How you evaluate the Media when hurricane coverage comes?

[cycloneye]

The Media can be very helpful orienting the population to take all the precautions and information about where the hurricane is moving and intensity.Some media outlets do a good job but others go with the hype rapidly as they communicate some things they say will happen that eventually dont.An example is what is going on now in the Southern Hemisphere as two Tropical Cyclones are in the general same area.Some in the media haved said that Nancy and Olaf will merge and form a perfect storm scenario.But of course that will not occur as Nancy is weakening rapidly and Olaf has not gotten closer to Nancy at all.

Let's have a good debate about this.

[Rainband]

depends on what station, there are too many to just say "media" in general. My locals do rather well. Some hype more than others. Most are very good.

[P.K.]

I keep getting annoyed with the media here saying there are is more hurricane activty than usual due to increased SSTs. That would be ok if they didn't then blame that on global warming. Maybe that is just the British media. Overall certianly the BBC do cover all landfalling storms in someway on their news website.

Watching live streaming over the net last year I found the majorty of local stations to be good, such as http://www.wfor.com/.



That should upgrade me to a TD now.

[cycloneye]

The local media here in PR does a good job.Univision is the best outlet here when hurricanes are a threat.

[chadtm80]

I only listen to one station.. RadioNHCWX

[cycloneye]

I only listen to one station.. RadioNHCWX

I edited poll to include it.

[Persepone]

This is an interesting topic, but not exactly suitable for a poll.

First, "media" is all encompassing. Apparently you mean Radio and TV coverage.

There are very different roles to consider:

Warning people in advance of a storm
Giving preparation advice, etc.
Reporting what is happening while a storm is in progress
Reporting what happened after a storm

And apparently some stations act as a sort of "call-in" clearing house for locals while a storm is in progress

I'm outside the area where hurricanes are commonplace, so I can't speak to local media regarding hurricanes, etc.

I do know that when we have local hazardous weather, in general most of the programs do okay telling people that the storm is imminent in the sense that they broadcast NWS watches, warnings, etc.

However, they generally do a poor job of giving preparation advice, etc. This is especially true of winter weather. Just as Florida has lots of people who are "visitors" or "newcomers" who may not truly understand the implications of the warnings they hear, the same is true of people who are new to winter weather areas. Back in the Christmas and New Years storms I was working in Portsmouth, NH on a temporary job and was staying in a hotel near the major highways that was turned into a defacto "shelter" where the state police put people they pulled out of stranded cars on the highways, etc. I was amazed when I listened to people and talked to people to realize that they had heard the warnings, but they were clueless about what these "meant." There were a bunch of people with small kids in their cars, inadequate winter clothing, let alone storm emergency stuff, and apparently they just thought they could go out in the car to see some snowflakes or something! These people were pretty miserable by the time they got dropped off to huddle in the warmth of a hotel lobby. But a bunch of them went to the ER instead of a hotel lobby--and people lose toes, etc to frostbite. They die of carbon monoxide, etc. Not smart.

Even people who live here who have moved from elsewhere don't truly understand. They leave their cars where they will either be towed or moved by a snowplow (and your car is NEVER the same after it has been towed by emergency crews in Boston--or New York--for that matter). They are the ones you see trying to buy snow shovels, etc. at the last minute.

I'm guessing that the same happens in Florida with the clueless who go on vacation to Florida when a hurricane watch is up! What can they be thinking? This is NOT a smart thing to do. I can understand that some "get caught" but far too many actually do not change travel plans!

So perhaps instead of showing just some weatherperson standing on a beach in harm's way, the national/local media should tell people about local preparations. And they should show the people who did it right: the people who have their storm kits ready, have their plywood stored and marked so they bring it out and put it up, and who have and follow a plan, for example--not the idiots who try to buy plywood when the storm is hours away. I'd be more interested in seeing a film clip of how some family in Florida prepares for hurricane season, followed with what they do when a hurricane actually threatens. For example, I'd like to see their "food" and "water" and dry clothing knapsacks, etc. I'd like to see what they take into their "safe area" or to a shelter. Books? playing cards? board games? other? How do they make a stay/evacuate decision? Do they call out to some out of state/area relative to tell them plans, etc.?

