Highs And Lows In The Networks’ Handling Of Their Public Service Role In Florence Coverage

In normal times, we expect media outlets to try to outdo each other by whatever means necessary, trying to get us to watch and keep watching. But what about when there’s an impending disaster and they have to take on a more solemn role of helping authorities convince people to evacuate by delivering a message of warning?

Last week we were all glued to our screens as virtually every network and cable outlet put out their versions of coverage of the storm. How well did they balance the inherent conflicts between these two roles — the one a purely business purpose, the other in service to the public interest?

Here are a few examples of what I saw:

Using the impending storm for shameless self-promotion: Who can forget Chris Cuomo standing outside in the sunshine wearing his ball cap with the Cuomo Prime Time logo on it, telling everyone how bad the storm was going to be? The only explanation I can come up with is sibling rivalry.* Corny, self-serving TV and a distracted message of little impact.

Struggling with the category downgrade:  Most coverage I saw started to lose its footing when the storm was “downgraded.” They had leaned on the Category 4 rating to get everyone alarmed, hopefully enough to evacuate. So they were caught flatfooted when the storm was downgraded to a Category 2. But the Category system (since 2010) no longer includes consideration of storm surge. So they had to improvise a hurry-up educational lecture on how the Category system just measures wind velocity and isn’t a complete measure of the storm’s capacity to inflict damage. Sudden attempts to dilute the significance of the “Cat” rating system resulted in a confused and weakened message of warning.

Laughable exaggeration: The media are having a field day with this image of a weatherman on camera appearing to brace himself against the wind, while two passersby seem to have no trouble walking normally. A blow to coverage credibility.

Creative use of technology tools: By contrast to all this, The Weather Channel’s animated demonstration was one of the most powerful in educating people about the potentially damaging effects of the storm surge. Great TV and a compelling warning!

What are the take-home messages?

• Meteorologists should revisit the storm surge issue and either include it again in the Category rating, or come up with a new and simple way to describe its potential impact. If storm surge is equally important, there should be a simple way to communicate that. Are there other factors that should also be considered?
• The animation shows the potential to harness technology to dramatize the message from inside the studio.
• Maybe it’s time to take another look at the usefulness of all that reporter-out-in-the-elements coverage. The image of a reporter on the screen, standing outside and essentially just showing-off, outweighs any words about how bad it is out there. And that makes it hard for viewers to see why it’s bad enough to warrant abandoning a home and a lifetime of possessions.

Forecasting a storm is tough business. Some things are known, other things can be predicted with relative reliability and a lot is simply unknowable. Ultimately, the Florence coverage must be viewed in a higher level context. Integrating a temporary “crisis mission” into regular programming requires good judgment, restraint, discipline and good taste on the part of the networks. Some of the coverage of last week’s storm showed evidence that was happening; much of it did not. Often there was sensationalism and razzle-dazzle where there should have been cool, clear reporting, with clear delineation of those things that are known and those that are not. With a few notable exceptions, this was a missed opportunity.

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*On Chris’ last day on the New Day program back in May, his older brother, Andrew, Governor of New York, among the well-wishers who called in, reminded Chris that even though he was being promoted to a new evening show, he was still just a “news reporter” while the Governor was a “newsmaker.” Maybe Chris felt he had to get out in the field to prove something to his big brother in response to this stinging big-brotherly “elbow.”