(The Weather Channel Newsroom. Photo credit: Jonathan Sheffield)
By Jonathan Sheffield
When a natural disaster hits most Americans with cable television turn to The Weather Channel for live coverage of the event. They receive updates from on camera meteorologists who are on location or in the studio, but what happens behind the camera?
Behind the scenes there is an entire newsroom of people working to get the latest weather news to you in a timely manner.
The News Desk
This all starts at the news desk. They are the front line for gathering weather news and checking the sources that send in videos or images.
“It is important that we make sure the material we are sending to air is actual footage from the event and not an event from three months ago,” says Robin Dalfor, a member of the news desk team at The Weather Channel.
Associate Producers
After the news desk has confirmed a video clip is credible it ends up in the hands of an associate producer. These people have the editorial control to edit the clip in what they deem the “most compelling way,” says Christine Beldon, a freelance associate producer.
Beldon, like many others at The Weather Channel, is a freelance employee. She is not under a binding contract with The Weather Channel and has the right to work for any other employer while she is employed by The Weather Channel.
“We rely heavily on freelancers to put out the best product we can,” says Angie Massie, vice president of content.
“When coming into the media industry most people will start out as a freelancer, and in this line of business it tends to be a trial by fire. If you can handle it then maybe you will get hired as a full-timer,” says Video Editor Justin Isbecque.
Some freelance editors and associate producers work for multiple news outlets or media companies. Jeff Gammage, a freelance editor, says he, “enjoys being involved in both weather news and the hard news we cover at CNN.”
Producers
Above the associate producers there is a smaller team of producers. Like associate producers, some producers are freelance; however, most at The Weather Channel are full-time employees.
The producer has creative control of shows and segments, and decides what is and is not worth showing on air. Producers often find themselves in the field chasing a storm.
“During hurricane season I was out on assignment for over a month. I left for the eclipse in August and finally came back to the newsroom in late September,” says Producer Trish Ragsdale.
Producers are in charge of arranging field shoots as well as regular studio shows. This means organizing flights, crews, hotels for the crew, arranging transportation, and finding a safe location to shoot from.
“It can all be a bit stressful and a bit much. For this hurricane season we were all out for so long that the work just never stopped, and as soon as I was done with one shoot I was calling and booking everything for the next shoot for the next hurricane,” says Producer Michael Vann.
Photographers
Possibly the most important person on a shoot is the photographer, commonly referred to as a “photog” in the media industry. These people carry around the camera and sound equipment all day while in the field. They are responsible for making sure that the shot is perfect and that the audience gets the full effect from the image they are capturing.
Executive Producers
Back at the studio, there is a team of people watching everything that goes out on air. The executive producers and content managers have full control over everything on air. Everyone that touches a piece of video answers to them. The content managers and executive producers have final say on what does and does not get aired from the producer’s proposal, and if news is breaking they have the authority to add it to the running segment.
“It can be stressful to make sure that we are putting our best content on air all of the time, and during hurricane season we all end up here for long hours because there is extra pressure to make sure everything is up-to-date and that our crews on location have what they need and can produce good content,” says Executive Producer of Content Terrance Roper.
The executive producers and content managers also walk the line between media management and business management. They are heavily involved in partnership deals and content negotiations, and they ensure that sponsored content gets the time it is promised on air, but they also have the responsibility to put news first.
Keeping you weather alert
There is an entire army of people working behind the scenes to make sure that the audience is up-to-date with the latest weather news. Each of these people plays a different role in the media machine, but they all come together to ensure that The Weather Channel keeps broadcasting the most accurate and latest weather news possible.