Saturday, September 24, 2005
At TWC, Weather is Their Only Business
Great article by LA Times writer Lynn Smith profiling The Weather Channel. Below is an excerpt from the article with TWC Network President Patrick Scott on what sets TWC apart from the news channel's coverage of big weather events:"For most of its 23-year history, the Weather Channel, one of several media entities owned by Landmark Communications, has had a low profile. Since Scott arrived five years ago, it has moved away from the "standardized wheel" of topical and local forecasts and picked up the pace. Most of the changes will take place in the evening and aim to provide "knowledge seekers" with information. Morning programs will stick to the facts. A rolling presentation of the latest information will still continue 24/7.
According to its own research, viewers give the channel high marks for credibility.
"People believe we are trustworthy because that's all we do. It's our sole focus," said Cindy Jones, vice president of consumer marketing.
It's difficult to prove, of course. But unlike weather segments on other news channels, Scott said, TWC has its own "proprietary forecasting system and 23 years of institutional knowledge about how to present weather to people." It has a staff of more than 120 degreed meteorologists. Besides the balding Lyons, many in-studio meteorologists are becoming glamorously dressed, bejeweled and made up. A few long-standing reporters, Scott would not divulge their names, are actually not meteorologists, but TWC's research shows that the audience can't tell the difference.
One criterion for on-air reporters, he said, is a sense of passion for the weather. "One characteristic that is universal is when you ask them about their interest in weather, they say, 'You know what, I can't explain it, but it's been this way since I was 5, watching lightning from my grandmother's porch in Oklahoma.'
While other networks have attempted to send anchors into extreme weather, Scott said, "they often run out of things to say. They don't know enough about it. You can only say, 'My gosh, it's windy' so many times. Jim Cantore has been doing it for 12-plus years."
Read the complete article HERE.
# posted by ATN @ 1:03 AM 
