8 years ago
Sunday, November 6, 2016
Look at Me. I'm Wearing a Costume. On TV.
A Minnesota weather person did the Halloween forecast without his head.
Another meteorologist did the weather as though he was floating on a cloud. Two different weather people did the forecast in T-rex costumes.
Do you have a problem with weather people wearing costumes? It's just the weather, right? These folks are supposed to be kind of goofy, right?
Or, are they journalists, reporting information that impacts people's lives. They should behave appropriately, right?
Thoughts?
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28 comments:
I think that local news stations are more focused on their community and connecting with people since they live and work in the same place as all of their viewers. For national newscasts, people from all over the country (and potentially even internationally) are viewing their programs, so I think that they have to be more professional and Halloween costumes don't fit the description of business attire. I think that ultimately it depends on your audience and what they are expecting of you.
I think, given the Halloween holiday, it was not entirely inappropriate for the meteorologist to begin his weather segment "in costume." However, I also believe it probably would have been better if the reporter transitioned back into his regular attire after a minute of his fun. Reporting the whole weather segment as a "headless" meteorologist became distracting from the actual news being presented, and while I don't believe this joke will seriously harm the credibility of the reporter or the news station itself, it may have been off-putting to some audience members at the time.
In my opinion it depends on what is classified as appropriate. Given the festivities (Halloween) I don't think it is that big of a deal. It may be seen as a "distraction", but honestly the weather is the single most boring part of a newscast and tends to be repetitive as the show goes on. So if the news anchors were to be wearing costumes throughout the entire show ... maybe that would be a little extensive, but for the meteorologist who only have a small segment of the broadcast it's not that big of an issue.
I honestly am not against the weather men and women dressing up for Halloween. In fact, I feel as though on a local station it gives a bit of charm to the report. After all, the information reported was going to be the same whether or not he had a head. Once a year, on occasion, I believe it is okay to have a bit of fun with the news, and it also gets the viewers talking as well. That being said, if the rest of the newscasters wore costumes, than it would come off as unprofessional. After all, you can't expect viewers to take news about the upcoming election seriously when the anchor is dressed like a bunny. Weather on the other hand, is the section of news you can have fun with because it's not tackling any topics more serious than what kind outfit you are going to wear tomorrow. All in all, I say have fun, its Halloween and it will certainly charm the local viewers.
But would you wear a costume?
- Geo
I laud the weather men for wearing costumes, for it lightens the mood and makes the forecasters seem more relatable. I could see the issue with them wearing the costume since it is unprofessional but to me I thought it was cute and fun. Journalist are also people so they should have room to add a bit of their own style.
Personally, I don't think there was a problem with the headless weather man. Although I do think the producers should have replaced his head after the first minute. Once the forecast began, the viewers should have been able to see his whole body in order to take him more seriously. This would have shown the professionalism of the TV station as a whole. I do not think I would wear a costume or do anything like this on air unless I was asked to.
Fun is pretty important. Everyone, in every industry and every occupation at least attempts to have fun on or off the job. Look at President Obama. He has fun all the time when he's on the job (always one for a good joke or wise crack during a speech) or off the job (see his stellar ball skills). I'm never going to hold relevant, harmless fun against people, no matter their occupation. Halloween costumes are good fun when the holiday rolls around. And let's be real for a second, these are awesome costumes. That one guy sitting on the cloud killed it. No head? come on, that's funny.
These reporters were not being professional. However, I do not think this was something so seriously wrong that they should lose their jobs or be penalized. Halloween is my favorite holiday, so it would probably make me really excited if I saw that type of festive thing while watching the weather. For those who are not as Halloween-obsessed as I am, it may not be as fun and comical - maybe just annoying. I do not think these occurrences would cause the channel to lose viewers or cause a commotion, but it would probably be best (and more professional) if the weather people stayed dressed like typical weather people next time.
I believe that the reporters were not being professional at all, but i think they were also trying to get in the spirit of Halloween and have a little fun doing their job. They shouldn't be reprimanded for trying to lighten the mood and get people excited for Halloween. Also, i believe the news station shouldn't have kept him headless for the entire segment because it takes the seriousness away from the information he is reporting.
Given that this was on Halloween, I think it was not entirely inappropriate for them to dress up. The costumes make the newscast more fun and relatable to the general public. Obviously they were not acting professionally, but Halloween is a holiday made to be fun for all people. Some people might say that the news isn't about fun, but those people should lighten up. If this were any other case, I would say that they were acting out of line and unprofessionally.
Personally if I were that weatherman I would not have worn a costume. There obviously isn't a huge issue with it other than the fact that some might find it a little distracting, but he's just reporting the weather which is not commonly seen as a serious matter. I found the anchor walking over to touch his head kind of unprofessional and taking the joke a bit too far but overall, I don't think it was a big deal.
For me, I wouldn't have done this thing but with that being said, I have no issue with this weatherman doing it. He's a weatherman and isn't really reporting on anything too important. I think it would be different if an anchor were goofing off while reporting on a serious matter like a fire or murder. But for a weatherman to do this, I have absolutely no problem. It may not be the most professional thing to do but it's all in good fun. Plus, it was Halloween. As long as he only keeps this act to just that day, it shouldn't be an issue.
I don't think it's a serious issue if the people dress up or have fun. Especially when weathermen/women are competing with the notification tab on a phone, which can tell you what they are trying to report for the next seven days. To dress up, is away to make the boring information of weather more fun and increase viewership. Also these costumes don't affect the story, people will still me able to receive, and process the information with the fun distraction of costumes.
