I can find more than I would ever want to know about the Da Vinci Code on TV but I sure can't find anything about weather!
First, let me say I liked the Da Vinci Code book. It was entertaining and I personally thought a better read than Angels and Demons, also by Dan Brown. I think both are thought provoking fiction. It hasn't swayed me to go find a secret society or expect any more foul play from the church, any church, than already exists. I'm proud the author, Mr. Brown, is making a boatload of money. I'd be even more proud if he shoveled a couple of bags in my general direction, but I know that's not going to happen.
Having said that, I'm really kind of tired of what seems like every other show on the tube offering some kind of spin-off investigation of DVC to get viewers and hence commercial sponsors in their corner. You name it and somebody has done it. You can't swing a dead cat in the air without its poor lifeless body being bombarded with TV and satellite signals carrying something about the Da Vinci code. It's everywhere.
So, Saturday morning, I was wading through the channels so I could get a weather report from The Weather Channel. It sounds simple enough, plus I knew I wouldn't see anything about DVC there. If you want to see sports, you go to Fox Sports South or one of the ESPN channels or if you want to see golf, you go to the Golf Channel. But on Saturday and Sunday mornings, don't you dare go to The Weather Channel expecting to see weather. You will see what IMHO looks like Network Morning Show Hell. You got the Oriental babe acting cute and chatting with some Caucasian girl on the sofa set and occasionally they toss it out to the white guy reporter who is doing something really wacky and hoping you will say, "Wow, I wish I could be him." The only thing it has me wanting to do is throw my coffee mug at the TV set as I scream, "Where's the damn weather map! I just want to see what is out there so I can make my own judgment about my plans for the day or for the weekend. I end up going to the computer and calling up NOAA weather and checking things out for myself. I guess it's too much to ask anymore that some organization like the Weather Channel actually give you weather. I will keep my fingers crossed and perhaps, "It Could Happen Tomorrow." I won't hold my breath.
Having said that, I'm really kind of tired of what seems like every other show on the tube offering some kind of spin-off investigation of DVC to get viewers and hence commercial sponsors in their corner. You name it and somebody has done it. You can't swing a dead cat in the air without its poor lifeless body being bombarded with TV and satellite signals carrying something about the Da Vinci code. It's everywhere.
So, Saturday morning, I was wading through the channels so I could get a weather report from The Weather Channel. It sounds simple enough, plus I knew I wouldn't see anything about DVC there. If you want to see sports, you go to Fox Sports South or one of the ESPN channels or if you want to see golf, you go to the Golf Channel. But on Saturday and Sunday mornings, don't you dare go to The Weather Channel expecting to see weather. You will see what IMHO looks like Network Morning Show Hell. You got the Oriental babe acting cute and chatting with some Caucasian girl on the sofa set and occasionally they toss it out to the white guy reporter who is doing something really wacky and hoping you will say, "Wow, I wish I could be him." The only thing it has me wanting to do is throw my coffee mug at the TV set as I scream, "Where's the damn weather map! I just want to see what is out there so I can make my own judgment about my plans for the day or for the weekend. I end up going to the computer and calling up NOAA weather and checking things out for myself. I guess it's too much to ask anymore that some organization like the Weather Channel actually give you weather. I will keep my fingers crossed and perhaps, "It Could Happen Tomorrow." I won't hold my breath.
posted by Joe Larkins at 2:41 PM
4 Comments:
Joe: Calm down old thing. Remember what I said in an earlier post about weather? Pick up the phone and call a friend in Jonesboro: "Hey Homer, What's it doing your way?" Then, Jackson (either one): "Hey Otis, What's it doing your way?"
Reality is you have a 50-50 chance of whatever they get and, you don't need Viper or Gazillion watt, 3-d, knee slapping, war, pestilence, death, fates worse than death, and terror radar. You might also get a kick out of "catching up on the latest."
(Weird thought--I wonder if all this gazillion watt radar sweeping around the area could be responsible for all the violent crime going on? Like the Navy's stuff on Dolphins.)
.....JD
Sounds like The Weather Channel has gone the way of Music Television. That is what MTV used to stand for, right?
Joe wisely points out something that's happening to the niche cable industry, and it's something commercial television struggles with today – how to respond to a growing fragmented market and the need to hang on to market share for revenue to feed the stockholders.
The Weather Channel, started to provide viewers with what nearly three-quarters of the television news watching audience say they want, today struggles with ways to expand its market share and grow demographics. Instead of information provided as a public service, we get disaster shows involving storm chasers and "could it happen here?" programs.
It's not alone. Look at Discovery. Once the successor to PBS for intelligent and engaging science and education programming, Discovery has lost its brand and has morphed into American Chopper Hot Rods Biker Builders on steroids. It also has so many niche digital channels, including one with The New York Times, it's no wonder Discovery's core audience has no idea where to go. Look for National Geographic's cable channel to dethrone Discovery as the 400 pound gorilla in the near future.
As to where to go for weather information, there's a reason I keep www.weather.com bookmarked on my computer.
Have you tried weather wood
Post a Comment
<< Home