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Broadcasting Jobs Where You Can Be Wrong...

N

neanderpol

Guest
Well...

we got a little snow to kick off the new year. Depending on where you live, the accumulation may be more, or less than the "scientists" predicted. Which brings me to this question;

How the heck can weather-folk keep their jobs, or more accurately, can radio station's rating suffer by the quality of their weather reporting?

WBZ touts it's "accu-weather". But, what's the accepted level of innaccuracy that listeners will tolerate?

...avoiding firing up the snowblower.
 
>
> How the heck can weather-folk keep their jobs, or more
> accurately, can radio station's rating suffer by the quality
> of their weather reporting?
>
> WBZ touts it's "accu-weather". But, what's the accepted
> level of innaccuracy that listeners will tolerate?
>
> ...avoiding firing up the snowblower.
>
Isn't really all in the presentation? Let's face it, most of
the weather folks on Boston TV and radio pretty much have the
same forecast, give or take and inch or two when predicting
snow. It's the packaging that sells, whether that means a strong
personality or tons of bells and whistles in the promos and
headlines, a la Channel 7. Plus, there's always the "likability"
or "believeability" factor. I mean, who doesn't like Harvey Leonard?
And he seems so believeable when you watch him. Those factors also
apply to a host of weather personalities on radio, too. That's
the way I see it. How about the rest of you?
 
Winter Weather (Was: Re: Broadcasting Jobs Where You Can Be Wrong...)

To those who, like me, live in the Boston area:

Be glad you don't live in Philadelphia!

During the Winter, there are regular complaints on the Philadelphia boards that the city's radio and TV weather forecasters over-hype winter storms, turning a less-than-one-inch-dusting into Armegeddon!
 
National Weather Service?

> Well...
>
> we got a little snow to kick off the new year. Depending on
> where you live, the accumulation may be more, or less than
> the "scientists" predicted. Which brings me to this
> question;
>
> How the heck can weather-folk keep their jobs, or more
> accurately, can radio station's rating suffer by the quality
> of their weather reporting?
>
> WBZ touts it's "accu-weather". But, what's the accepted
> level of innaccuracy that listeners will tolerate?

Aren't most forcasts based off the National Weather Service? Sure, some stations have Doppler 40000 Extreme, but I assume that's for the pretty maps.

Southern New England:
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/box/
 
Re: Winter Weather (Was: Re: Broadcasting Jobs Where You Can Be Wrong...)

> To those who, like me, live in the Boston area:
>
> Be glad you don't live in Philadelphia!
>
> During the Winter, there are regular complaints on the
> Philadelphia boards that the city's radio and TV weather
> forecasters over-hype winter storms, turning a
> less-than-one-inch-dusting into Armegeddon!
>


For me I've always kind of understood that weather prediction is just that..a prediction, therefor it's never going to be 100% accurate. As someone said earlier, I think it's all in the presenation.
 
Re: Winter Weather (Was: Re: Broadcasting Jobs Where You Can Be Wrong...)

> To those who, like me, live in the Boston area:
>
> Be glad you don't live in Philadelphia!
>
> During the Winter, there are regular complaints on the
> Philadelphia boards that the city's radio and TV weather
> forecasters over-hype winter storms, turning a
> less-than-one-inch-dusting into Armegeddon!
>

It seems that ever since all the local weathermen blew the call on the blizzard of '78, we've been paying the price ever since. Every threat of more than an inch of snow is now cause for these nitwits to go into full-blown panic mode.

Hint to all local weather reporters: This is New England. It snows here. It's not the end of the world. Deal with it.
 
Predictions and Estimates (off topic)

> For me I've always kind of understood that weather
> prediction is just that..a prediction, therefor it's never
> going to be 100% accurate. As someone said earlier, I think
> it's all in the presenation.

Similar to giving an estimate for a job and when it's not the exact number when the job is done some customers will freak and say "that's not what the estimate says!"
 
Okay, great subject but cool it will ya?

Guys... after getting THREE complaints from unregistered users (the cowardly types they are), I had to come here to read.

Okay, this is actually a relevant post. But, without attacking the local weather guys, some of whom aren't really local (can anyone tell me where Elliot Abrams lives or broadcasts from), lets look at this logically. I don't know about you, but the weather segment is the best part of the normally depressing newscast.

I get damn sick of blood, drugs, war, fires, wrecks... you know. At least with the weather segment (which I love going back and forth between 4, 5 and 7), I feel like it's a day at the races. Hey, someone's right and someone's wrong, and often everyone is a bit off. But that's the nature of the beast. Hey... in Hartford, WFSB 3 names their winter storms! As for radio weather... it's so inaccurate because so much is voice-tracked, and recorded hours earlier into Scott Studios, Maestro, or one of the other systems in use. It's nuts trying to figure out who is right since I receive FM from 5 states out here in Franklin County.

You think it's bad here? You should go down south to Memphis where I was till recently. It *doesnt* snow there. It does ice, hail, blow and rain... and they're on the edge of tornado alley, so if you think they push the panic button when it snows, you should see what happens (and justifiably so) when the big thunderstorms build up. It's as if the weather guys have the power to call out the national guard. And, in their defense, we had at least two dozen tornado outbreaks in my 6 years there, not to mention one "Hurricane Elvis" - dubbed so because the 110 mph straight line winds that blew through at 7AM one morning in July '03 knocked out power to nearly 75% of the city and greater Shelby county. The utility co is STILL rebuilding the grid, and gouging the hell out of everyone (sorry I digress)

Now, after all that, lets give the weather guys a break. It's hard to forecast New England weather.<P ID="signature">______________
</P>
 
Re: Okay, great subject but cool it will ya?

