Bob Tur
Encyclopedia
Robert A. "Bob" Tur is an American scientific researcher that used his knowledge of sensor physics and systems integration to build the first modern news helicopters for live new reporting. As a broadcast reporter, and eventual 10,000 hour commercial pilot, Tur created the Los Angeles News Service with fellow reporter, Marika Gerrard. Their news service was the first to use an AStar helicopter in a major city for the coverage of live breaking news, and the first to televise a high-speed police chase. Other noteworthy reporting included the attack on Reginald Denny
during the L.A. Riots on April 29, 1992, and was the first to locate and televise O.J. Simpson's infamous slow-speed chase in 1994. He was also called to attend what he describes in "Ultimate Police Chases" as "The weirdest chase he has ever been involved in" in approximately 1995. He was at home when he was called and requested to fly over the LA Freeway. When he and his team arrived at the location he found what he was asked to cover - several police units chasing a bus! The person who stole the bus was earlier in the bus company's office requesting work when he was informed that he was underqualified and had no experience. Angered by this he stole the bus. Bob Tur later said about this "He was rejected from a job driving a bus, but boy could he drive that bus". The Police eventually managed to capture the person, and he was sentenced to prison. However he was deemed as mentally incompetent and was sent to a mental institution and was released 10 years later in 2005.
As a team, Tur and Gerrard received three Television News Emmy Award
s; Two Edward R. Murrow Awards for broadcast excellence (for his reporting on the Loma Prieta/San Francisco Earthquake, and a feature on American Jews leaving their homes for Israel at a time of war); An Associated Press
National Breaking News award; The NPPA Humanitarian Award (see below); several Golden Mikes; and numerous other local and national citations.
Tur has also been credited with locating nine missing aircraft, including a Pacific Southwest Airlines
passenger jet that suddenly dropped from radar, crashing in a remote mountain range near Paso Robles, California. An FBI investigation into the crash that killed all 44 people aboard found that a deranged and suicidal airline employee named David Burke smuggled a .357 revolver aboard the flight, using it to murder both the pilot and copilot as they steered the doomed plane as it cruised at its assigned altitude of 22000 feet (6,705.6 m).
Bob Tur has also been featured in well over two dozen programs, including NBC's Today, ABC's Nightline, Inside Edition, Rescue 911, and a two-part episode of the ITV documentary Police Camera Action!
with Alastair Stewart
in December 1996, called The Man Who Shot OJ. Tur is also a regular on the talk show circuit, frequently appearing on Fox News, CourtTV, and CBS. He currently has his own show on MSNBC, called "Why They Run".
, to protect the rights of copyright holders. The lawsuit alleges hundreds of copyright infringements that have led to hundreds of illegal downloads. Among the works involved is the attack on Reginald Denny
by a mob at the intersection of Florence and Normandie in South-Central Los Angeles, shot minutes after four white Los Angeles police officers were acquitted in the beating of Rodney King
.
helicopter through 60 knots (117.6 km/h) winds, and driving rain, at night, to airlift stranded tourists from 22 feet (6.7 m) seas that pounded against their hotel, the Portofino Hotel & Yacht Club in Redondo Beach. Timing the interval of the waves, Tur and his camera operator, Byron Alperstein, made a dozen near-zero visibility takeoffs and landings without losing a single victim. Both Tur and Alperstein received a number of awards for their heroism.
In August 2006, Tur was cited by Israeli medics for saving the life of a IDF soldier during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
. During a Katyusha rocket attack, Tur, a trained medic and his high-definition television news crew came across a 19-year-old soldier trapped in his crushed vehicle. With the soldier unconscious and not breathing, Tur, who had been shooting a documentary for an American satellite news operation, performed an emergency tracheotomy
, which restored his breathing. The rescue, which was caught on tape by his reporter, Dave Barker, aired as part of a news package focusing on the quality of life for the residents living on the Israeli-Lebanon border. Tur's cinematography, coupled with Barker's commentary, helped earn Cablevision the highly prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award. It was Tur's second Murrow.
Tur
has also been credited for his work in copyright protection by proving that news photography is copyrightable because photographers exercise creative control over their photography by choosing the composition, focus, and exposure of the subject matter. To date, Tur and his ex-wife, Marika Gerrard have won seven United States 9th Circuit decisions dealing with intellectual property protection, establishing that news videotape is copyrightable, and a landmark victory that bars a "fair use" defense by an infringing news organization that copies the video images of another news organization and then broadcasts the work as their own. Tur and Gerrard's work in copyright are widely considered by legal experts as a series of major victories for creators of intellectual property, allowing writers, actors, producers, directors, and union members to be fairly compensated for their work.
