Fayed Out

Perhaps it was simply a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time but I don’t recall ever becoming this angry at a group of TV anchors before. Let me tell you what happened and see if you don’t agree with me.

Thursday night (8/21) I turned on the Weather Channel to see the forecast but instead of the normal weather they were showing a special – Storm Session 2008. At the time I turned in, there were four people talking about reporting during hurricanes. They were trying to one up each other in terms of the highest speed hurricane winds they had been in and then teasing one of them who had never been in the eye of a hurricane. After listening to them for a few minutes I become furious at all of them and ended up writing a very irate email to The Weather Channel.

Why was I so angry? At the time these reporters where joking about being in hurricanes, my house was being pounded by Tropical Storm Fay. Although not a hurricane, it was close enough what with gusts over 50 mph and torrential rain. (In one 2 hour period we got 4 inches of rain!) I don’t recall ever seeing this much rain and I lived through Hurricane Charlie, Francis and Jean in 2004. In fact, I said in my email that I had these three hurricanes go right over my house and it wasn’t something to joke about. I further added that lives were lost and property destroyed so they needed to show some respect. I would have written more than my 499 characters but they only allowed 500 characters.

What gets me so angry is that all anchors, not just these, no longer seem able to understand that these “stories” are real. They are not simply potential award winning reports which make them look good or a chance to get more on air time. Some of the old time reporters still have some empathy but to the younger ones, the stories they report are as real to them as the video games they play.

I didn’t think of this until now but perhaps lack of empathy isn’t the only problem. Maybe the bigger problem is that reporters see themselves as being the story. Why else would those Weather Station guys stand in hurricanes? Not to emphasize the hurricane but to make themselves the story. In fact just today, one young reporter who was standing in knee deep flood waters got splashed by a car going by. Although I was without electricity and couldn’t see the footage I did hear her on my radio. For the rest of the broadcast she complained about getting wet. There are streets full of homes in 2 feet of water but all she could do was whine that she got splashed. Once again the story was no longer about the flood waters but about the reporter.

Here is the real irony of this. The most self centered woman currently in the news also happens to live in my “back yard” so to speak. Of course I am talking about Casey Anthony, the young mother of the missing Caley. Casey has no thought in her head except about herself. Yet I bet some of these young reporters would give Casey a run for her money in terms of egos. Then these same egotistical reporters have the nerve to report on how self centered Casey is! (OK, it may seem like the pot calling the kettle black as I sit here writing a blog about myself. But this is different, this is fluff, not the news and not about a missing child.)

Anyway, Tropical Storm Fay has finally moved away from my town but it has left a trail of destruction behind her. I tell myself that I am lucky. All I have is a leak in my roof with water damage on a ceiling, more water marks down a wall and some kind of electrical problem due to water damage. It could have been much worse. So now I sit and wait for the insurance claim adjuster to call me back. As slow as that call may be I bet that I will hear back from the adjuster sooner than I hear back about my email to the Weather Channel! Then again, couldn't you just see a group of reporters doing a segment or even a whole show on how reporters have become the news! And sadly, they would never see the irony in that, either.

(In case you are wondering, my electricity came back on after about 12 hours. But I am almost sorry because now I not only hear but have to see that reporter getting splashed again and again and again….)