Posted on 05/28/2019 10:34:28 AM PDT by Red Badger
“I’m done with you people, I really am. This is pathetic,” Jamie Simpson of Fox 45 in Dayton says
A meteorologist for Fox 45 in Dayton, Ohio snapped at viewers who complained on social media about a tornado warning that interrupted Monday night’s broadcast of “The Bachelorette,” saying that the cutaway was due to a “dangerous situation.”
“I was just checking social media, we have viewers complaining already. ‘Just go back to the show.’ No, we’re not going back to the show, folks. This is a dangerous situation, okay,” Jamie Simpson said during the live broadcast.
Simpson scolded viewers who cared more about who Hannah Brown would give the next rose to than to a dangerous weather situation, which has caused massive damage to the region.
“Think about if this was your neighborhood. I’m sick and tired of people complaining about this,” Simpson said. “Our job here is to keep people safe, and that is what we’re going to do. Some of you complained that this is all about my ego. Stop. It’s not. I’m done with you people, I really am, this is pathetic.”
Fox 45 did not immediately respond for a request for comment. However, Simpson did apologize later in the broadcast.
“Alright, I’m sorry I did that, it just really bothers me that we have people that don’t care about other people’s safety around here,” Simpson said.
Fox 45, or WRGT-TV, is a dual Fox and MyNetworkTV affiliate owned by Sinclair, which also owns ABC 22 in Dayton, which airs “The Bachelorette.”
Watch the video of the situation above.
First, Simpson is male. Second, the FCC requires stations to interrupt local programming to warm of storms and other hazards or they could lose their broadcasting license.
Which is exactly what they were doing last night when no sooner was one warning covered than another one required attention.
All of the on-air meteorologists in the area were tracking storms for more than two hours, giving residents valuable time to take shelter.
I’m positive the non-stop coverage saved lives.
I hate those stupid weather alerts. They’re loud, obnoxious, long as they have to get through their stupid theme song first, and then involve the next county over. Really with the EBS hooked to the SMS system there’s simply no reason for the TV “warnings”.
Sounds like the late Harold Taft of KXAS in Dallas-Fort Worth. He was an institution in that market for over 40 years, and had a sterling reputation, both personally and professionally. When the weather turned bad in the Metroplex, Channel 5’s ratings soared, because Mr. Taft knew his stuff and everyone trusted him.
A couple of weeks ago, our local weather man commandeered the broadcast for three or four hours. There were tornados on the ground—just none where we are. We missed the 2nd to last episode of Big Bang Theory and my wife was perturbed with him and the station.
Then last week we had another weather “action day”. They said, “don’t call us, you can watch shows on cbs.com. It would have been nice if they had done that the week before, but I guess they got a lot of complaints. That said, the weather radars were showing where the tornados were and they were alerting people in the paths. Missing a show I want to see or maybe people dying, what to do, what to do?
The weatherMAN is a guy, not a HER.
Agree. My local channels here in DFW cut in on programs frequently to advise of severe storms/possible tornadoes and use the radar scans to show location and movement.
There have been times when they stay live for hours instead of showing scheduled programs.
I seldom watch local channels, as I prefer cable. When it’s storming outside, however, I always check the locals.
Exactly right about Taft! He was the weather genius in the DFW area. His young protege David Finfrock has proven himself to a great replacement, and has been at Channel 5 for 40 years.
Channel 5’s new radar systems, installed a couple of years ago, along with their trucks that venture into the heavy storm areas, provide the best weather coverage in the entire North Central TX area.
Let’s see, watching The Bachelorette, getting upset when it’s interrupted briefly with possibly life-saving information, and then telling other morons about it on social media. And we let women vote.
Ah, these days he/she can go back and forth just by saying it :)
Couldn't agree more. I've had to watch a couple recent episodes of "The Blacklist" via On Demand because our local NBC affiliate pre-empted it for a PRE-SEASON BASEBALL GAME! Not a weather emergency, not a major breaking story, a frigging EXHIBITION GAME.
Of course, if I subscribed to Comcast, which also owns the NBC affiliate, I could have watched it on their "secondary" broadcast station live. A not so subtle way to get more customers, eh, Comcast?
Broadcast television is simply not a source for me. Not since 1997. We have EBS on our smart phones and that’s good enough. We were also careful to not live in an area where tornadoes are a problem. Flooding can be an issue, which is why we built on high ground, so it is irrelevant to us.
I read that Finfrock has now moved to the position of “senior meteorologist” as he transitions slowly to retirement. Rick Mitchell (hired from OKC in 2012) is now the chief met, but Finfrock still works 100 days a year.
Mr. Finfrock did something that is rare (and darn near impossible) in broadcasting; he managed to replace a legend and took Channel 5’s weather department to the next level. And when he was hired by Harold Taft, Finfrock had no broadcast experience and even delayed his required speech class at Texas A&M until his senior year.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.