I particularly hate the media shots of those idiot news and weather people standing around in the pouring rain watching stuff blow around them! They make people think it is somehow "safe" to be there because if it were "really dangerous" then the radio or TV station would not have them out there.... Of course one of these days we'll get a good picture of one of them being killed by flying debris or something and then the news media will change their approach.

The same is true for other weather stuff like winter storms: what do the people who MUST be on the roads (e.g., doctors, nurses, plow drivers, etc.) carry in their vehicles and how do they dress? I think you will find extra clothing, a shovel, flares, flashlights and extra batteries, emergency food and water, a winter-rated sleeping bag and other "survival" gear. This would make a much better story than showing the idiots who decided to pile their kids into their SUV and drive around and get stuck--and they don't even have gloves and hats for the kids, etc. with them.

I have no idea what coverage you get while a storm is in progress. Here, our local radio stations seem to have their broadcasting booths (with one exception) in windowless rooms because they have no clue what is happening outside! I actually drove by the studio of our best known news station up here and we were crawling along in very poor visibility while the radio station was saying that it should "start snowing in a couple of hours!" An hour later they were still broadcasting the same idiocy and there was at least an inch of snow on the ground. Granted the storm started earlier than forecast, but you'd think that they would poke their head outdoors once in a while.... Generally our media (radio/TV) do a terrible job of telling us what is happening during a storm. And they do not generally give updates on specific situations, places to avoid, etc. I think that would be an important thing to do, especially on the radio so that drivers who were out in their cars could avoid some of the bad or blocked areas.

After a storm, we get the pretty pictures and the dramatic pictures, but no general overview or analysis. I think this is too bad. Also, each local station tends to cover the same area over and over with the same pictures over and over. But there is generally no rhyme nor reason nor editorial overview of what they are showing. I think there is a lot of room for improvement there.

[Opal storm]

Nothing beats local media.National media is terrible at hurricanes,they just like to scare people,instead of telling them how to prepare,even TWC is guilty of this.

[cycloneye]

This is an interesting topic, but not exactly suitable for a poll.

First, "media" is all encompassing. Apparently you mean Radio and TV coverage.

There are very different roles to consider:

Warning people in advance of a storm
Giving preparation advice, etc.
Reporting what is happening while a storm is in progress
Reporting what happened after a storm

And apparently some stations act as a sort of "call-in" clearing house for locals while a storm is in progress

I'm outside the area where hurricanes are commonplace, so I can't speak to local media regarding hurricanes, etc.

I do know that when we have local hazardous weather, in general most of the programs do okay telling people that the storm is imminent in the sense that they broadcast NWS watches, warnings, etc.

However, they generally do a poor job of giving preparation advice, etc. This is especially true of winter weather. Just as Florida has lots of people who are "visitors" or "newcomers" who may not truly understand the implications of the warnings they hear, the same is true of people who are new to winter weather areas. Back in the Christmas and New Years storms I was working in Portsmouth, NH on a temporary job and was staying in a hotel near the major highways that was turned into a defacto "shelter" where the state police put people they pulled out of stranded cars on the highways, etc. I was amazed when I listened to people and talked to people to realize that they had heard the warnings, but they were clueless about what these "meant." There were a bunch of people with small kids in their cars, inadequate winter clothing, let alone storm emergency stuff, and apparently they just thought they could go out in the car to see some snowflakes or something! These people were pretty miserable by the time they got dropped off to huddle in the warmth of a hotel lobby. But a bunch of them went to the ER instead of a hotel lobby--and people lose toes, etc to frostbite. They die of carbon monoxide, etc. Not smart.

Even people who live here who have moved from elsewhere don't truly understand. They leave their cars where they will either be towed or moved by a snowplow (and your car is NEVER the same after it has been towed by emergency crews in Boston--or New York--for that matter). They are the ones you see trying to buy snow shovels, etc. at the last minute.

