Question about Jim Cantore

[HurryKane]

I keep saying one day a reporter is going to be killed covering a hurricane. I really started believing it during Katrina and it was reaffirmed when I saw Geraldo on a LEVEE!!! in Port Arthur before Rita hit... he better be thanking God he was on the weak side.

Geraldo is on the weak side in more ways than one.

Seriously, if we're going to allow someone to put Darwinism in action and commit suicide in a hurricane, please let it be Geraldo and not someone like Cantore or Cooper.

Can I get an aaamen?

[baygirl_1]

The only thing missing in the picture of Geraldo on the Port Arthur seawall was him wearing a T-shirt with a big target on it! Do ya think the bosses at Fox News are trying to tell him something? I mean, they sent Shepard Smith up the road to Beaumont but left Geraldo right in the middle of the projected landfall surge zone. Hmmmm....?

[soney]

I keep saying one day a reporter is going to be killed covering a hurricane. I really started believing it during Katrina and it was reaffirmed when I saw Geraldo on a LEVEE!!! in Port Arthur before Rita hit... he better be thanking God he was on the weak side.

Geraldo is on the weak side in more ways than one.

Seriously, if we're going to allow someone to put Darwinism in action and commit suicide in a hurricane, please let it be Geraldo and not someone like Cantore or Cooper.

Can I get an aaamen?

aaaamen.

[Recurve]

Just goes to show how hard it is for the public and emergency planners to prepare, because in a bad storm, even the professional mets and reporters make bad decisions. Stan Goldenberg thinking his house in South Dade would be a good shelter. Cantore caught on the causeway, the Picayune not evacuating before Katrina. If pros can be so wrong about where it's safe to stay or where the surge will go, how are regular folks supposed to make informed decisions?

I am expecting the live on-screen decapitation of a reporter to bring home the point about flying debris some day.

Reporters have to think about whether they should adopt a stronger professional code of ethics for storms that prohibits outside live shots. They have to acknowledge that they are suggesting to the public that storms are safer than they are since reporters are out in them all the time.

I can't believe Cantore got caught a second time in a surge situation after Charley. I thought he'd seen his life flash before his eyes in that one and was going to back off.

[wxmann_91]

Just goes to show how hard it is for the public and emergency planners to prepare, because in a bad storm, even the professional mets and reporters make bad decisions. Stan Goldenberg thinking his house in South Dade would be a good shelter. Cantore caught on the causeway, the Picayune not evacuating before Katrina. If pros can be so wrong about where it's safe to stay or where the surge will go, how are regular folks supposed to make informed decisions?

I am expecting the live on-screen decapitation of a reporter to bring home the point about flying debris some day.

Reporters have to think about whether they should adopt a stronger professional code of ethics for storms that prohibits outside live shots. They have to acknowledge that they are suggesting to the public that storms are safer than they are since reporters are out in them all the time.

I can't believe Cantore got caught a second time in a surge situation after Charley. I thought he'd seen his life flash before his eyes in that one and was going to back off.

The reporters say they are there to show the folks what it's like out there. A good cause IMO. If they aren't there then there would certainly be some folks tempted to see what it's like.

I sure hope that reporters know what they are doing and are always in a safe spot. IIRC, there have been instances where news reporters have been injured or even killed in WPAC typhoons. Most recently, a news reporter was killed in Typhoon Nock-Ten last year in Taiwan.

As for Cantore, IIRC he was atop a high-rise building in downtown Ft. Myers, I don't think he got caught in surge. Maybe I'm wrong, could someone elaborate?

[Storm Chaser]

In most cases, those reporters are the voice of reason for the people watching those broadcasts. They do stress the importance of shelter and evacuation, but the responsibility starts with the people who should heed those warnings. People who have passion for their work, it becomes part of their body. What could possibly possess any person to stand out in driving wind and rain to deliver a 5-7 minute report? It's love. It's passion. You don't give in until the love is gone, and it's hard for that love to leave when every storm brings a new set of circumstances. It's a risk, but it has great rewards.

[Recurve]

I've been a reporter and defend journalists all the time, but the storm reporting is purient. 2-minute standups with rain lashing their faces. "It's really bad here, Bob!" Or "It's going to get really bad here, Bob" or "Look at that piece of plastic, Bob!"

It's important to show people what it's like outside, so more people don't go look? Are you kidding?

