The hype about your local news affiliate begins almost as soon as the "award winning" news program starts. Sometime during the newscast the "award winning" station slips you a slick commercial of last years First-On-The-Scene coverage of a street murder, forest fire, blizzard, or a bloody car accident with flashing red lights. Wait a minute. Is this happening now? You lose track of what is real and what is editorial bullpucky. I think a better way to judge a TV station is by the quality of it's Weather Reporting. You can easily compare the way the weather is presented and who is presenting the data. Finally, you can grade the TV channel on its nightly weather report by opening your front door the next morning.
We know the TV channel "cares" about you, deeply and sincerely, like the Banks used to. That's why they created another 10 second segment that cuts into the news flow and ends with an 800 number where the viewer can, "tell us how we can improve our service to you-the viewer". Ted Baxter lives.
What I care about is a good weather report. You can have your local news anchor. I will switch to the local news channel with the best weather reporting. There is always the Weather Channel. There scope is too wide and I go nuts with the electronic music they generate as it takes forever to cycle back to your corner of the map.
THE WEATHER AS BAIT.
Before your nightly local news begins, the weather person pops on your screen and announces, "according to my exclusive Weathermatic Channel XX computer-generated forecast, tonight's weather is going to be absolutely terrible. I'll be back later with all the details." This is how the weather is used as bait and you are hooked.
THE WEATHER AS AN ART FORM.
The special effects on the weather segment of our local news channels get better and better. It wasn't too long ago that our weatherman was a cartoonist (honest) who made funny little sketches that would overlay the map of the state. A smiling sun with a swatch of orange color would forecast a fine day. On the other hand, a blue sun with a cloud "hat" and a teardrop would fly to the map and ...you get the idea.
All that is gone.
Now there are super realistic clouds and downpours of rain or snow. There is fog, thunder and lightning and the camera swoops in like like a low flying plane revealing land contours that are superimposed with temperature numbers and Santa Clause, if its Christmas, a bouncing bunny at Easter. There are dials that spin and arrows - lots of arrows - that shift position. There are isobars that move and squeeze each other. And there are wonderful flow patterns, tubes and tidal flows that show us the jet stream - the "arctic express" that will send us into hibernation. Can 3D be next?
THE WEATHERMAN (OR GIRL).
The Weather "person" doesn't get old, except for Willard Scott, who's selling longevity and jelly. Lots of famous people started as a Weatherman. Johnny Carson, David Letterman and Pat Sajak to name a few. Dave Garroway, host on the original Today Show, would hand draw the day's weather fronts and areas of precipitation on a big chalkboard map of the United States. Now, if you want to be a serious weather person on TV and get an authoritative AMS seal on screen and call yourself a meteorologist, you have to have a four year degree. Al Roker (NBC) holds American Meteorological Society Television Seal #239.
TOMORROW'S WEATHER
Once again the Internet is taking over the weather. NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency, has a very good website. Also, your local TV news will have a website with an interactive, radar equipped weather map that includes all the bells and whistles of the TV image. Unfortunately it's surrounded by postage-stamp sized ads and interactive buttons to confuse you. Go back to your lounge chair in front of the TV, drink in hand, and watch the handsome young stud or nervous ingenue in front of the weather screen. When they squeeze that cordless button concealed in their palm, your glorious weather report will come to life.
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