I'm guessing that the same happens in Florida with the clueless who go on vacation to Florida when a hurricane watch is up! What can they be thinking? This is NOT a smart thing to do. I can understand that some "get caught" but far too many actually do not change travel plans!

So perhaps instead of showing just some weatherperson standing on a beach in harm's way, the national/local media should tell people about local preparations. And they should show the people who did it right: the people who have their storm kits ready, have their plywood stored and marked so they bring it out and put it up, and who have and follow a plan, for example--not the idiots who try to buy plywood when the storm is hours away. I'd be more interested in seeing a film clip of how some family in Florida prepares for hurricane season, followed with what they do when a hurricane actually threatens. For example, I'd like to see their "food" and "water" and dry clothing knapsacks, etc. I'd like to see what they take into their "safe area" or to a shelter. Books? playing cards? board games? other? How do they make a stay/evacuate decision? Do they call out to some out of state/area relative to tell them plans, etc.?

I particularly hate the media shots of those idiot news and weather people standing around in the pouring rain watching stuff blow around them! They make people think it is somehow "safe" to be there because if it were "really dangerous" then the radio or TV station would not have them out there.... Of course one of these days we'll get a good picture of one of them being killed by flying debris or something and then the news media will change their approach.

The same is true for other weather stuff like winter storms: what do the people who MUST be on the roads (e.g., doctors, nurses, plow drivers, etc.) carry in their vehicles and how do they dress? I think you will find extra clothing, a shovel, flares, flashlights and extra batteries, emergency food and water, a winter-rated sleeping bag and other "survival" gear. This would make a much better story than showing the idiots who decided to pile their kids into their SUV and drive around and get stuck--and they don't even have gloves and hats for the kids, etc. with them.

I have no idea what coverage you get while a storm is in progress. Here, our local radio stations seem to have their broadcasting booths (with one exception) in windowless rooms because they have no clue what is happening outside! I actually drove by the studio of our best known news station up here and we were crawling along in very poor visibility while the radio station was saying that it should "start snowing in a couple of hours!" An hour later they were still broadcasting the same idiocy and there was at least an inch of snow on the ground. Granted the storm started earlier than forecast, but you'd think that they would poke their head outdoors once in a while.... Generally our media (radio/TV) do a terrible job of telling us what is happening during a storm. And they do not generally give updates on specific situations, places to avoid, etc. I think that would be an important thing to do, especially on the radio so that drivers who were out in their cars could avoid some of the bad or blocked areas.

After a storm, we get the pretty pictures and the dramatic pictures, but no general overview or analysis. I think this is too bad. Also, each local station tends to cover the same area over and over with the same pictures over and over. But there is generally no rhyme nor reason nor editorial overview of what they are showing. I think there is a lot of room for improvement there.

I only post this thread to have the opinions of the members about this theme not nessessary to vote on the poll but more important is what all of you think about the Media covering Hurricane events.

Good points that you brought about this topic.

[Scorpion]

The only media that I watch for hurricanes is local. They have excellent coverage and reporters in the middle of the storm. Sometimes I will turn on the national media just to see what the rest of the nation is watching.

[Anonymous]

I'll go with the Accurate, dependable Weather Channel lol JK

I said I prefer local over national because National cant possibly give a specific area all the info they need to know-they only give a broad idea. S2k & Internet is good too until the storm gets really close and the connection slows to a snails pace and you cant even download a radar/satellite.

[EDR1222]

I like to get information from the local NOAA weather radio or the meterologists on S2K. It almost seems like media outlets are more interested in hyping these things. I understand it is important to make sure everyone realizes the seriousness of a hurricane, but sometimes the hype causes to much panic.

[Brent]

I like the cable news outlets better than TWC now... but only on the day or two before landfall. I can get faster(and most of the time more accurate) information off the internet now.

IF a storm rolls through here, I would watch local and get info off the internet.

[depotoo]

ok - you need to add one more option! i like a certain local media and listen to nhcwx