Take Two: If It's TV Sweeps, Someone Hand Me My Lipstick -- AND a Snow Shovel

2/15/2007

THURSDAY 2/15

3:40 P.M.

Two observations about today's TV shoot (see the morning post, below, for background):

1) Don't let the sunshine fool you. It's cold out there, kids!

2) Considering that we're supposed to be living in an era when e-v-e-r-y-b-o-d-y wants to be on TV, it can be surprisingly challenging to corral passers-by into taking part in an MOS -- a "man on the street" interview.

Maybe it has to do with the low temps, but today we had a surprisingly high turn-down rate from the people we tried to stop and interview. After a while, I actually had to resort to tripping folks... (OK, not really. But it was tempting.)

I did indeed end up doing a segment poking gentle fun at TV meteorologists. Even got Jay Berschback -- one of Ch. 13's deans of forecasting -- to play along with the bit. (Pretty good sense of humor for a guy who spends so much time gazing at swirling patterns on computer screens.)

If you're curious, you can catch the spot tomorrow during the 5 p.m. newscast.

7:15 A.M.

Hey, lookee here. It's February. That means it's a sweeps month. And if it s one of those four months throughout the year when TV ratings are measured, then it means I m slappin on some extra make-up and goin' to work at WTVG, Channel 13.

I m off soon to go shoot one of those goofy segments they slip into the evening news to brighten your day and relieve you of the burden of hearing only about crime, chaos, n Carty.

Yes, they actually pay me for this.

And yes, I recognize the irony: It s my weekly 90-second contribution to the trivialization of broadcast-news standards, a phenomenon against which I otherwise rail. I think (just to add insult to injury) that today I ll do a segment poking fun at . TV meteorologists.

Will try and post later, but no guarantee.