Simpson has been a broadcast meteorologist in the Dayton market for 20+ years. Originally worked at WHIO-TV, CBS affiliate; left there about four years ago after a DUI arrest. Probably knows more about weather in the Miami Valley than anyone else in Dayton TV, and that’s why WKEF hired him when they had the chance.
I completely agree with Simpson’s comments. Ask any broadcast met and they will tell you the same thing; any time regular programming is interrupted, they receive nasty calls, e-mails, texts and even death threats from viewers. Believe me, no one wants to come in late in the evening on a holiday weekend to handle hours of severe weather coverage, but it does save lives.
The only suggestion I would offer local stations: to placate the viewers who want to keep watching “The Bachelorette” while the EF-3 sucks them through their roof, push the show onto your website, or a secondary channel, then re-run it the next day. That should placate the cranks, while everyone else can get information they need to stay safe.
One final thought: it is very true that TV is not the only source for severe weather updates. Plenty of info available on-line and even through devices like your home security system. But an experienced broadcast met can be a very good filter, to separate the wheat from the chaff. On the other hand, if you’ve got someone less skilled, you wind up with “info” like we get from our local CBS affiliate. They have one of those super-duper Doppler 10 Million Max radars that pinpoints areas of rotation. So, they always point out the spinning discs on their screen, without explaining that rotation in a storm does not equal a tornado.
Simpson had no reason to apologize. Same people would have complained if his station did not provide warnings, or just crawled them across the screen in favor of “The Bachelorette”
It is so infrequent, getting a weather warning interruption where I live, that I do not recall the last time there was one.
Or how I reacted :)
But then, I’d swallow poison before I watched The Bachelor :)
One Austin station back in the 1960s hired the meteorologist who had been working at the municipal airport to advise them on weather. James C. Fiddler was his name and he was the exact opposite of your skilled tv weather showman. He mumbled into his microphone. He turned his back to the camera while pointing. He abstained from any anchor banter.
But the guy knew his stuff when it came to weather and the newscasts became the highest rated in town because people wanted to know the truth about upcoming storms. He was a staple for over 20 years.
Then, one day he was arrested in a police sting dealing with pedophiles and his career was ruined. “Fiddler The Diddler” stayed on the air only briefly until the station could find a replacement.
But the guy knew weather.
Hurrah for your post.