"It's really bad here Bob! I've got my SUV parked over there and my windbreaker on, and I can barely stand without swaying a little..."

If they wanted to be honest with viewers, they'd frame their shots to show just how protected the reporter is, not deliberately frame the shot so all you see is open air to give the impression that the reporter is standing out in the open. Or set up a camera in a sturdy waterproof housing, and have the reporter back at the EOC giving useful information from the scene of the emergency response, not standing in the rain pointing at each piece of siding that blows off the Holiday Inn.

But that's why I'm not a segment producer these days.

[Storm Chaser]

It's false advertising. Reporters want the viewers to sincerely know the dangers of the storm, and that means being surrounded by that danger. I have been in hurricanes before where I didn't think I'd survive. I surely thought I'd perish along with the rest of the crew. During Hurricane Andrew, my wife gave birth to our last son. Later on that same day, I nearly lost my life covering the storm. There are risks to every on-site broadcast in the middle of a hurricane. However, if people see those broadcasts and heed those warnings, then those on-site broadcasts are desperately needed.

[caribepr]

My children laugh at me, with love...and say I don't know "how to watch television" not being a regular watcher for...um...well, more than 3 decades. But I do watch on occasion and truthfully, when I see these people out in a approaching hurricane, with debris flying about and them ducking this way and that...I think, hmm. So I, as a writer, find a scenario with bullets flying, and step INTO the action and howl, Yes, those bullets are FLYING!!! In fact people are getting HIT! In fact...burble burble burble.
Yeah, it happens. But if I truly want to tell the story, I don't have to BE the story, so I don't understand at all this whole thing of coverage, unless it is from a ratings pov. And if a reporter dies...will that up the ratings? Will there be tender euglogies for a fallen hero? Will I have to be sick to my stomach because of some *dedicated* fool that got paid to die in front of us, because he or she was telling "the story"? How low...will we go?

[Storm Chaser]

Well, past ratings' research has favored on-site broadcasting. However, the thrill is as much for the broadcaster as it is for the viewer. I can't explain the desire or the risk. It has to just be there. I don't know if you can develop a true and genuine passion for the work over time. I think you're born with it. It's the same "daredevil" feeling that makes some people jump out of moving airplanes or climb high mountains. All of your emotions come together, and you get caught up in every moment while you're out in that field.

[caribepr]

Well, past ratings' research has favored on-site broadcasting. However, the thrill is as much for the broadcaster as it is for the viewer. I can't explain the desire or the risk. It has to just be there. I don't know if you can develop a true and genuine passion for the work over time. I think you're born with it. It's the same "daredevil" feeling that makes some people jump out of moving airplanes or climb high mountains. All of your emotions come together, and you get caught up in every moment while you're out in that field.

Ok. I can completely understand that. I am a sailor and have put myself in harm's way many times, to the worry of my family and friends, but with their understanding and blessing, as far as that goes. So I get the idea of the passion and the intensity of the feeling that goes along with the risk of following your passion. No problem.
My problem in this instance is...those who are on camera, in front of millions of viewers (and their crews, who will never be known to most yet take the same risks and more) giving an impression that this thrill, this feeling, this following of passion, is something that *anyone* can do...so get on out there and check it out! That is what it looks like to Joe Average.
This is NOT the same as a solitary following of some intense passion that is experienced alone or with a few, perhaps documented, or written about later on, with the life and death of it laid out for others to ponder. This is immediate, it is happening, at the same time thousands or millions (or hundreds or dozens) are experiencing the same phenomena...and might try the same thing, seeing others in front of their faces doing it (it being, experiencing insane conditions outside shelter - and I don't care about, oh they are in the shelter of a wall, or they jumped into a deep puddle, that is NOT what people watching see unless they know the spot).
Do you get what I am saying? Yes!!! We should follow our passions! But...we should, in my opinion, do it in a way that lets others know - this is my own insanity that I could die doing, don't follow me unless you really ARE ready to give all for following.
I just think, as we have seen how people so often come to wrong conclusions in extreme weather conditions, it is not the most responsible way to follow your bliss. But hey, getting paid to feel that high, maybe justifying it by saying others will see how bad it is, works. Doesn't sound like it this year but...I'm just an observer...what do I know?

