Weather preempting programming

[Breadburner]

How many people have been killed by Tornadoes in Tulsa lately....How bout a murder warning or robbery warning or rape warning...It's tabloid weather at it's finest....

[sgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by inteller

well, it is obvious channel 2 reads this site.  I noticed that they are going to rebroadcast american gladiators.

Hi Channel 2.  Oh and put Krista Flasch on TV more.

When? or did I re-miss it?

[citizen72]

quote:Originally posted by Samalicious

I agree that some of the coverage is often over the top, but I think also that the local stations are in a no-win situation when it comes to pleasing everyone with severe weather coverage. Last night there were times when there were nine counties under a tornado warning at once. I am sure people who live in those counties wanted all the information they could get, just like people in Tulsa County want when there is severe weather threatening here. Everyone wants wall to wall coverage when it affects them. No one wants it when it does not. I have worked for local stations in the market for a long time and have heard the same complaints ever since I moved to Tulsa in 1981. The reason local stations cover tornado warnings is because tornadoes kill people here. Local weather coverage on television saves peoples' lives. Don't like it, don't watch.

No one will debate the dangers of severe weather. However, all the local stations turn a particular weather event into some kind of morase entertainment opportunity.

One could successfully debate the methods of the weather reporting as being well over the top. Breaking into normal programming to show hail in yards and clouds in the sky exemplifies the point. This is not to ignore their going over and over the same information during a break to the point of extreme tedium.

[BriefRighter]

I have been reading and enjoying this forum for some time now and had to join.

The weather break-ins remind me of the Roosevelt E. Roosevelt character Robin Williams did in "Good Morning Vietnam"...

RW: How is the weather Roosevelt?
RR: It's hot, damn hot!
RW: How hot is it?
RR:  You got a window? Open it!

Very simple and to the point weather reporting.

[TUalum0982]

I personally love how after a "major storm" they run an advertisement saying they were the most accurate, most dependable, most watched news station during the so called "storm".  They run for weeks! what a joke.

[breitee]

I thought Frank Mitchell was above this sort of childish reporting but I guess he is right in there with the rest of them.

The dumbing down of America!

[YoungTulsan]

Listen to Gary England, he's gonna let us know its' ok....

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ty_eBwbL9ig

[btrost74]

Here's the real problem - MIKE MORGAN!!

Mike is the head weather man at KFOR-Channel 4 in Oklahoma City.

I grew up in Owasso, but I lived in the OKC metro for 11 years before moving back to Owasso about a year ago. When I was growing up, I don't remember Channels 2,6,8 and 23 falling all over themselves like they do now when a small cloud formed in the sky.

When I lived in OKC, Mike Morgan had a sky is falling mentality. It didn't matter if it was sunny, rainy, windy or whatever...something dramatic was happening in weather every day. Well, before Dan Therkeld became head weather man at Channel 2, he was second in command at Channel 4 in OKC and learned the sky is falling mentality from Mike Morgan.

When Dan came to Tulsa, he brought Mike Morgan's style with him.

And the stormgasm climaxed in Tulsa.

[breitee]

Yeah, we had the weatherteller on the NBT building to let us know what was going on!

[citizen72]

quote:Originally posted by pmcalk

quote:Originally posted by Samalicious

I agree that some of the coverage is often over the top, but I think also that the local stations are in a no-win situation when it comes to pleasing everyone with severe weather coverage. Last night there were times when there were nine counties under a tornado warning at once. I am sure people who live in those counties wanted all the information they could get, just like people in Tulsa County want when there is severe weather threatening here. Everyone wants wall to wall coverage when it affects them. No one wants it when it does not. I have worked for local stations in the market for a long time and have heard the same complaints ever since I moved to Tulsa in 1981. The reason local stations cover tornado warnings is because tornados kill people here. Local weather coverage on television saves peoples' lives. Don't like it, don't watch.

I hear over and over that local weather coverage saves peoples' lives.  Maybe it does, but I don't think that constant coverage, as opposed to brief interruptions every 15 minutes or so, saves any more lives.  Yes, they should broadcast if there is a tornado warning.  They should come on, show where it is located, where it is heading, and who should take cover.  Do they need to keep saying this over and over for 3 hours straight?  Do they need to flash up the radar every 2 minutes (when the storm has moved only inches), zoom in, zoom out, zoom over a few feet, zoom out again, and then do it all over again until viewers are left with a headache?  Do they need to show constant pictures of dark skies and lightening?  Is that saving lives?  No, that is just drumming up hysteria.  It's for ratings.

Everyone should know, if there is a storm with tornados in it and its heading your way, take cover.  You don't need to know that it will hit at 9:03 or 9:08 or 9:12, or what the wall clouds look like, or what the "storm trackers" are seeing.  Go take cover--period.  And, if you are at risk of a tornado, you shouldn't be watching TV (unless you have a TV in your safe room/closet/basement).

So then a logical extension of what you are saying is that when Channel 2 began their over reacting thing all the other station fell into line to protect their market share. Sounds about right

[TheTed]

Weather 80 miles east of here is pre-empting the NCAA tournament right now.

Aren't those people over by the Arkansas border out of our TV market? Fayetteville is certainly much closer.

[nathanm]

quote:Originally posted by TheTed

Weather 80 miles east of here is pre-empting the NCAA tournament right now.

Aren't those people over by the Arkansas border out of our TV market? Fayetteville is certainly much closer.

No, the Tulsa DMA extends to the Arkansas border.

[patric]

quote:Originally posted by nathanm

Originally posted by TheTed

the Tulsa DMA extends to the Arkansas border.

...and includes counties in Kansas and Arkansas that border Oklahoma.  A lot of cable systems depend on Tulsa stations, as well as rural viewers with antennas.

[Breadburner]

First Stormgasm of the year multiple ones to follow....

[TheTed]

I wish they could at least put whatever they're pre-empting on channel 6.2