TV Meteorologists Laid Off, Weather Channel Will Take Over Local Weather

[plreardon]

This has to be distressing for the local populations. It can be a safety risk during severe weather, and moreso during a severe weather outbreak. The Weather Channel is not the best at pronouncing smaller city names, let alone street names.

Local TV meteorologists cut in Huntsville, 22 stations nationally |…

Local meteorologists are being cut at WAAY-TV in Huntsville and 20 stations nationally. | Alabama News

1819news.com

 

[AmboyRoy]

Sounds like propaganda to me

 

[John Farley]

This is truly disgusting. Another instance of the increasingly frequent experience of greed winning out over people's needs. Many of these locations, including my hometown of Waterloo, IA, are prone to tornadoes and severe weather. I do not think the Weather Channel will be able to devote the resources to each of these local areas that the local stations have, especially during large severe weather outbreaks. People will probably die because of this. A big outbreak in the Midwest, for example, could affect 10 or more of these markets at the same time. Does anyone seriously think they will commit the resources to go wall-to-wall with local severe weather coverage on that many stations at the same time. I certainly do not.

 

[Warren Faidley]

There are AI bots now much like the one that Ryan Hall uses that are going to be implemented on a lot of local stations. This is the inevitable future of local weather forecasting. To think TWC would have any local responsibility is scary.

 

[William Monfredo]

Local meteorologists have advantages to offer. After a period of time and compared to the big impersonal corporation, the local weatherperson possesses a greater understanding of the idiosyncrasies of a place's weather, possible microclimates, local geographic effects, and more.
Importantly, they've likely developed a rapport with their viewing public, a level of trust that's important, especially in the heat of the moment. James Caruso mentioned weathercaster Brian Norcross's "My Hurricane Andrew Story," so I read it. Brian and his viewers became so important to one another, that he stayed on in Miami when his contract was up, though he could have moved on & up to "better things" in New York City.

 

[Blake Naftel]

Layoffs within legacy broadcast media news and weather should not come as any surprise for those in or out of that industry, nor are likely to cease as this year continues, certainly for DMA's under larger ownership umbrella groups. While hard in the short term for those affected, including the audiences that may rely on older formats of weather information such as terrestrial TTA television or radio verses mere cell phone apps, alerts or YouTube streamers, I view the shift towards AI as a positive reset and reinvention point for vital information delivery, certainly in regards to severe weather situations. Human meteorologists need not be taken out of the equation either nor should, yet there will need to be a focus on building groups of seasoned meteorologists and media producers who know the local geography, atmospheric and oceanic impacts of the regions they serve while integrating AI applications and services that connect with audiences and delivery a public service. In a way that's already underway, with a lot of growth to come.

How the digital local weather landscape looks in 10+ years remains to be imagined. Through any transition period, there tends to be a strain on those in the trenches and often, more so now than ever before, both good and not to good information tend to fill that void. For now the best advice for the public is to have a NOAA weather radio and stay alert to the atmosphere when severe weather is imminent.

Blake




BLAKE WILLIAM NAFTEL
Artist, Comedy Writer, Meteorologist
616.643.7762
blakenaftel.com
threereelfilms.com

 

[JamesCaruso]

Sorry to go a bit OT, but as the CFO of a private equity backed business, I feel compelled to correct inaccurate characterizations.

In the article in the OP, Emily Pike recommends filing an FCC complaint that says “Allen Media’s Private Equity scheme is trying to ‘rob Peter (profits from the channel) to pay Paul (taking the money to pay their other debts at their other businesses), which is essentially STEALING local advertising dollars to send them to L.A…”

That is NOT how private equity works. Earnings from the companies that private equity owns do NOT get swept out and used to pay the debts of other companies that the private equity firm also owns. The earnings are used to pay the company’s own debt, or are left in the business for other investments. If the earnings do get distributed, they flow to the investors in the private equity firm, which can include pension funds and other institutions. The earnings do not accumulate inside the private equity firm, and they do not get used to pay the debts of other companies. I think people confuse the private equity model with the old-school conglomerate model, where a large corporation has multiple business units or divisions and aggregates the earnings from each.

