Berkeley city councilman Jesse Arreguin recommended yesterday that city officials and San Francisco local news stations come together to “work out a solution” to noise disruptions caused by news helicopters, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Arreguin, who likened the noise to that of “a war zone,” is planning on penning a letter to area stations, asking that they carefully evaluate whether aerial coverage is necessary for reporting and that they consider flying helicopters at 1,000 feet or higher.
Ed Chapuis, the news director at KTVU, told the Chronicle the decision to use a helicopter for aerial coverage is always a careful one.
“It’s incredibly expensive,” he said. “We like to get our video and get out. Unfortunately, some of the situations we’re covering lately are more protracted.”
It has been a busy few months for stations in the San Francisco market, which have provided significant coverage of the rambunctious Occupy Oakland protests from the both the air and the ground.