Drones are the way of the future in local newsrooms. And because of that, we’re seeing fewer news helicopters in the sky and now one less in Cincinnati.
WCPO has announced it’s grounding its helicopter for good. The station is also laying off Dan Carroll, the reporter who did reports from the sky since 2014.
“With advances in technology, we are confident we can continue to provide aerial coverage with our Sky 9 drone video. Given these changes, Dan’s contract is not being renewed. Dan’s done an excellent job of covering breaking news stories from the Chopper over the last six years,” Brogan says.
The station’s helicopter has some history. It was Cincinnati’s first helicopter in the market in 1967. In 2000, the station grounded the ‘copter citing it was too expensive and draining newsroom resources. It went back up in 2013, three years before the station bought a drone.
Moving forward, WCPO will use its drone to collect footage.