[Recurve]

When there's a fire, why don't the reporters stand inside the burning building? Because they might get killed? Because nobody else is inside "riding it out"? Because we all know what fire looks like, or that it's dangerous?

Maybe, just maybe, people do not know that hurricanes are dangerous, and really do need to see live reports of storms to understand how bad they are. If that's true, how is seeing hundreds of hours of reporters not being hurt while standing outside in hurricanes going to get the point across?

It takes little journalistic or meteorological expertise to stand in the rain and wind talking about what the rain and wind feels like. It takes a small crew, a generator and camera. But it takes a whole newsroom full of reporters and editors to provide facts, advice, official advisories, shelter and evacuation and safety information. If Jim Cantore stood at the NHC or the state EOC for a big storm, he could dispense a heck of a lot more life- saving information than he can in the rain. It only takes an unmanned camera pointed at a beach to show how big the waves are and whether it's raining yet. Live standups in rainbands are low on information and high on "will he get killed?" suspense for the audience.

I don't know, I'm not trying to be as critical as this sounds. Like I said, I'm a journalist and wannabe chaser. Nothing I'd like better than to report from a storm. But I'd like to see the TV standups be from indoors, with the camera shooting out a protected opening, and the anchor explaining why they are in the building they're in, where they are, and what's going on with the people in harm's way, not just the rain bands.

[kometes]

The reporters say they are there to show the folks what it's like out there. A good cause IMO. If they aren't there then there would certainly be some folks tempted to see what it's like.

Oh, come on. Doesn't that look like fun, leaning into the wind? My kids laugh and mime wind blowing them down while watching those idiot reporters.

Anyone who is likely to be swayed (pun intended) into staying inside by a reporter in a storm is already likely timid enough to stay in anyway.

I'm just thankful for the recent high percentage of nighttime landfalls. Katrina killed seven people in south Florida because they went outside during the storm. Rita, a much bigger storm than Katrina in Florida, killed only one person with the high winds in TX/LA. All the local Florida TV stations had reporters out on the beaches during the storm in round the clock, commercial-free coverage. Sure, there are other factors involved with the deathtoll, but reporters are not discouraging anyone.

[Storm Chaser]

I completely understand, and even agree, with many of the comments made here tonight. However, the reporters do issue the warnings to the viewers. The responsibility lies with the viewers. If you're not trained to mentally and scientifically understand what is happening outside in the middle of a hurricane, please, do not attempt to walk outside. I don't think anyone can stress that point enough times. When you see a reporter (especially an on-site reporter for The Weather Channel) standing out in 100 mph winds, that reporter has been trained to stand out in 100 mph winds. Does it create a false hope for the regular viewers out there? If they can do it, then I can do it; right? Well, the television media has to assume that there are intelligent people watching those broadcasts. There have been, and probably will be again, those people who walk outside in the middle of a hurricane and pretend to understand the dangers of the storm because they saw someone do it on television. In the end, those people ultimately suffer the consequences for their lack of knowledge on the subject. Again, television media relies on the viewers at home having and using some sort of discretion when it comes to hurricanes and other weather phenomena.

[caribepr]

When you see a reporter (especially an on-site reporter for The Weather Channel) standing out in 100 mph winds, that reporter has been trained to stand out in 100 mph winds. Does it create a false hope for the regular viewers out there? If they can do it, then I can do it; right? Well, the television media has to assume that there are intelligent people watching those broadcasts.

I am not at all wanting to go off on this but...trained to stand out in 100 mph wind? I dearly would like to know what sort of training that entails. Because as a viewer, watching someone almost get their head clipped off by flying metal, I don't feel there is anything brilliant going on with that person. One might be trained how to brace oneself in wind, but there is no training I can fathom for the random debris tossed in that sort of weather (unless a rousing game of Dodge Ball is involved in the training - using samuri swords?).
Using the only experience with radical weather that I have (as far as being *in it*), sailing, when the wind comes up, my *training* involves safety belts, lines, rails, buckles, straps and hoping like hell not to go out in it if at all possible, because I might be doing all the right stuff, but the wind, water and boat don't really care much, and I want to live to sail another day. If I sail with an idiot who ignores all of those factors, you can bet that not only would I never sail with him or her again, I'd spread the word that no one else should either. And that is part of my point...not only is the person on the screen risking his or her life, there are crews whose lives are at risk also...blah blah blah
Oh well. No doubt this is sort of some ultimate Reality Television and I don't even get "normal" television...but I am curious about the training!

