East Coast Hurricane Coverage

Day late and a dollar short but... Someone asked whether I thought the coverage of the Hurricane Irene was overblown. I am ashamed to admit that at the start of the coverage, I remember myself saying something snarky like-- a Cat 1 is like a Cat 5 in terms of news coverage if it hits anywhere near NYC. This is because I work in the middle of the country and so I feel the news that happens here often gets ignored. I whine about it all the time. But in the case of Irene, I was wrong. Really wrong. Dozens of deaths, billions in damage and the worst flooding in Vermont's history can't be over covered.

Two Way Communication with Viewers

We've talked before about utilizing viewer photos and videos in your coverage of breaking and weather news. I ran across an interesting example of how one station encouraged people to do this. I took a class on Poynter's "News U" (www.newsu.org) --they talked about this example during the class. WTTG not only encouraged people to send pics and video during Snowpocalypse '10, they posted a quick video to show them how. As the instructor in the News U class pointed out, what better time to ask viewers to shoot video than when folks are stuck inside?

If you get people comfortable with this when there's isn't breaking news, how much easier will it be for them to send you video when there is? You could even ask viewers to send weather video every day-- then maybe use a viewer video as a weather background on Fridays. Or everyday if you have enough good submissions.

Be Careful Out There

Local affiliate in Dallas had a couple close calls with cars sliding near a liveshot.

Weather Coverage & the Web

Al Tompkins with Poynter did a nice piece today on how an Oklahoma newspaper used the web during its coverage of the storm. None of these items are very big ticket-- you could try some of them in your day to day ops so that for your next storm or spot news... you'll be ready. Coverage on the web can drive traffic to your show and vice-versa. Plus, it's cool.

Here's the article:

http://tinyurl.com/c6xoag

Sorry no new posts lately

Sucked into our hurricane coverage. Any questions about it or tips you have from your storm coverage? Email me at pitlist@gmail.com

Handy Tip for Photogs in Hurricanes & other Heavy WX

This tip courtesy of Guy Hernandez, three time NPPA winner, and Guy Morton, former NBC photog who now freelances for everybody.

Ever seen those big Ziploc storage bags, the ones for sweaters, extra blankets etc.?

They're huge. They're also rain gear.

The "Guys" use them in hurricanes and say they work better than anything. Guy H. puts his regular rain gear over the camera, then one of these Ziploc bags over that. He pokes a hole in the the bag and then stretches it to fit the lens perfectly. Then he makes another hole for the viewfinder. 

Attached is a picture of Guy Morton, who's using the Ziploc sans other rain gear while covering flooding in Marble Falls, TX (Texas Hill country outside Austin). 

Big Weather Diversification

All this weather talk brings me to a common problem with big weather days. You assign several reporters to cover weather and they bring you essentially the same story from different locations.

As in...

Hi, I'm Reporter A and it is raining on the North side.

Hi, I'm Reporter B and it is raining on the Sorth side.

Hi, I'm Reporter C and it is raining on the West side.


You get the idea. Figure out a way to diversify your coverage so viewers aren't seeing the same thing over and over. So one might do... People impacted... Another reporter takes emergency response. Or someone takes nuts and bolts... Another takes color. Whatever. Just check in early and often to make sure you and your crews are on the same page.

Of Rain Gear and On Set Pieces

Sorry no posts for a while. Fresh back from Gustav. Which brings me to a point you might pass along to your reporters when they come back in from covering storms. For the love of God, please take off your rain jacket before you go on set. I watched affilate coverage of the storm and this one reporter wore her rain jacket not just for one set piece, but she was on again and again... Still wearing the jacket. If you really want to prove you were covering the storm, perhaps you should be live out in it. But if you are on set, lose the rain jacket!

Story Placement Problems

I just saw a newscast about extreme hot weather. If you have a death involved in any weather related coverage, get to that first-- not your weather guy. It just seems tacky to talk about anything else but how the person died. Once you've covered that, then you can move on.

In fact, in general, unless there is some weather happening RIGHT NOW, like a tornado warning, it makes more sense to get to a reporter and video and end with the meteorologist and maps.

When in Doubt, Lead with Weather

I know I've done a post in the past about how important weather coverage is-- but it's worth repeating. If you are ever sitting at your desk, pondering whether to lead with weather, you should lead with it, even if it's just a brief toss to video and a quick pop with the weather guy. People love weather and are much more interested in it than say, the shooting that happened in a neighborhood no where near them.

When in doubt, lead with weather!

Rough Turns

There aren't many opportunities for anchors to develop or share chemistry. Tosses to weather and sports are sometimes the only times your anchors can lossen up and let viewers connect with them a little. Try to assist in this process by making the story before weather or sports one that might be condusive to chit-chat. I was watching a newscast the other day where a crime story was actually what lead into weather. It brought the show to a grinding halt and made for a really rough turn for the anchors. Instead, pick a feature or a talker. Maybe something one or both of the anchors is interested in- whatever- just no buzzkills right before sports or weather tosses.

Idea for Weather Coverage

Heard an idea from a local station worth stealing. Their weather staff has a volunteer ham radio operator who comes in during severe storm coverage. The National Weather Service uses ham radio operators to get on the the ground weather spotting and conditions. If your market is in an area prone to tornados, it might make sense to develop a relationship with a few of these operators. It could really help strengthen your coverage when you are going wall to wall.