Weather sensationlism

a reply to: JAGStorm

You forgot one part: WHERE the weather happens.

The East coast/I-95 corridor? You are guaranteed wall to wall hyperventilation. Meanwhile the entire state of Nebraska could wash down river in a Biblical deluge or Minnesota could burn to the ground and it would never make the crawler.

Some rich dude's house in Malibu slides down the mud cliff and it's a headline. Arkansas disappears in a tornado? Crickets.

I understand it's all about the viewership and add revenue. Most of the population lives on the coast. But even if I lived on the coast, I would be like 'shut up about it already'. Big storm coming. Be prepared. Help folks out. I got it.

BTW, I love the sat images of 7 (or 9?) storms on the planet right now. Pretty cool.

I think it's fine that they cover it a lot. However, the way they cover it is a problem. They've got people out in the storm almost 24/7. People watching that get the impression it's not that bad. I have no doubt that weighs into some people's decision not to evacuate. They're also putting themselves in danger, potentially having to be rescued, while lecturing civilians not to do that. It's just really irresponsible by the media. But what else would we expect? A guy sitting inside reporting about what's going on isn't going to pull the ratings.

originally posted by: opethPA
Don't cover the hurricane enough and people complain.

Cover it too much and people complain.

What is the CT approved level of coverage for a storm that has already killed people and is going to do millions of dollars of damage?

None, and I am guilty of it and apologize.

Funniest thing I have seen in awhile. Look for the indicators of faking it, like wind direction and the kids in the background.....

The dangerous, not so much that category of it but with Florence is that it's damage and death is to be from flooding water. The update is Myrtle Beach is cut off from assistance now.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Yup, I remember those years WSVN7's hype, stores cleared out, school closures, just got tired of the hype and decided every threat of a hurricane meant "We're all gonna die!" I grew up with news hyped from hurricanes to coffee cancer scares. This current hype news, fake news and the like doesn't phase me.

Not to long ago the PacNW had a doom storm "remnants of a typhoon", had me questioning my Mandala timeline.

a reply to: JAGStorm

They do it for the viewer count:
Weatherman "Hmmmm, I see that there's a foot of water over there."
Cameraman: "You know, wouldn't it make more sense to just report from up here, where there is no wate..."
Weatherman: "Be quiet Jerry! I'm going to stand in the hole; Angle the camera so it looks like I'm swimming"
Weatherman: "Oh my, look how deep it is out here folks! It's the rainstorm of the century..."

Most people, sitting comfortably at home, want to see some kind of action going on. Natural disasters draw attention, and news stations need attention else one day their channel might be cut due to little traffic. Natural phenomenon is usually easy to produce and make dramatic (IE: Exclamations about this being the "storm of the century").

And I agree on the other point: Don't play in the standing water after a storm/flooding. Especially if you have any open wounds.

originally posted by: face23785
I think it's fine that they cover it a lot. However, the way they cover it is a problem. They've got people out in the storm almost 24/7. People watching that get the impression it's not that bad. I have no doubt that weighs into some people's decision not to evacuate. They're also putting themselves in danger, potentially having to be rescued, while lecturing civilians not to do that. It's just really irresponsible by the media. But what else would we expect? A guy sitting inside reporting about what's going on isn't going to pull the ratings.

This comes to mind:

yu weathermen really going all out to make things seem worse than they are. here is a story (one of the vids already put down), with a couple vids. and of course one of the vids is CNN, pretending it is worse than it is. i guess weathermen need good acting skills in North America these days.

www.wtfunvids.com...

you know it is pretty sad all the hype and working up of hysteria for the so called storm of a lifetime (too bad it was dying down, and pretty much just a tropical storm when it hit). hyping up and working to cause panic for almost a week before the storm. i swear what i watched and read, you would have thought the world was ending. even when the severely weakened storm hit, they still carried on as if the world was ending.

now compare that to the media in the Philippines. yet again the storm was known about, and talked about for about a week before it hit. (and hit pretty much on the same day). yet there was virtually none of the hysterics and doom porn. just the information of what they felt the storm class would be. and where it was expected to hit. the news just gave the people the information needed by the people, none of the overblow "the word is ending" hysterics. no "storm of a lifetime". and unlike the hurricane that hit the US, this typhoon was expected and hit as a cat 5 super typhoon. a storm with windspeeds over 200mph, and wind gusts that hit over 250mph. a storm over 900km wide. and even after it hit, and currently the news is just updates and proper warnings that people need about things like rising rivers and flooding. all being presented in a calm manner, without the end of the world hysterics.

now i'm a fair ways south of where the storm hit, so we are just having some strong wind gusts and rain. we lost power for a couple hours this morning. and due to technical issues some areas near me are having water pressure issues due to the storm. and of course the normal flooding and raising rivers. i have not yet been in contact with those i know some of which are smack dab in the center of it's path. i suspect we will not hear from them in a couple days since cell service has been completely knocked out, and will be awhile after the storm to repair. but i have heard from one friend that is farther north and they lost part of their roof and a wall, but are otherwise fine.

it's just so diferant both the way the media reports on the storm, as well as the attitude of the people. it's just so much calmer here. and with a much more powerful storm. stores are still stocked as per normal. since there is no real panic induced last second shopping for supplies. none of that pretty much trampling through stores to try to get the last of the items before they run out. no lineups at gas stations, because people know that power or not, when they go out they can get all the gas they need just as always. seriously, i went to the mall for a bit to buy some groceries a couple hours ago. store selves were just as full as ever. and it was no diferant a few years back when my area was directly hit by a cat 5 typhoon. it just the diferance of attitude.