Did anyone else just see that idiot reporter on ABC GMA standing in a wind tunnel

[Skidmore]

to demonstrate wind force? You couldn't hear him, his wattles were blowing, and this was a stupid stunt. Last night I watched on the evening news as a reporter stood on the dock in Nassau in the full force of the storm. Why do news outlets believe they need to have someone standing out in the weather to report? Is it part of earning your chops to have at least one weathering the storm section of footage?

[Bragi]

1. It's storm porn /nt

[Skidmore]

2. It would seem to me that a better use of the media would be

to help facilitate evacuations by reporting the best routes or by talking about preparedness. Instead, we get the intrepid reporter standing in hip boots with windblown hair.

[ejpoeta]

4. that would be a better use of their time, but they aren't about public preparedness, they are about

scaring people. my almost 6 year old walked in and saw about two minutes of the coverage on today show and was convinced we would be hit by this hurricane. I had to explain to her the reasons why we don't get hit by hurricanes. we might get some of the rain and in the past have gotten the remains of it once dumped on us, but we are too far inland to get hurricanes.

[Cirque du So-What]

5. I'll avoid the obvious pun

about getting a 'blow job'...oh, wait...too late!

[FSogol]

3. Because Dan Rather created an entire career out of standing in a storm.

Everyone is trying to follow his path to success.

[TexasProgresive]

8. I've been trying to find a picture of Rather braving the wind and water

but nothing comes up.

[FSogol]

11. From wiki:

"In early September 1961, Rather reported live from the Galveston Seawall as Hurricane Carla threatened the Texas coastline. In his autobiography, Rather notes that back then, television stations did not have their own radar systems, and of course nobody then had the modern computerized radar that combines the radar image with an outline map. So he took a camera crew to a National Weather Service radar station located on the top floor of the Post Office Building on 25th Street in Galveston, where a technician drew a rough outline of the Gulf of Mexico on a sheet of plastic, and held that over the black and white radar display to give Rather's audience an idea of the storm's size and position its eye. His reporting, which has been imitated by countless other reporters, impressed the network executives at CBS, and they offered him a job as a CBS News correspondent. Rather refused CBS's first offer, but accepted its second offer when it came three months later."

That's how he made the leap from average sportscaster to well-respected correspondent.

[Supersedeas]

6. The network news outlets are waxing for ever greater levels of superficiality

Reminds me of the Jon Stewart skits where he would have a 'reporter' report from a storm scene when it was obvious that the scene was merely a television backdrop and the wind was fan generated.

Between the sports filler, weather filler, and mindless discussion of political poll numbers, the News has reached all time highs for shiny nothingness. No homework, no digging into facts, no tough interviews, and everyone opinion counts just as much as any other unsubstantiated wrongheaded opinion. And always, the Advertisers have the last word.

[Denninmi]

7. Hey, we have Kardashian weddings to report!

Some people obviously don't know what is important in life. :sarcasm:

[Supersedeas]

9. This infotainment filler brought to you by Big Oil, Big Telecom, Big Insurance, Big Auto

[kentauros]

10. I would call that as falling on the Hurricane Bingo square for

"Producer has obviously told a reporter to take unnecessary risks" :P

http://media.houstonpress.com/2414288.0.pdf

Y'all might want to edit to fit your local sights and city names for a more local feel ;)

[valerief]

12. They do whatever is easiest and most fun for them. Like politicians. The public be damned! nt

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

13. They can't wait for the real thing

You can almost see their boners.

[Fumesucker]

14. "Idiot reporter" is a term a long way down the path to becoming redundant..

When you have to fill 24/7 a day with *something* there's an excellent chance any given part of that something is just out and out cretinous.

Lowest.Common.Denominator

That is what commercial television is now, has always been and ever shall be.

[Lint Head]

15. I would love to see a reporter tied to a phone pole with a bungle just to see how

far away they could blow and then snap back. Mister T could also throw punches at the wind. Maybe Chuck Norris could attempt to roundhouse kick the wind. Maybe Matt Lauer could get lost in the hurricane and people could ask, "Where in the world is Matt Lauer." Jim Cantore could super glue a wig to his head, stand on the beach, and time how long it takes the wig to blow away.

Have I covered all the bases or are there any other suggestions? Or, is this really a stupid reply?

[UTUSN]

16. Their inner airhead tends to pop in hurricanes or really anytime

There were always jokes about my man Dan RATHER "wrapped around a lightpost" in hurricanes. And in flooding, they are always in hipboots without the sense to get out of the water to begin with. One hilarious time, this intrepid reporter was shown in full rain gear including hood. When the camera pulled back, the "flood" she was standing in didn't even get to her ankles.

Makes me wonder why they laughed at Rick SANCHEZ getting himself tasered.