20 Lessons I've Learned in TV Weather: # 6 - WEATHER HYPE

There are times that the weather gets a bad rap. More specifically, the weather REPORTER gets a bad rap. It’s not just the blame of “getting it wrong” or “being paid to lie” but it’s also the accusation of “weather hype.” To be fair, there are plenty of meteorologists across the country (and not just on TV) who love to blow things out of proportion. Fear sells. A quick scan through Facebook during a hurricane shines a spotlight on it pretty easily.

I have never been told by a boss to “hype” something up. But I have been asked, “why aren’t you talking about this or that because so-and-so over at that other channel is talking about it." There is pressure to keep up, especially when you are a young’un starting out in the business. The longer you do the job, the more confidence you acquire, and the more trust you gain, from viewers and from managers. In the early years, I was too nervous to stand up for what I believed, so there were times I went on TV and maybe “oversold” an event. In recent years, I’ve had supportive managers who trust my opinion and know that I’m not going to “cry wolf” over something that isn’t a big deal. They also know I will raise a red flag when something needs to lead the newscast and have extra time assigned to it.

Many years ago, when TV stations realized people were watching the news because of the weather, they started putting more emphasis on it. Weather wasn’t tucked at the bottom of the newscast anymore. It was bumped up before sports, and then, additional weather was added at the beginning and end of the newscast. In the morning, I present a forecast 4 times each half-hour. Sometimes that may seem like “overkill” to viewers. Keep in mind, not everyone is watching the news for all five hours in the morning. Most people only watch for a few minutes, and some only listen in passing. I repeat a forecast a lot so no matter what time you tune in, you get some sort of weather report.

With more emphasis comes more importance and more scrutiny. I’ve tried not to worry about the naysayers or the ones who type, “Oh, here we go, more weather hype” on every single weather post I write. I do my work and let the chips fall where they may.

I should also mention that despite the bad rap weather often gets, there are times that weather is the ONLY “good” thing in a newscast. On September 11, 2001, the blue sky and lack of storms was the one thing that gave people a distraction from the terrorist attacks, if the weather was covered at all on TV stations that day. Other times I remember being on TV in the midst of tragedy: during the Columbia explosion in 2003, the shooting of Orlando police officer Debra Clayton, the Pulse massacre, and in recent weeks, watching our world come to a halt in a global pandemic. I have had to find the balance between serious and light, severe and smiles, tragedy and celebration. Sometimes my job is bad, covering hurricanes and tornadoes, but sometimes I get to be the only bright light in an otherwise dark day.

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” - Desmond Tutu