, Bob Tur was hired by BP to conduct scientific studies to locate the submerged oil that threaten the sealife swimming through hydrocarbon plumes deep below the Gulf. Tur was successful in being able to track up to 1400 square miles (3,626 km²) a day for deadly MS-252 toxins, results confirmed by Ken Lukins, BP's consulting director of their High Interest Technology Test (HITT) Team, but despite the results that could keep neurotoxin dosed fish, and crabs from those that consume Gulf seafood, BP has been unwilling to green light Tur's scientific helicopter based sensor program.
. Following the breakup, Tur dated Star Wars
actress Carrie Fisher
; they split in late 2005. Tur's daughter, Katy, is an Associated Press
award winning broadcast journalist for the Weather Channel, WNBC, and also reported for MSNBC during this year's Winter Olympics, held in Vancouver, B.C. The 27 year-old, like her mother, is an expert videographer whose now working as a storm chaser for The Weather Channel
, and as a digitial journalist for WNBC-TV in New York City. Bob Tur's son, James, 24, has a degree in physics, and is a consultant working on developing "green" methods to clean polluted ocean waters.
Reginald Oliver Denny
Reginald Denny, a white construction truck driver, was beaten nearly to death by a group of assailants who came to be known as the "L.A. Four", while LAPD squad cars that were parked around the corner were ordered to leave the area, instead of helping Denny. The attack was captured by a Los Angeles...
during the L.A. Riots on April 29, 1992, and was the first to locate and televise O.J. Simpson's infamous slow-speed chase in 1994. He was also called to attend what he describes in "Ultimate Police Chases" as "The weirdest chase he has ever been involved in" in approximately 1995. He was at home when he was called and requested to fly over the LA Freeway. When he and his team arrived at the location he found what he was asked to cover - several police units chasing a bus! The person who stole the bus was earlier in the bus company's office requesting work when he was informed that he was underqualified and had no experience. Angered by this he stole the bus. Bob Tur later said about this "He was rejected from a job driving a bus, but boy could he drive that bus". The Police eventually managed to capture the person, and he was sentenced to prison. However he was deemed as mentally incompetent and was sent to a mental institution and was released 10 years later in 2005.
As a team, Tur and Gerrard received three Television News Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s; Two Edward R. Murrow Awards for broadcast excellence (for his reporting on the Loma Prieta/San Francisco Earthquake, and a feature on American Jews leaving their homes for Israel at a time of war); An Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
National Breaking News award; The NPPA Humanitarian Award (see below); several Golden Mikes; and numerous other local and national citations.
Tur has also been credited with locating nine missing aircraft, including a Pacific Southwest Airlines
Pacific Southwest Airlines
Pacific Southwest Airlines was a United States airline headquartered in San Diego, California, that operated from 1949 to 1988. It was one of the first large discount airlines in the United States and is considered a precursor to Southwest Airlines...
passenger jet that suddenly dropped from radar, crashing in a remote mountain range near Paso Robles, California. An FBI investigation into the crash that killed all 44 people aboard found that a deranged and suicidal airline employee named David Burke smuggled a .357 revolver aboard the flight, using it to murder both the pilot and copilot as they steered the doomed plane as it cruised at its assigned altitude of 22000 feet (6,705.6 m).
Bob Tur has also been featured in well over two dozen programs, including NBC's Today, ABC's Nightline, Inside Edition, Rescue 911, and a two-part episode of the ITV documentary Police Camera Action!
Police Camera Action!
Police, Camera, Action! is a police video programme made by Optomen Television for ITV and broadcast on the ITV Network and ITV4. The program was originally commissioned through Carlton Television....
with Alastair Stewart
Alastair Stewart
Alastair James Stewart OBE is an English journalist and newscaster. Stewart is currently employed by ITN where he is a main newscaster for ITV News.-Early life:...
in December 1996, called The Man Who Shot OJ. Tur is also a regular on the talk show circuit, frequently appearing on Fox News, CourtTV, and CBS. He currently has his own show on MSNBC, called "Why They Run".
Litigation against YouTube
On July 14, 2006, Tur's news operation was first to file a historic lawsuit in U.S. District Court against YouTubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, to protect the rights of copyright holders. The lawsuit alleges hundreds of copyright infringements that have led to hundreds of illegal downloads. Among the works involved is the attack on Reginald Denny
Reginald Oliver Denny
Reginald Denny, a white construction truck driver, was beaten nearly to death by a group of assailants who came to be known as the "L.A. Four", while LAPD squad cars that were parked around the corner were ordered to leave the area, instead of helping Denny. The attack was captured by a Los Angeles...
by a mob at the intersection of Florence and Normandie in South-Central Los Angeles, shot minutes after four white Los Angeles police officers were acquitted in the beating of Rodney King
Rodney King
Rodney Glen King is an American best known for his involvement in a police brutality case involving the Los Angeles Police Department on March 3, 1991...