I don't believe there's even the slightest tone of slamming any weather person in my original post. If any "weather folk" were personally offended, please accept my apologies. I used WBZ because "Accuweather" is one of their marketing points.

My point was...weather forecasting is a broadcast job. It appears to be the only broadcast job where a certain level of constant inaccuracy is tolerated. I'm wondering if ANY weather person has lost their gig due to surpassing this "accepted" level? Or, if a station has ever thought that the quality of their weather reports factored in to their overall strategy? It happens to be an area of broadcasting I'm completely unfamiliar with, but meteorologists take their work very seriously.

Man...seems like you can't even ask ANY questions.
 
Re: Winter Weather (Was: Re: Broadcasting Jobs Where You Can Be Wrong...)

> > To those who, like me, live in the Boston area:
> >
> > Be glad you don't live in Philadelphia!
> >
> > During the Winter, there are regular complaints on the
> > Philadelphia boards that the city's radio and TV weather
> > forecasters over-hype winter storms, turning a
> > less-than-one-inch-dusting into Armegeddon!
> >
>
> It seems that ever since all the local weathermen blew the
> call on the blizzard of '78, we've been paying the price
> ever since. Every threat of more than an inch of snow is now
> cause for these nitwits to go into full-blown panic mode.
>
> Hint to all local weather reporters: This is New England. It
> snows here. It's not the end of the world. Deal with it.
>

I think it's less because they "blew it" in 78 and more because, when you're listening to a station and they say "after the break we'll let you know about the winter storm heading for the area," most aren't going to change the channel.

Then they say "it may only be an inch but if the storm track changes we could see well over a foot, we'll know more when the new models come out in an hour," you'll be back in an hour.
 
Yeah, let's get back to WRKO. (no txt)

> Man...seems like you can't even ask ANY questions.

Yeah, let's get back to WRKO / Spencer Hughes / Todd Feinburg.
 
This is the same question I constantly ask myself when I tune into WEEI to hear a coherent, factual sports update and I hear a bumbling fool like Pete Sheppard who can't speak correctly and constantly screws up names, facts, and scores...but he stays employed....how?
 
Re: Okay, great subject but cool it will ya?

> (can anyone tell me where Elliot Abrams lives or
> broadcasts from),

I don't know if Elliot is based @ AccuWX Headquarters, but they are based in State College, PA.
 
Re: weather predictions

someone was saying about how weather is the only part of broadcasting that errors are accepted.... hey, let's think about that statement....

Am I wrong, or isn't weather the only segment of the news where something is being PREDICTED! If the News department had to predict all the news every day, how well do you think they'd do?

The only other predicting that we ever see (outside of weather) is when sports guys try to pick whose going to win a game... and you know that they're usually quite wrong.

OK, I am a meteorolgist (not the one who complained to the moderator)so I'll try to answer a few of your questions.......

Weather people are using computer models to predict winter storms... there are a bunch of weather computer models, and usually they all disagree with each other, so the meteorologist has to try to figure out which model is right... when a storm is approaching, you can almost always be certain that some of those computer models are predicting a major storm, some of them are saying a minor storm, and several of them probably even have the storm compeletly missing us... what would YOU do if all your data conflicted with each other?

Oh, to answer another question from above, NO your local TV meteorologist does NOT use the National Weather Service forecast... if he/she did, then the forecasts would be worse.

Here's another factor.. the weather can be VERY different from one place to another even within a few miles... so often times some people think the weather guy is right, and some think they were way off.

Here's something else... no matter WHAT the meteorologist says, most of you don't listen very well and think he/she said something else. I can't count the number of times I've just finished telling someone what was going to happen and then they ask me a follow up question and I realize they completely didn't pay very much attention to what I just said.

i hope that helps at least a little, I'll be happy to answer any other questions anybody has.
 
Re: weather predictions

> i hope that helps at least a little, I'll be happy to
> answer any other questions anybody has.
>

Ok. Why do stations think it is necessary to have the rookie reporter standing outside in the middle of the storm to tell us it is snowing. Most of us have windows in our houses that show us the same thing. Or is this just a hazing ritual that the rookies have to go through?
 
Storm Watch Center Doppler AccuForce 98000

We'd never admit it in public, but we all love to watch the live shot of the reporter snowed in at the rest area on Route 128, hoping to see a speeding car go into a slide as the reporter dips the ruler into the snow and shouts the war cry of the Nor'Easter:

"Hide your children and grab the canned meat!
Here comes the White Monster from the sky!"

It's way better than anything daytime television can offer us!


>
> Ok. Why do stations think it is necessary to have the rookie
> reporter standing outside in the middle of the storm to tell
> us it is snowing. Most of us have windows in our houses that
> show us the same thing. Or is this just a hazing ritual that
> the rookies have to go through?
>
 
Re: weather predictions

> Ok. Why do stations think it is necessary to have the rookie
> reporter standing outside in the middle of the storm to tell
> us it is snowing. Most of us have windows in our houses that
> show us the same thing. Or is this just a hazing ritual that
> the rookies have to go through?

It doesn't always seem to be "rookies" either. Sometimes I've seen veteran reporters put out there in the mess.
 
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