[BC] TV Weather

[Dave Dunsmoor]

> in other words, if there's not something happening to stir up the
listeners, the effort is
> made to sensationalize what IS occurring, to make listeners talk: 'Hey did
you hear the
> weather chick on W38DD this morning ?  She said the wind-chill tonight
will be at 265
> below zero !'

Well, now...I might be inclined to watch this station....late night TV, I
presume?

;-)


But, yeah, that seems to be the cause.... and the effect is just this, we're
ignoring
them to some degree, or at the very least, they have little if any
credibility.

Our local TV weather has an honest-to-goodness meteorologist on staff, and
he's guilty of the same, and I see the same mannerisms in the kids that fill
in for
him. It's fact mixed in with a good dose of sensationalism. Maybe not
intended that
way, but that's how it comes across.

Years ago, before they had a "real" weatherman, the AM morning man did the
weather.
Now this guy was entertaining to watch. He presented the facts as they were,
but was
just humorous enough to be fun to watch. He didn't take himself seriously,
but it was clear
that he was having fun doing what he was doing. He was memorable.

MANY years ago, there was a weatherman in Grand Forks, or Fargo (I don't
know
for sure, it was on cable), and he was entertaining in that he was serious
about being
completely factual, and would often discus some weather or science related
topic
following the weather report. Or, if there was nothing else on the agenda,
he would
announce that "we're going to have a staredown", and he'd stare into the
camera for
a few seconds until the break. This was so off the wall that it was funny.
Another
memorable guy.

All this is to say, I don't like sensationalism. Entertainment, yes, BS, no.




Dave Dunsmoor