If you work at a newspaper, you can always tell when something important has happened or is expected to happen because people who have the day off start showing up.
News junkies need news. They must write about it, photograph it, edit it and come up with the perfect headline for it.
That was the case on Sunday when the Boeing Co. brought Everett its 15 minutes of fame. Extra people were assigned to work, others volunteered.
The rollout, which provided Boeing and Everett more like an hour in the world spotlight, wasn’t an event like the eruption of Mount St. Helens, which shocked and surprised people when it blew its top on May 18, 1980.
The truth is, the rollout was a scheduled event carefully controlled by Boeing. They didn’t offer up workers to talk about it ahead of time. Instead, it was just the opposite; people were told to keep mum.
The Herald was allowed three people inside the assembly plant for Sunday’s event. We complained about that. We were told that three was the media maximum and that we’d get no special treatment.
Boeing also kept the list of celebrities and dignitaries scheduled to attend pretty quiet. And most employees and retirees weren’t allowed to come to the plant at all. They were directed to Qwest Field.
The rollout had all the trappings of a media event designed to control the coverage for the benefit the company and the plane. Some journalists might say the rollout wasn’t news.
They would be wrong.
Whatever whining members of the media may have had about access to the rollout, there’s no question that the 787 is news. It’s both news and aviation history. And that’s not just because it’s been 13 years since the company unveiled an entirely new passenger jet.
The 787 Dreamliner is being described as the beginning of a new era.
Its extensive use of carbon-reinforced plastic instead of aluminum makes the jet more fuel-efficient and allows for more comfort for passengers.
Its manufacturing process, which snaps together big pieces of the jet made around the world, is also new. Machinists union members are justifiably upset that they’ve lost jobs to other countries, but most aviation analysts say the process provides such a competitive advantage that it will likely become the industry standard.
The Dreamliner is a cool jet and Boeing deserves its time in the spotlight.
And the community of Everett should be equally proud. It makes something cool, which an increasing number of communities can’t say anymore. I’ve written before about growing up near Cleveland, Ohio, in a neighborhood filled with people who worked at the steel plant, or the Ford plants or the GM plants.
They worked hard and had their complaints about how things were managed. But they made things. Cool things. And they were justifiably proud about that.
Today, the steel plant is long gone, as are most of the auto jobs.
Everett, on the other hand, is still a manufacturing center, making a product that affects the balance of world trade.
Just the 787s already ordered would be worth $92 billion to $127 billion today, based on list prices. The orders will keep workers busy well into 2013.
So let’s be happy for Boeing and revel in Sunday’s rollout.
The company has a cool product, one that is expected to make a difference in the world on several levels.
And we will make it.
Mike Benbow: 425-339-3459; benbow@heraldnet.com
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