Claudia Murtha
I feel as if it is okay for the weather people to have a little fun on Halloween, since it is such a goofy holiday already. It will help the people to connect with their audience. Now, If the weather person was discussing a hurricane or something tragic of that matter, it would be inappropriate because what he is saying should not be taken lightly and could effect peoples lives in a very negative way.
Personally, I do not see it as a big deal that he decided to dress up. The news already shares depressing stuff every morning, so perhaps him dressing up acts as a "comic relief" and therefore serves a purpose other than just being a distraction. Just because he is in a costume does not mean he is not doing his job still too, I think it would be going too far to assume the audience is unable to look past his costume and still get the weather message. The weather, as someone else previously noted, is arguably the most boring part of the newscast. I doubt it takes away too much by him dressing up for Holloween one day out of the whole year, especially if it is a local newscast.
-Gillianne Daum
I don't think the meteorologist should have worn the costume, but I do give him credit for accepting his boss's request of making a fool out of himself by wearing it. However, the news is supposed to be fact-driven and informational. Occasionally, yes, there should be a joke or two to lighten the mood and not have the audience all tensed up from going from one story to another so quickly. But wearing a costume is not something that should be acceptable. This meteorologist made the weather more about himself compared to what the segment really should have been about, which is the weather. By the journalist wearing this costume he makes people look at him instead of looking at what the upcoming days are going to look like. Instead of making citizens a vital part of journalism by informing them about news, this weatherman decided to inform the citizens on how big of a loser he was by trying to distract them from the actual weather and have the audience focus on him. I personally would not have worn the costume and I believe that no journalist should wear a costume during a segment as it takes away from what the actual part of the segment is supposed to be doing: delivering news and informing the public.
I don't think that those meteorologists should have worn the costumes. I get that it's Halloween and they want to get in the spirit, but it is still a professional setting and they should act as such. I think morning shows like the Today show can get away with that type of thing more because they are often lighthearted, but the evening news with the weather is meant to be a serious thing.
I personally do not see the harm in the meteorologist dressing up in a costume during his weather forecast. Yes it was not something you see every day, but it was lighthearted, innocent fun. Although the news is typically very straightforward and factual, adding some humor through the costumes changes the usual dull and depressing mood. It made the news more appealing to watch and was a way to relate to the audience. I personally do not think that I would dress up when giving my weather forecast but just because it's not something I would do does not mean that other people can not enjoy themselves.
I think as long as it isn't so outrageous that it completely distracts the point of the newscast, it's fine to have a little fun with attire. People are watching that portion of the newscast in the first place to see what the weather is, so as long as they ultimately get that information, I don't see why someone would care about the person's attire.
Priscilla Silva said...
I don't see any problem with the metrologist wearing a costume in Halloween season. I don't think he should be obligated to wear, but since de weather forecast is a more relaxed part of the newscast, it's ok to make something different. It shouldn't be exaggerated as well because weather forecast can be a more relaxed part of newscast, but that doesn't mean it is less serious.
November 28, 2016 at 8:16 PM
There is a time and a place for everything; I personally do not think the news is the place for a costume, even on Halloween, even if it is the weather reporter. It is more important than evet for journalists to be professional and work on maintaining a good image.
Viewers do not watch the news for entertainment, they watch it to get information. When people turn on the news, especially the weather, it is to see what is going on, and to see how they should prepare for the day. If they wanted to be entertained they would turn on a reality or cable television show.
I don’t have a problem with the weather people dressing up and taking a picture to put on social media sites to help get views, or to wish people a Happy Halloween. But I think news should be and should stay professional.
News anchors should want people to take them professionally, and they should not sacrifice that for a couple thousand YouTube views.
To me, I have always taken the meteorologists least seriously. In the past, they've cracked jokes and usually had more of an "aloof" personality. Therefore, I am not personally affected by the weathermen/women dressing up for Halloween. As long as one is still getting the weather forecast, that's all that matters, right? However, though I don't find a problem, this doesn't mean others will find negative connotations. Everyone is different. People could begin to believe that the news channel/news person is not reputable or serious. Or, they could think that they're not being appropriate in a career setting.
If it were me, I would not wear a costume on television. Why? Because even though dressing up is fun or shows that there is a personality in the journalist, it could affect ratings. I would try to be appropriate in a broad base for most of all of my audience. There is more of a future risk wearing the costume, rather than staying simple and maintaining work clothes.
It's controversial because journalists have mission to make significant interesting. The question is where to draw line between professionalism and entertainment. I think this is a too much. People should be able to see who they're getting information from. It's hard to trust any information that's coming out from a headless weather person.
Given that it was Halloween, I believe that this was acceptable, however, I don't think it was very professional. I agree with one of the comments that this is a local service, therefore, the broadcasters are targeting a smaller audience and feel more of a need to connect with their community. If this were a national broadcast this would have been far from appropriate. Finally, I think it is important to consider what sort of weather or news the broadcaster is delivering. Celebrating Halloween on air for a local broadcast is acceptable if it is news as usually, however, if it is major news or major, potentially dangerous weather, the coverage should be taken more seriously.
In general, the primary responsibility of weather people should be reporting weather professionally, therefore I think they at least ought to wear appropriately and express clearly. Then the audience at least wouldn't have to withstand anyone’s weird or even disgusting behaviors on the screen when they only want to know the weather without interference. However, on some specific holidays like Hollywood, weather people maybe can be allowed to forecast in an irregular way, and audience might like the novelty. Nevertheless, weather people still need to be cautious of how irregular they can be. Forecasting on a cloud is pretty fun and acceptable but without a head somehow is horrible for some audience and frank them out.
thank you for the reply to this blog comment !
and also thanks for your sharing this topic !
goldenslot
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I headless meteorologist is pretty cool to me. No one wants a meteorologist that's serious all the time.Bring on the fun!!!
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