For interns at ABC 33/40, there comes an exciting yet fearful day when they attempt their first weather forecast. Mine happened to be this past Monday. Oh, what a day that was!
I was, indeed, swarmed by a mixture of emotions. The adventure of taping my first weather forecast was exciting. After all, isn’t this what we broadcast meteorology geeks live for! However, presenting a weather forecast in the presence of the notorious and well-spoken James Spann can be somewhat nerve-racking. He was aware and sensitive to my anxiety, allowing me to do my first forecast privately. The tape was rolling continuously because it was just practice. After I pulled myself together, I timidly stepped in front of the green wall. By the way, meteorologists stand in front of a green wall when actually giving the weather forecast. The graphics replace the green on the television screen.
My first attempt does not actually count because I stopped mid-tape to redo it. I like to consider it a “warm-up” rather than a blooper. Eventually, I began my presentation, starting with the current temperatures. Reading off the text became challenging. When using the green wall, you view yourself and the text only on the monitors to your left, right, and front. I finally finished the first run through and continued to tape about seven more. With every run, I became more comfortable, helping my delivery.
Later, I watched my tape and found several areas for improvement, but there were some aspects that I was pleased with as well. Today, I taped for the second time. Jason Simpson was equally as considerate as James Spann, allowing me to tape alone. This time, I was much more comfortable and less timid. All of this experience is helping me to improve my communication and weather knowledge as well as proving one of my favorite quotes: “Every time you stand to speak, you sit down a stronger person.” You better believe that I am going to be doing a lot more standing!
I was, indeed, swarmed by a mixture of emotions. The adventure of taping my first weather forecast was exciting. After all, isn’t this what we broadcast meteorology geeks live for! However, presenting a weather forecast in the presence of the notorious and well-spoken James Spann can be somewhat nerve-racking. He was aware and sensitive to my anxiety, allowing me to do my first forecast privately. The tape was rolling continuously because it was just practice. After I pulled myself together, I timidly stepped in front of the green wall. By the way, meteorologists stand in front of a green wall when actually giving the weather forecast. The graphics replace the green on the television screen.
My first attempt does not actually count because I stopped mid-tape to redo it. I like to consider it a “warm-up” rather than a blooper. Eventually, I began my presentation, starting with the current temperatures. Reading off the text became challenging. When using the green wall, you view yourself and the text only on the monitors to your left, right, and front. I finally finished the first run through and continued to tape about seven more. With every run, I became more comfortable, helping my delivery.
Later, I watched my tape and found several areas for improvement, but there were some aspects that I was pleased with as well. Today, I taped for the second time. Jason Simpson was equally as considerate as James Spann, allowing me to tape alone. This time, I was much more comfortable and less timid. All of this experience is helping me to improve my communication and weather knowledge as well as proving one of my favorite quotes: “Every time you stand to speak, you sit down a stronger person.” You better believe that I am going to be doing a lot more standing!
on June 30, 2005, 6:21 am
It would be interesting to watch though!
Mike
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