Weather Channel Fallout!

 VS.  

The topic at hand is a simple one and one that has received lots of media attention. After major contracts disagreements, DirecTV decided it was best for them to part ways with The Weather Channel.  With the cut of the Weather Channel from Direct TV, it opens the door up for other private companies to compete for the prime position as chief weather distributor. Currently WeatherNation has taken over the reins of chief weather provider within the cable network. AccuWeather though has made a strong case that they will take over in the absence of the Weather Channel with their own network. This is the same Weather Channel that has helped revolutionize weather in popular media and helped bring the ideas of up to the minute updates and accurate 5-day regional forecasts into the light.

This is the same Weather Channel that defined my childhood as an aspiring meteorologist. I remember  as young as the age of 7 or 8, getting up and sneaking downstairs to turn on the Weather Channel hours before the rest of my family would wake up.

Though over the years of gaining popularity, the Weather Channel has shown signs of committing themselves too much to the people’s support with new shows that border on the side of entertainment rather than science.

This probably was not the reason that Direct TV, a high-ranking cable provider and the main provider for George Mason University dropped them. Yet it brings up the point of the article. Weather media is rapidly changing. Even as I write this article, thousands of students at GMU do not tune into the Weather Channel, rather they just scan their smart phones or laptops for updates on the coming weather for the week.[i] There are ways to share informative and visual updates on road conditions and travel delays via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. It brings up the obvious point…why do we need the Weather Channel?

So for the survey, I picked a random selection of students who are either friends of mine, or my older sister Rachel, who is an Arlington County teacher.

So with that in mind I started asking questions to these students:

Question 1: How often do you watch the Weather Channel?

              A. Once or more a day

              B.     A couple of times a week

              C.     Every other week

              D.    Whenever there is a hurricane/severe storm incoming

              E.     Never watched it

Everyone I asked put D. Maybe it was a bias question, but I wanted to gauge the audience’s viewership of the station. It presents the purpose of why people feel the need for weather information to be on public media: Safety.  We trust these men and women with our lives as they read watches, warnings and storm tracks. Their intent is to keep everyone safe and out of harm’s way by relaying specific and comprehendible information.

Question 2: What do you think of the Direct TV news? Are you a fan? Not a fan? Indifferent?

Here is where I started to get some differences with my responses. While the majority of responders stated that they were indifferent and that “business is business,” some were not pleased with the news. They pleaded, “Direct TV doesn't care about their customers because the weather channel is a trusted cooperation and they give accurate information.” Others were not familiar enough with the story to even answer.

Question 3: Have you heard of AccuWeather?

Most respondents had not heard of the Penn State-based Company other than in passing, though one respondent “trusts the widget as it is more accurate than the Weather Channel’s app”.

Question 4: Is it important to have live up to the minute coverage of severe storms on our television? If yes, why so? Can people just check their smart-phones for the same information?

This is the question I deemed as the most important of the interview. The two -part question made it tough for many of the interviewers to find the answer right away. It is true that we have become so entranced and impatient for direct and accurate data that the idea of up-to-the-minute coverage is something that we just expect rather than appreciate. Imagine if this was not the case, and the dangers that might loom because of it.

The answers I received also reaffirmed the generation gap in how we get information. The older generation still turns to the television as their sense of comfort when accurate information is needed. The younger generation has found little use for this source of media, so it will not truly be missed

Question 5: Do you see the trend of weather media shifting in the future? And do you see this as the catalyst of the said trend?

Many respondents immediately noted the sensationalism that weather media and media in general have succumbed to. It is all about instilling fear into the people to keep them begging for more. The 24/7 news outlets are constantly streaming the same story, with each and every detail blown up to dramatic proportions.

The world is becoming faster paced and people do not have time to merely sit down and watch the Weather Channel like I did is a child. They just want to know when, how much, and how they will be affected in 20 seconds or less.

The difference between television, radio and smart-phones as weather media outlets is that there is a dramatic loss of the human aspect of weather information. It limits the reader to just a screen of graphs and numbers that has been extrapolated and manipulated from hundreds of ensemble model runs done.  All they see is “High 55 Low 38, partly cloudy and a 60 percent chance of rain”.

Question 6: How do you think weather coverage can be improved for future generations?

Again this is more of an open-ended question, as I wanted to see the respondents’ unbiased viewpoints.

The overall consensus is better emergency alert systems, farther out improve the overall accuracy of the information given in an updated fashion.

One respondent answered that weather coverage should also be “breaking down why things are happening and describe anything we can do to help mediate the problem.”

Though I agree with the overall consensus, the last response made me realize what Forecast GMU is really about. It is about not only the reporting of events and education for the public domain, but also to begin to empower the common student with knowledge on how he or she can be an advocate for a safer future in weather as climate change looms.

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[i] GMU is still showing weather on Channel 28. It is now WeatherNation until the dispute is resolved.

A special thanks to Maria, Meagan, Aaron, Jacob, and Rachel for their thoughtful contributions and helping me write this article.

What do you think of this ongoing contract dispute? Leave your comments below, or message Nick, Katie or myself your thoughts on this ongoing dispute.  

To see Direct TV's CEO's response: Click the link 

To see the Weather Channel's response: Click the link 

--James