Snow, sweeps create perfect storm for local TV
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Right about now the folks at local TV stations could not be happier. They got two snowstorms in the first week of February sweeps.
Why would this make TV station executives happy? Because inclement weather typically drives up ratings for local newscasts. Some viewers may gripe about an abundance of winter weather coverage -- was it really necessary for KDKA to pre-empt CBS's "Early Show" Wednesday? -- but many viewers do stay glued to the tube before (how much snow will we get?), during (how bad is it outside now?) and after (are the roads clear enough for me to leave the house?).
Of course, TV stations often go overboard but they only do so because viewers willingly and repeatedly join them in taking the plunge, continuing to watch as stations refuse to relinquish their death grip on snogramming that pre-empts regularly scheduled shows.
Local outlets actually struck a pretty good balance on Saturday, ceasing local coverage by early afternoon so viewers stuck indoors had some entertainment options.
Station executives also use their weather coverage to burnish a station's "we're on top of things" image, although at least one local outlet embarrassed itself in the process.
Saturday night WTAE already had a promo with the station's meteorologists patting themselves on the back: "We saw this coming. We knew it was going to be big."
But not as big as it was.
By Saturday night, Pittsburgh received 21 inches of snow. Friday at 6 p.m. WTAE was calling for 5-8 inches in the city, so we ended up with almost three times the high end of that prediction.
Neither of the other stations was in the ballpark either, although WPXI's Julie Bologna got closest with a map that cut the accumulation dividing line right through Pittsburgh (4-8 inches in Pittsburgh and north; 8-12 inches in Pittsburgh and south).
KDKA's Jeff Verszyla was calling for 6-10 inches. The National Weather Service was in the same ballpark as the TV weathercasters.
As I've said before, a forecast is a prediction, not a promise. Several meteorologists told the Post-Gazette in a 2003 article that viewers should expect 90 percent accuracy in 12-to-24 hour forecasts. I guess last week's storm fell in that other 10 percent, which seems reasonable enough. But if a TV station is going to brag about a blown forecast in promos, viewers will justifiably mock and disbelieve.
First Published February 12, 2010 12:00 am
