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The Storm Stories ChannelJun 30 '10 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Is it the Weather Channel or the Reality TV Channel? Note: I was unable to find the Weather Channel listed under any category, so I had to post this under General Non-Fiction. This is an update of a piece I had written about the channel nearly a decade ago. I have been a viewer of the Weather Channel (TWC) for over two decades, and I have learned a great deal from their programs. Unfortunately, it is getting more difficult to find information on current weather because of all the reality programming. The trend toward reality shows on TWC began about seven years ago with a program called Storm Stories, usually about regular people caught in dangerously inclement weather situations. I have mixed feelings about the channel’s reality programs. While some have been very informative (such as Fall 2008’s When Weather Changed History broadcast of the 1871 Great Chicago Fire and the tinder dry conditions that led to it), others—such as Storm Stories—I feel ambivalent about. I enjoy the lead-up to the tornado, hurricane, flood, or blizzard, as well as the narration of the meteorological conditions. However, many of the protagonists in the story strike me as cowboys or storm chasers who wanted to be caught in the storm to begin with. Because this program has been on so often when I want to find out the latest weather conditions, I have begun to call TWC the Storm Stories Channel. One night’s Storm Stories cast struck me as actors and actresses—I actually hoped the storm would teach them a lesson about not being so cavalier. The tornadoes of May 3, 1999 and Feb. 10, 2009 were in the spotlight. It Could Happen Tomorrow is usually fascinating; a recent episode on the possibility of a severe earthquake in the Seattle area stood out. However, the narration on these programs sometimes borders on sensationalistic. In addition, the narration on When Weather Changed History can border on jingoistic—like the History Channel. I enjoyed the early summary tale of several tornado-chasing Meteorology majors from Oswego University in upstate New York; I was rooting for them because I had attended that school in the 1980s. Unfortunately, their search for twisters was largely futile because of an unusually barren tornado season in the Midwest last year. One night late last summer I turned on the weather channel to find out how chilly it would get in the Northeast, but—you guessed it—Storm Stories was on. Even in crisis the protagonists still seemed preoccupied with their gadgetry. The stars of the show seem like actors rather than real characters. I watched TWC the night before Thanksgiving, and there was a segment on how cows shut down traffic, as well as parade and football weather. I then saw an advertisement of the coverage of the East Coast storm of Nov. 12. This was in turn followed by a long introduction to the next weather update. In times past we would be prepared for the onslaught of commercials with “We’ll be right back after these messages.” Now, TWC—and many other channels—go straight into commercials without warning. Corporations know that viewers tune out when they know commercials are coming, so they have resorted to ads-by-ambush. Even in the midst of harrowing disaster stories, there was an abrupt shift to commercials—and an arrogant Jeep ad at that. Despite the downturn, The Gospel of Materialism continues unabated. When it actually occurs, the national weather coverage is interesting, but TWC can do without the long introductions to the forecast, as well as their continual advertising of various personalities. Their coverage of the weekly forecast is excellent when they actually cover the weather. However, the weekly planner has been gradually downsized throughout the past decade. However, the teasers have not been downsized. Among my favorite personalities of the last decade decade have been Kristina Abernathy (several years ago), Stephanie Abrams, Vivian Brown, storm expert Jim Cantore, and others. The channel does a good job in hiring a racially diverse team. I still miss my 1990s favorite, Jeanetta Jones. Unfortunately, many television outfits tend to frown upon middle-aged personalities. Since Jeanetta is about my age—late 40s—you don’t see too many personalities that age because of our society’s obsession with youth. On the bright side, TWC has finally altered their music mix--we don't have to always listen to that cheesy, 1980s-sounding smooth jazz—the channel had been a 1987 time warp for many years. The background music is more melodic and diverse—and not that narcoleptic sax songs tailored for effete business travelers. The on-air personalities are usually articulate, but sometimes you hear some threadbare diction, such as the use of the word transition as a verb, which annoys the heck out of me. Think of a more active word—the weather is supposed to excite us. Not everything has to sound pedantic and bureaucratic. When I tune in to the Weather Channel, I do so to check out the national weather summary, the weekly planner, and local forecasts. However, finding up to date weather information on that channel is becoming more and more difficult, especially on weekend nights, when I am most likely to tune in. In fact, weather may become to The Weather Channel what music videos are to MTV or VH1, though fortunately, the programming on TWC is much more intelligent than those two "music" channels.  |
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