As Baltimoreans began to tremble under nearly an inch of snow yesterday, Jan. 7, I heard one of WBAL-TV’s news anchors refer to the “winter storm” and one of WJZ-TV’s news crew advise us all to “leave [work] early and let the snowplows do their job.”
The urgency in their voices made it clear this was an hourof destiny for Baltimoreans, a time for our traditional reaction to snow, whichis to stand in long lines at grocery stores and stock up on the local storm essentialsof beer and toilet paper.
Their warnings also reminded me of a glorious moment in the annals of local TV news when I was working at WJZ. Late one afternoon, with the mere possibility of snow in the air, the station’s general manager, Jay Newman, appeared in the newsroom and meandered over to the veteran reporter Alex DeMetrick.
Like all TV news executives, Newman loved snow, which he believed helped juice the ratings. He even loved the possibility of snow. Once, the station opened its broadcast with video of a seriously heavy snowfall.
But the snowfall was in Cincinnati, a fact conveniently not mentioned.
Instead, against that backdrop of snow halfway across thecountry, an anchor’s voice opened the program here in Baltimore by announcing,“There’s snow in the air. Is it headed our way?”
So now, on another afternoon, here was Newman striding into the newsroom. Forecasters were again indicating the possibility of snow – this time, actually, in Baltimore. And if snow was on the way, Newman wanted reporters splayed across the metro area for a series of breathless reports.
That’s when he walked over to DeMetrick.
“Are you ready,” Newman asked, “for the traditional ‘Eyewitness News’ snow coverage?”
“Sure, Jay,” said DeMetrick. “The usual three flakes of snow covered by six inches of bull[bleep.]”
As Newman turned away, the veteran Richard Sher, seated nearby, declared, in mock Voice-of-Doom tones, “Tonight, a frightened city braces itself for possible snow flurries.”
The two of them, DeMetrick and Sher, were merely poking fun at the obvious: local TV news folks revel in bad weather. They love a big snowfall or even the possibility of snow. They love unusually hot weather, when people do odd things to beat the heat. They love a lot of rain, especially when there’s street flooding.
Local TV news makes its bones with visual drama. You’ve got the TV on, but maybe you’re distracted, perhaps cooking dinner or eating it. Maybe you’re reading a newspaper. Probably you’re transfixed by your phone.
Dramatic visuals get you to look up for a moment, to payattention. And then, maybe if they’re lucky, the station can hold onto youuntil the next commercial.
Yesterday’s snow barely reached an inch in most of theBaltimore area. But all the local TV news programs led their 5 o’clock showswith it.
Typical, no? An inch of snow, covered by six inches of (bleep.)
A former Baltimore Sun columnist and WJZ-TV commentator, Michael Olesker is the author of six books, including “Tonight at Six: A Daily Show Masquerading as Local TV News” (Apprentice House). His most recent, “Front Stoops in the Fifties: Baltimore Legends Come of Age,” was reissued in paperback by the Johns Hopkins University Press.
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