Here in New Hampshire, like many areas of the country we have snow in the winter. And, as in many years we have small storms, moderate storms, and very heavy storms. But this post is not about snow, but, the media and how they collectively cover the weather. It seems that irrespective of the amount forecast, the media has to make a production of each weather event. And, it is very obvious that any coverage is designed to be dramatic, interesting, and informative, in that order. Modern network media outlets make their money based on viewers and if they just gave us the basic information about an upcoming storm we would move on to other activities. But when they say that this storm will be dangerous, deadly, a blizzard, and generally scary, we seem to stay tuned. But, in that delivery system there is some ironic behavior.
For example, in the last week we had a significant snow event that was on the order of 33 inches ( a little less than a meter). It was also forecast to have blizzard potential; high wind, low visibility, and up to three inches of snow an hour for at least three hours. The Office of Emergency Management and the Governor asked that the public stay home and off of the streets, businesses close, residents have emergency supplies, and be ready for a major snow storm. OK we get it! But, for three days prior to the storms arrival the local network affiliate interviewed so many people who may be involved that the fear factor card became obvious. Those people who did not prepare would surely perish! And now we get to the day of the storm and it is, as advertised, a heavy snowfall. And, the public did stay home and hunkered down to allow the plows to do their critical work to keep the roads passable for any emergency. But, here comes the irony.
In their ultimate choice of poor judgment, the network media sent out their mobile vans and reporters to cover the danger, disregarding the order to stay off of the streets to avoid being in the way of the plows and endangering their reporter’s unnecessarily. With the usual yardsticks, wind speed meters, and foul weather gear, they covered the storm. I underlined unnecessarily because the network has webcams all over the state that can capture the storm safely. And, the station has viewers submitting videos from all over the area as the snow falls. I am all for responsible journalism, but not at the risk of the reporters. Money be damned! And now, we have another storm tomorrow and the hype is already in motion. I can’t wait until summer when the heat and humidity will kill us! Just an observation…
For example, in the last week we had a significant snow event that was on the order of 33 inches ( a little less than a meter). It was also forecast to have blizzard potential; high wind, low visibility, and up to three inches of snow an hour for at least three hours. The Office of Emergency Management and the Governor asked that the public stay home and off of the streets, businesses close, residents have emergency supplies, and be ready for a major snow storm. OK we get it! But, for three days prior to the storms arrival the local network affiliate interviewed so many people who may be involved that the fear factor card became obvious. Those people who did not prepare would surely perish! And now we get to the day of the storm and it is, as advertised, a heavy snowfall. And, the public did stay home and hunkered down to allow the plows to do their critical work to keep the roads passable for any emergency. But, here comes the irony.
In their ultimate choice of poor judgment, the network media sent out their mobile vans and reporters to cover the danger, disregarding the order to stay off of the streets to avoid being in the way of the plows and endangering their reporter’s unnecessarily. With the usual yardsticks, wind speed meters, and foul weather gear, they covered the storm. I underlined unnecessarily because the network has webcams all over the state that can capture the storm safely. And, the station has viewers submitting videos from all over the area as the snow falls. I am all for responsible journalism, but not at the risk of the reporters. Money be damned! And now, we have another storm tomorrow and the hype is already in motion. I can’t wait until summer when the heat and humidity will kill us! Just an observation…
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