I’m not denying that private equity loads businesses up with debt when it buys them, and seeks to maximize earnings and cash flow to pay down the debt and increase value. There can be reasonable debate about the unintended consequences of such a model. But private equity firms only make money when they sell businesses that have grown in size, profitability and hence value, no different than a real estate investor flipping houses that appreciate in value.

Just taking the opportunity to dispel inaccuracies where I can and so that no incorrect context is assumed after reading the article. Another example of how often people don’t know what they don’t know, and the need for intellectual humility, particularly outside of one’s own area of expertise.

 

[John Farley]

For now the best advice for the public is to have a NOAA weather radio and stay alert to the atmosphere when severe weather is imminent.

Blake




BLAKE WILLIAM NAFTEL
Artist, Comedy Writer, Meteorologist
616.643.7762
blakenaftel.com
threereelfilms.com

Another piece of advice I would give is that if you live in one of the markets where local meteorologists are being eliminated, get your weather from a different station, particularly during severe weather situations. Local meteorologists have the advantages noted in other posts above, and many stations will have teams in the field. Research shows that nothing gets people to take shelter in a tornado warning like live video of a tornado approaching their town. At least in some of these markets (eastern Iowa, the one I am most familiar with) some of the competitors of the stations eliminating local meteorologists have in the recent past had chase teams in the field and in one case a helicopter that would broadcast live storm footage. Not totally sure if they still do, but would guess so. Not likely to get that from TWC, especially in situations involving more than a highly localized, obvious target.

 

[Matt Zumbrunn]

Im not going to lie, I prefer Ryan Hall to our local broadcast media when he is live during severe weather events.

 

[Mike Smith]

It looks like Allen Media is going to rehire all of the meteorologists and continue with local weathercasts and severe weather coverage.

 

[Todd Lemery]

My son is a news anchor for a small market TV station. He tells me that the station’s budget is growing smaller and smaller as advertising dollars dry up. It looks like the smaller stations may ultimately not be able to survive. It reminds how many small local newspapers have ceased to exist. I don’t have any answers for how to prevent it.

 

[Mike Smith]

It reminds how many small local newspapers have ceased to exist. I don’t have any answers for how to prevent it.

Newspapers have done everything they can to run off readers. Almost all of them are liberal or extremely liberal and every newspaper I've worked with has terrible customer service. I just spent literally 40+ minutes on the phone with the Wichita Eagle earlier this week trying to get my online subscription to work.

 

[Ben Holcomb]

As someone who never watches local TV news, I can't be alone. Those budgets are slowly shrinking. I rarely even watch TV. The Allen guy bought TWC back when it was for sale a bit back and it makes sense to me that he'd want to have them take over what he considers redundant positions to save $.

The bottom line here, though, is that if I needed to advertise something I am choosing "Advertising during local TV news" probably last right ahead of fax machines. Unless I am selling something to retired boomers.

 

[John Farley]

It looks like Allen Media is going to rehire all of the meteorologists and continue with local weathercasts and severe weather coverage.

I hope you are right. An article this morning in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier about the 4 meteorologists being laid off at KWWL, one of whom had been there for 30 years, said that SOME would be offered jobs doing local coverage through TWC, but strongly implied that it would not be all.

 

[John Farley]

Newspapers have done everything they can to run off readers. Almost all of them are liberal or extremely liberal and every newspaper I've worked with has terrible customer service. I just spent literally 40+ minutes on the phone with the Wichita Eagle earlier this week trying to get my online subscription to work.

There are a lot of us who would not be run off by a newspaper being liberal, but the truth is that many local newspapers in small to medium markets are actually quite conservative. Can't argue with you on customer service, though. One of the things I find irksome is the constant large increases in rates for online subscriptions, although if you call them and threaten to cancel they will usually come down some.