Degree for Aviation Communicators is One of a Kind


"You're going to put me out of business!" Robert Mark was joking when he first heard about Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's new bachelor of science degree in communication, but he was onto something. Embry-Riddle's newest undergraduate degree program will create a whole new class of professionals who are knowledgeable about both communication and aviation.

Until now, Mark had been one of only a handful of such specialists. While a pilot for Midway Airlines, he had been writing freelance articles and aviation books. When Midway went bankrupt, Mark joined Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide in Chicago. After obtaining a master's in marketing from Northwestern University six years ago, he started his own firm, Mark Communications Inc. With his broad knowledge of aviation and communication, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and the Federal Aviation Administration seek his services.

Lack of knowledge leads to ‘awful stories’

To do PR work for aviation clients, Mark knows from experience that reliable aviation knowledge is imperative. "Read the newspapers, and you can see that a lack of aviation knowledge translates into some pretty awful stories. The PR people at aviation companies need to constantly be on their toes to be sure that not only is the correct information about their products being reported, but that the industry as a whole is not being slammed by someone who doesn't know a Piper Cub from a Lear 60."

According to Robert Oxley, chairman of humanities and social sciences at Embry-Riddle, those errors will become less common as the university's new program begins to produce graduates. At the urging of working communicators, a third of the curriculum in the Embry-Riddle program is devoted to aviation, aerospace, science, and technology topics, making it the only one of its kind in the United States.

That pleases Dan Ronan, a CNN correspondent and producer who regularly covers aviation and aerospace stories. "Technology and aviation issues are so important to the economy and society, and this is Embry-Riddle's main focus," he says. "You have to have a working knowledge of aviation fundamentals to report on the industry. Communicators with this specialization won't get sandbagged on a story, because they'll know the field."

Jack Olcott, president of the National Business Aviation Association, agrees. "It's rare that an individual has both a technical knowledge of aviation and a formal education in written communications. I see a need for individuals who have both journalistic and technical training," he says.

Targeted program to help new talent

Drew Steketee, senior vice president of communications at AOPA, has also used his flight background to gain the top communications spots at the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and Beechcraft Corp. Yet he worries that while there are opportunities for those with a knowledge of aviation and communication, talented young people may not discover them without the help of targeted programs like Embry-Riddle's. "The great old talent in aviation public relations is retiring. New people with strong talent are needed, and they can make their own breaks if they're good enough."

Oxley says public relations is a major focus of the new program. In addition, graduates can become journalists, technical writers, desktop or Internet publishers, communication consultants, advertising account managers, or broadcast newswriters.

The Department of Labor projects that employment of writers and editors will increase faster than average for all occupations through 2005. Employment of public relations specialists is expected to increase by 55 percent by 2006.

Approximately 460 English-language newspapers, magazines, and journals are devoted to aviation and aerospace, and more than 60 aviation and aerospace associations worldwide employ writers, editors, and advertising and public relations professionals.

Aviation ‘watchdogs’ can prod agencies

Because each will have completed journalism course work, some graduates of Embry-Riddle's program may even serve a watchdog function in the aviation industry. Matt Wald, a transportation reporter in The New York Times' Washington, D.C., bureau, says accurate reporting about aviation issues can sometimes "prod government agencies into doing things -- to think about things they haven't yet thought about at the appropriate level."

However, wielding this type of influence requires superior aviation knowledge and communication skills. "It's easy to look silly losing accuracy when translating between the highly technical and easily understood," Wald says. He supplemented his B.S. degree from Brown University by reading books about aviation and talking to aviation educators and other professionals before his first pieces about aviation were published. At Embry-Riddle, all communication students will learn about aviation and technical topics in the classroom and through cooperative education internships.

Elizabeth Marchak is another investigative reporter respected by the aviation community. Marchak, who writes for The Plain Dealer, was asked after a 1994 crash in nearby Pittsburgh to report on which of the airlines and airplanes using Cleveland's airports were the safest. After revealing limitations in the existing safety data, she heard from so many appreciative professionals that she has since concentrated on reporting about safety problems in aviation. Because few reporters have a network of aviation sources, know how to research recommendations, regulations, bulletins or advisory circulars, or understand how documents are generated, Marchak feels "there are not enough of us out there asking probing, challenging questions about aviation."

Oxley's hope is that graduates of the communication program at Embry-Riddle will be able to improve service, safety, and public knowledge of aviation, whether they work for aviation firms or independent news organizations.

By Mark Wright