Morning TV Weather Coverage
Posted on Tue, Dec 22, 2009 @ 11:34 AM
As I glance out my window at a foot of snow dropping a flake at a time, I'm watching two local TV stations' morning newscasts describe the disruptive event.
These stations have very different styles. Station #1, the long-time market leader, is content to be very traditional, with two anchors and a weathercaster in the studio, and a reporter out live doing a few scattered head-and-shoulder live shots.
Station #2, an up-and-comer, is trying new things. One anchor and two weathercasters in the studio. Another weathercaster roaming the rural highways with a web video connection. A co-anchor bundled up in the snow outside the studio. Another reporter out live showing that indeed it is snowing in every part of the city. All armed with rulers and yardsticks to prove there's a lot of snow out there. They're making an effort to have a conversation with the viewer, not read or recite or preach.
Flipping back and forth between the two stations, it reminds me of a frisky young puppy annoying the heck out of a grumpy old dog, prancing around in circles, barking up a storm (if you'll pardon the expression).
Station #1 has fine coverage. It built its reputation on going all-out on weather coverage, and is feeding us plenty of information about closed schools and businesses. It has a credible forecast, and video of trouble spots.
But station #2 is putting on a good show. The typical cynical newspaper critic - and perhaps news managers at Station #1 - would point and laugh at Station #2. What fools! Do they really think they have to be out in the cold and the snow to prove that it's cold and snowing? Don't they know enough to come in from the cold!?
Of course they don't. Or maybe they're aware that sometimes there's more to this game than logic. This is television. Pictures rule. Station 2 is trying to shake the market up. It's trying to build a brand to contrast it from the dominant stations.
Whether your station is covering a blizzard (or your climactic equivalent) that shuts down the city, or a more routine story that has caught the attention of other stations, your viewers need to see something different. Something unusual. Something they know they wouldn't see across the street.
Local TV news research shows "sameness" is a common reason why stations lose their loyal audiences. They don't even have to compare news products - if they simply THINK what you do is ordinary, then you are indeed ordinary. And ordinary doesn't build viewer loyalty.
Mike Anderson