If you've come to this site it is because you're feed up with the biased reporting in the USA Today article on airport funding that ran on 17 Sep 2009.  This 'so called' report was picked up by the TODAY show, and several other television programs, and the author, Thomas Frank was interviewed on NPR's "All Things Considered" and on WUSA9 television (also owned by Gannett the owners of USA Today).

You're "Mad as hell, and you're not going to take it anymore!" Right?

So here's what we can do:  We can boycott all the advertisers in the 17 Sept 2009 issue of USA Today.  Below is a list of the advertisers.  I will be updating this page with contact info (phone, fax, mail, email, etc...).  Also, you will find a letter you can copy and paste into your word processing program or email.

This can work.  It has been done before.  (Just Google 'advertising boycott' and you will find out about the successful campaign against the Fox network's Glenn Beck program)

Here are the advertisers:

Dan Brown - Lost Symbol (Book) by Doubleday
MetLife insurance
Hampton Inn
United Airlines
JPMorgan Chase & Company
America's Natural Gas
Great American Dineout
Smile Train
NAPPA Auto Parts
Advertisingweek.com/wof
The Ritz-Carlton New Orleans
Priceline.com
Sprint
McCormick & Schmicks Seafood Restaurants
Fidelity Investments
JC Penny
ESPN
Solatube
HBO
World Reserve Monetary Exchange
Lowe's
NBC - Jay Leno Show
Seven Days Of Rage 48 Hours on CBS
DISH Network
SIEMENS

Here's a letter you can send to them:

Greetings,

I am writing to you today as a concerned citizen and member of America's critically important General Aviation sector. General Aviation (GA) in America employs 1.3 million people and generated incomes of $150B annually. At this time GA is facing its greatest challenges in its 106 year life. Public misconceptions are at an all time high and have already cost thousands of jobs and millions of dollars. These misconceptions are fueled by biased and poor reporting, and that is why I am writing to you today.

As you may or may not know, on the cover of the September 17, 2009 USA Today newspaper was a story titled "Little-used AIRPORTS cost taxpayers BIG MONEY" written by USA Today reporter Thomas Frank. This article completely fails to qualify as journalism, and in fact is a blatant misrepresentation of some facts and an outright omission of many others.

Since your company had an advertisement in this edition of USA Today, and since the protection and promotion of General Aviation is of such importance to me, I must inform you that I will be boycotting your products until such time as you cancel your advertisements in USA Today or force the retraction of this biased story and the termination of Mr. Frank's employment. Further, I would demand that USA Today publish a FACT based front page article, including the views of GA pilots, the AOPA and others who can provide a counterpoint to the airlines who had sole representation in the 17 September article.

I value your company and its products and regret that I must resort to a boycott, but I need your support, as do the other 600,000 pilots and 1,300,000 aerospace workers whose livelihoods are threatened by this sort of poor reporting.

Sincerely,