[crazycajuncane]

Anderson Cooper almost got hit by flying debris during Hurricane Dennis.

I'm waiting for the day we see a live shot of someone getting hurt, but here is why I doubt that will happen.

I forget which storm it was, but I learned a lot about how the media covers storms.

#1 they tie ropes around their waist.... they can be pulled in by someone standing behind the camera man.

#2 they stand around corners of buildings in the direction opposite of the worst winds.

#3 they know a lot more than ya'll give them credit for.

They aren't ou there standing on the beach as the hurricane hits. They know their boundaries. They are there to cover this phenomenom and show people how bad storms can be. Still people ride out storms in places they shouldn't.... like New Orleans or on the beach.

[Lindaloo]

Rumors down here after the storm were that Cantore was blown into a tree.

[caribepr]

Rumors down here after the storm were that Cantore was blown into a tree.

I guess if you give a man enough rope...

[Storm Chaser]

When you see a reporter (especially an on-site reporter for The Weather Channel) standing out in 100 mph winds, that reporter has been trained to stand out in 100 mph winds. Does it create a false hope for the regular viewers out there? If they can do it, then I can do it; right? Well, the television media has to assume that there are intelligent people watching those broadcasts.

I am not at all wanting to go off on this but...trained to stand out in 100 mph wind? I dearly would like to know what sort of training that entails. Because as a viewer, watching someone almost get their head clipped off by flying metal, I don't feel there is anything brilliant going on with that person. One might be trained how to brace oneself in wind, but there is no training I can fathom for the random debris tossed in that sort of weather (unless a rousing game of Dodge Ball is involved in the training - using samuri swords?).
Using the only experience with radical weather that I have (as far as being *in it*), sailing, when the wind comes up, my *training* involves safety belts, lines, rails, buckles, straps and hoping like hell not to go out in it if at all possible, because I might be doing all the right stuff, but the wind, water and boat don't really care much, and I want to live to sail another day. If I sail with an idiot who ignores all of those factors, you can bet that not only would I never sail with him or her again, I'd spread the word that no one else should either. And that is part of my point...not only is the person on the screen risking his or her life, there are crews whose lives are at risk also...blah blah blah
Oh well. No doubt this is sort of some ultimate Reality Television and I don't even get "normal" television...but I am curious about the training!

Reporters, meteorologists, the camera crew; all of them have studied how to address the situation in the middle of a storm. You look at the situation from a "worst case scenerio" standpoint. I have covered many hurricanes in which I didn't feel safe. A storm is unpredictable, every time. However, measures are taken to keep the crew safe out in the field; as were mentioned too in this thread. When you are working with million dollar equipment and human life, you better understand your surroundings better than the "Average Joe" on the street. That is what schooling is for; to use in real life events. The background knowledge, the scientific knowledge, and the personal experience; I call this "training." There are some reporters I know, none of which work at our organization, that shouldn't be on-site covering a hurricane. You cannot stop random debris or the power of the wind, but you can be prepared and trained for how to handle such situations if they arise. All of it is a guessing game. You board the plane or van to travel to your destination, and you guess at whether you will return. You listen to the wind and rain outside your hotel room, and you guess at whether your roof will fly off. It's all a guessing game, even when you cover the hurricane. There are forecasts, paths, and predictions. In the end, a storm has a mind of its own. We have discovered that in years past, and we have certainly noticed that this year. Again, chasing the storm is not for the faint of heart. Before each broadcast, the crew gathers for a prayer. We don't know the outcome; we can only prepare for whatever happens in the field.

[inotherwords]

The most educational demo I've seen any of these reporters do is stand in a wind tunnel when simulating various wind speeds. But you know, that's not exciting enough, I guess.

What we see them do on TV is not the same as reality. People are stupid. They think, how bad can it be if CNN or TWS or Faux is risking their highly paid correspondents to fly into a storm and stand there? They don't see that the reporter is sheltered or tied down. They don't understand the real risks. It's misleading and it's dangerous and I don't think it serves one whit of purpose other then as a sideshow that people watch because they might see someone get hurt. That's just sick and it's stupid, but in this Jerry Springeresque lowest common denominator media world, it honestly doesn't surprise me.