Author Topic: Oh My Gosh! Take Cover! Wx Channel has raised the torcon level  (Read 1019 times)

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Offline DaleReid

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What new garbage has this used-to-be-interesting (sometimes) channel now gone to?

Scene:  Board Room:  CEO:  "Well, we've got to come up with something catchy. Something snazzy.  Something that no one else has."

VP of marketing, stroking his chin thoughtfully:  "Yeah.   We have to capitalize on the fear of people over the weather.  What can we do to emphasize fear and gain ratings?"

2nd VP:  "Gain ratings?  Aren't we supposed to report on the weather?"

CEO:  "Yeah, but we have to pay the bills.  Anyone can get the weather, like just tune into the NOAA radio, or go to one of almost hundreds of sites, especially those pesky local TV guys."

Marketing VP:  "Yeah, ratings take precedence over science and fact you know."

2nd VP:  "You mean, like having some dude stand in front of a camera in a hurricane? "

CEO:  "Now you've got it!  Son, one of these days you'll be running the show the way you're going and catching on to this biz."

2nd VP:  "Even if the wind on the grass in the  background is blowing the wrong way from which said dude is leaning and hanging on to something."

CEO:  "Watch it, kid."

Marketing VP:  "I've got it!  We'll model something that really has no meaning in science or previous meteorology, and make it ours so no on else can use it after we quickly copyright it.       
And to top it off, we'll come up with a military, end of the world, sounding catchy phrase to make the normal population even more fearful than they are, and have any right to be."

Kid (previously 2nd VP):  "Aren't we supposed to alert folks to dangers, not scare the sh(t out of them? What good does that do?"

CEO:  "Look kid.  Facts and information don't sell subscriptions, got it?"

Marketing VP:  "I got it.  Let's call it Tor Con.  Tornado, pretty scary, huh?  And Con, which when added on to Tor makes it sound sort of like DEFCON, which scares a lot of people."

CEO:  "Genius! Sheer genius!"

Kid:  But where is the science?  Where is the advancing field of serious meteorology come in here?  I got a Masters in Meteorology from a top school, and I never heard of the phrase TorCon?"

CEO:  "Look, kid, why don't you run out and grab us a coffee and sandwich?"

Marketing VP:  "Look, sir, I think if we get Legal on this we can copyright the phrase before this weekend.  That way we can train our talking heads to use the phrase over and over in their dressing rooms without looking confused, wondering what that is, and even come up with some TelePrompter scroll that helps explain what we want to invoke."

Kid (putting on his jacket, but who hasn't gotten out the door yet):  "But with proper warning, not fear and catch phrases, we can actually serve the public better than all this stir-'em-up method of presenting the weather.  People did real well when they got radios on the farm and at work and could listen to sensible alerts."

CEO:  "Let me help you with that jacket, buddy."

Marketing VP:  "Yeah, but giving factual weather information takes no more than 5 minutes with the regular news, even with some schmaltzy community add in like birthdays or others stuff.  We are on 24/7.  Not enough facts to fill the time, even with lots of advertising and boring science-like movies and specials."

CEO (shoving kid out the conference room glass doors):  "Ok, make it so.  There is a long tornado and severe weather season ahead of us.  Better get cracking."

Marketing VP:  "Ok, I'll call up Stevens down in PR to see if we can come up with a few more catchy, scary phrases to push this even further.  What do you think of VIPER Radar?  Would it seem like 'Viper RADAR has picked up a return echo and we are raising the TORCON level to  4.'  Do you think that will do it?   No, no. Let's make it a 0 to 7 scale!"

Kid (sticking his head back in the glass doors):  "But research has shown people can comprehend maybe a 3 or 5 at the most for gradation of levels of rating on anything."

CEO:  "Kid, while you're on the way down for coffee, why don't you stop by HR and see if they have anything else around here you can do.  I understand there is a lot of mopping and dusting going to be needed.  If you want a paycheck, that is."
----

What in the hell do the people at Wx Channel do?  Name winter storms which need no naming?  Come up with a TORCON scale and use it completely on their own?
 
No wonder I don't tune to that channel on satellite and only saw this idiocy on the TV at the grocery store checkout lines.
ECWx.info
&
ECWx.info/t/index.php

Offline Maumelle Weather

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Re: Oh My Gosh! Take Cover! Wx Channel has raised the torcon level
« Reply #1 on: March 09, 2019, 08:26:02 PM »
Dale, that is perfect!!!!!! Sad but true, and I haven't watched them in over 15 years. It is no more than a reality based, info-mercial channel now, like everything else. I do not have any trust or respect for them at all. IMHO, they and Accuweather could disappear, and the weather world would be far better for it.

John
GR2AE, GR3, Cumulus

Offline azkiwi

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Re: Oh My Gosh! Take Cover! Wx Channel has raised the torcon level
« Reply #2 on: March 10, 2019, 08:09:03 AM »
Oh, how true.

Rarely watch them now, watch WeatherNation mostly.  Weather, not a cheap-ass psuedo-science reality show.

Ken

Offline vreihen

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Re: Oh My Gosh! Take Cover! Wx Channel has raised the torcon level
« Reply #3 on: March 10, 2019, 08:57:07 AM »
In TWC's defense, TOR:CON is supposedly based on actual science by their own Dr. Forbes (who studied under Fujita of the Fujita tornado strength scale).  It started out as the 0-10 probability of a tornado touching down within a 100 mile radius of any location, and was subsequently revised inwards to a 50 mile radius.

Interesting article from a TWC skeptic praising TOR:CON:

http://thevane.gawker.com/the-weather-channels-tor-con-actually-isnt-a-bunch-of-c-1562896109
WU Gold Stars for everyone! :lol:

 

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