.
Other achievements
Tur was credited by the Los Angeles Times with saving the lives of 54 people during a freak southern California storm in January 1988. At the request of a local fire department, Tur piloted his AS-350B2 EurocopterEurocopter Group
The Eurocopter Group is a global helicopter manufacturing and support company. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries. Its head office is located on the property of Marseille-Provence International Airport in Marignane, France, near Marseille...
helicopter through 60 knots (117.6 km/h) winds, and driving rain, at night, to airlift stranded tourists from 22 feet (6.7 m) seas that pounded against their hotel, the Portofino Hotel & Yacht Club in Redondo Beach. Timing the interval of the waves, Tur and his camera operator, Byron Alperstein, made a dozen near-zero visibility takeoffs and landings without losing a single victim. Both Tur and Alperstein received a number of awards for their heroism.
In August 2006, Tur was cited by Israeli medics for saving the life of a IDF soldier during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War #Other uses|Tammūz]]) and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War , was a 34-day military conflict in Lebanon, northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories. The principal parties were Hezbollah...
. During a Katyusha rocket attack, Tur, a trained medic and his high-definition television news crew came across a 19-year-old soldier trapped in his crushed vehicle. With the soldier unconscious and not breathing, Tur, who had been shooting a documentary for an American satellite news operation, performed an emergency tracheotomy
Tracheotomy
Among the oldest described surgical procedures, tracheotomy consists of making an incision on the anterior aspect of the neck and opening a direct airway through an incision in the trachea...
, which restored his breathing. The rescue, which was caught on tape by his reporter, Dave Barker, aired as part of a news package focusing on the quality of life for the residents living on the Israeli-Lebanon border. Tur's cinematography, coupled with Barker's commentary, helped earn Cablevision the highly prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award. It was Tur's second Murrow.
Tur
Tur
Tur or TUR can stand for:* Arba'ah Turim, a work of Jewish law, also known as the Tur* Jacob ben Asher, its author, also known as the Tur or the Baal Haturim* Tur * Turkish language...
has also been credited for his work in copyright protection by proving that news photography is copyrightable because photographers exercise creative control over their photography by choosing the composition, focus, and exposure of the subject matter. To date, Tur and his ex-wife, Marika Gerrard have won seven United States 9th Circuit decisions dealing with intellectual property protection, establishing that news videotape is copyrightable, and a landmark victory that bars a "fair use" defense by an infringing news organization that copies the video images of another news organization and then broadcasts the work as their own. Tur and Gerrard's work in copyright are widely considered by legal experts as a series of major victories for creators of intellectual property, allowing writers, actors, producers, directors, and union members to be fairly compensated for their work.
BP Oil Spill
In the months following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill by BPBP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
, Bob Tur was hired by BP to conduct scientific studies to locate the submerged oil that threaten the sealife swimming through hydrocarbon plumes deep below the Gulf. Tur was successful in being able to track up to 1400 square miles (3,626 km²) a day for deadly MS-252 toxins, results confirmed by Ken Lukins, BP's consulting director of their High Interest Technology Test (HITT) Team, but despite the results that could keep neurotoxin dosed fish, and crabs from those that consume Gulf seafood, BP has been unwilling to green light Tur's scientific helicopter based sensor program.
Personal life
Tur's marriage with Gerrard came to an end in 2003. The couple have two children: Katy (born October 26, 1983), and James (born November 19, 1985), a physics graduate of the University of California, Santa BarbaraUniversity of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
. Following the breakup, Tur dated Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
actress Carrie Fisher
Carrie Fisher
Carrie Frances Fisher is an American actress, novelist, screenwriter, and lecturer. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, her bestselling novel Postcards from the Edge, for which she wrote the screenplay to the film of the same name, and her...
; they split in late 2005. Tur's daughter, Katy, is an Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
award winning broadcast journalist for the Weather Channel, WNBC, and also reported for MSNBC during this year's Winter Olympics, held in Vancouver, B.C. The 27 year-old, like her mother, is an expert videographer whose now working as a storm chaser for The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel is a US cable and satellite television network since May 2, 1982, that broadcasts weather forecasts and weather-related news, along with entertainment programming related to weather 24 hours a day...
, and as a digitial journalist for WNBC-TV in New York City. Bob Tur's son, James, 24, has a degree in physics, and is a consultant working on developing "green" methods to clean polluted ocean waters.