Storm Chasers under attack again!!

[Scott Currens]

I was talking to an assistant producer for Tower Productions, the company that produces Storm Stories for the Weather Channel, and she said that another team is doing a story on storm chasers getting in the way of rescue personnel on May 12th. Is this going to by another story of locals getting in the way and chasers getting the blame?

The story is in the initial phases of development so if enough chasers submit video that shows the problems were caused by locals, we might be able to shifted the focus to them. If you do sell video to TP make sure the contract is clear as to how your video will be used.

Lets try and stop the next attack on chasers before it happens.

Scott Currens

 

[Mike Peregrine]

This is a good idea. If you were on this storm and have video like Scott references, please contact Towers (http://www.towersproductions.com )

In addition, I would say that chasers might take the opportunity to share their stories concerning encounters with locals by sending correspondence to Towers as well.

Thanks for the heads-up Scott ... hearing about these projects while they are in pre-production at least gives us a decent shot at letting the chasers' side of the issue be heard.

 

[Jeff Snyder]

Scott,

I'm assuming you talked to Sara C... I've talked to her numerous times in the past month, and nothing she has said indicated, to me at least, that this would be a "negative chaser story"... I've told her a couple of times that I don't think chasers were the problem that day, and that "locals" likely contributed more to the traffic congestion than chasers. It didn't sound to me like this episode was putting chasers in bad light...

 

[Tony Laubach]

I, too, have talked with Sara C., and will agree with the above mentioned comments as to the fact that it doesn't sound as if this is a story to bash chasers. I'll make sure that I read any fine print just in case.

 

[Scott Currens]

No, I haven't talked to Sara C yet, so maybe I am getting excited about nothing. Its just that when the producer I was talking to mentioned the show Sara is working on, It sounded just like the news paper articles that lump locals and chasers into the same group and bash them for being out blocking roads.

I'm not telling anyone not to sell video to TP. In fact that is exactly what I am doing. Just be careful not to give them anything that makes chasers look bad. Its probably a good idea to explain your experience as a chaser and how what you do differs from locals that go sight seeing when they hear a warning.

Scott Currens

 

[Susan Strom]

Just wanted to share that a Towers piece that I was once in (Wyoming) showed nothing but fair and accurate reporting on the chase.

I would guess that one of the largest tasks to producing a piece about chasers is figuring out all the varying types of chasers out there and the myriad of personal motivations. There are so few generalities in chasing so supplying enough good info to reporters benefits everyone.

Towers seemed pretty professional, perhaps that's encouraging.

 

[David Drummond]

They are using some stuff I had from Mulvane and one of the associate producers has called me numerous times asking questions, wanting to make sure the got the right tornado, with the right time and place and where I was when it was shot and what else I saw etc. Seems to me they are at least attempting to do their homework.

If there really WERE storm chasers there that got in the way of EMS vehicles (I don't know, I never saw any, but then again I can't be everywhere at once around a storm), got forbid the truth ever got out! :roll: /sarcasm off

 

[David Schuttler]

Wasn't me I was in N.W. Okla. with non-coperating storms.... lol

 

[John Olexa]

Towers seemed pretty professional, perhaps that's encouraging.

Same here, when they used my shots from the LaPlata F-4 damage they called me 3 times just to make sure they had everything right.