudlak on the phone to ask him whether the letter he submitted for publication had been changed in any way. He said it had been drastically cut and revised in a way that seriously detracted from the message he had attempted to convey.

So I asked him to e-mail a copy of his original letter to me as submitted to the Times-News for comparative purposes. Immediately below is the edited copy of his letter. Below that is a copy of the original letter as he submitted it. Does the comparison reflect judicious editing or crass censorship? You be the judge.

First, the edited letter:

Airport needs better direction

In the past, Erie International Airport was well-served by talented people like Mike Mashyna, Chuck Trabold, Vance McBryde (all pilots) and then-Airport Director Ralph DuVze. Those were some of the best minds and sharpest leaders in the Erie aviation community. Airport Director Kelly Fredericks is no Ralph DuVze.

In my opinion, the Erie Municipal Airport Authority members are weak. They are not pilots and have very little knowledge of aviation, if any. During his tenure as airport director, Fredericks has made a negative impact.

The operative term in the 21st century airline industry is "true passenger potential" for a local airport, not simply determining the total traffic generated for this region. Fredericks misleads the community by trying to make us believe that Erie, with a rural airport currently served by regional aircraft (30 to 40 passengers), has a real chance of attracting more numbers of passengers than in previous years. But most of this traffic is at larger airports, by virtue of the current and potential levels of air service available.

We need an airport director and an authority that are a team working together.

Capt. Dennis M. Kudlak
Continental Airlines

Now, Captain Kudlak’s letter as originally submitted to the Timees-News:

In the past, the Erie Airport was well served by talented individuals like Mike Mashyna, Chuck Trabold, Vance McBryde, (all pilots) and Airport Director Ralph DuVze, who comprised some of the best minds and sharpest leaders in the Aviation industry.Kelly Fredericks is no Ralph DuVze.

The current Airport Authority are basically stooges for Mr. Porreco who are not pilots and have very little knowledge of Aviation, if any . During his tenure as Airport Director, I believe that Mr. Fredericks has made a negative impact at the Erie Airport; the loss of Delta Airlines, loss of the German project, the cut-back of US Air flights ,and has done little, if anything, to promote General & Corporate Aviation at the airport.

Mr. Fredericks and his Master Plan for the Erie Airport are accessorized with forecasts that are essentially throw-away data and which have little relationship to the real airline and traffic trends of the future. Erie does not have a realistic approach for growth at the Erie Airport. Mr. Fredericks seems more interested in the growth of his paycheck then the growth of the Airport.

Airlines are now moving aggressively toward bypassing traditional CRS/GDS system and are gaining huge savings by encouraging direct-to-airline bookings via the internet channels. As a result, the internet will increasingly marginalize GDS channels and in the process render inaccurate and distort the traffic data called MIDT – which is used to identify consumer trends.The Operative term in the new, 21st Century Airline industry environment is “true passenger potential” for a local airport, not simply determining the total traffic generated for this region.

Mr.Fredericks misleads the community by trying to make us believe that Erie ,a small rural airport currently served by regional aircraft (30-40 passengers) has a true catchment area of generating more presposterous numbers of passengers then previous years, when most of this traffic really belongs to other larger airports, by virtue of the current and potential levels of air service available.

We need an Airport Director and Authority that are a team working together and that has the expertise to provide assistance that goes beyond expecies.

Captain Dennis M. Kudlak
Continental Airlines

Looks like censorship to me.