Sunday, April 18, 1999
TV coverage of tornado took different paths
BY JOHN KIESEWETTER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
When severe weather thunders through the Tristate again, which TV station will you watch?
WKRC-TV (Channel 12), the “weather authority?”
Or WCPO-TV (Channel 9), which gave us a street-by-street description of the April 9 tornado path?
Both Channels 12 and 9 have claimed ratings' victories from the deadly storm 10 days ago.
And both stations argue the merits of Channel 9's tornado “street mapping” used by meteorologist Pete Delkus that morning.
“Pete did something that nobody did. This is HUGE!” said Scott Diener, Channel 9 news director.
Using Channel 9's Doppler radar and a street-mapping computer program, Mr. Delkus could click on the center of the storm (indicated by a red blotch) and read street names in that area.
“He said, "If these streets sound familiar to you at all, get in your basement now,'” Mr. Diener said.
Channel 12 had the same capability — but refused to use it. Meteorologist Steve Horstmeyer, the city's veteran TV weatherman (22 years), said street-mapping wasn't totally accurate.
“At best, it has a 2-mile accuracy. It could be off by up to 5 miles. You could give the misimpression to people that they're safe,” Mr. Horstmeyer said.
Mr. Delkus, who just completed his third year at Channel 9, said his radar was right. The storm “is supposed to be right there” in the red area on the TV screen.
Weather Service bows out
The National Weather Service has refused to referee the dispute.
“You'll find a lot of people (meteorologists) who support both sides of that. There are good and bad aspects,” said Ken Haydu, meteorologist in charge of the Wilmington office, which serves Greater Cincinnati.
“What all the TV stations did probably saved lives,” Mr. Haydu said diplomatically. “But I can't get involved. I need to have a good relationship with all the stations. They've got a business to run, and ratings to worry about.”
So I went back and looked at the tapes of Channels 9 and 12, whose coverage that morning led the Tristate. Here's what I learned:
• Consistency: Mr. Delkus came on before the 5:55 a.m. tornado warning issued for Hamilton County and stayed on continuously as the storm swept across Hamilton County. Mr. Horstmeyer was on MOST of the time from 4:30-5:30 a.m., but not constantly.
“Pete Delkus was there. He didn't go away,” Mr. Diener said.
In hindsight, Mr. Horstmeyer has regretted leaving the air for a few minutes to update information. “I wish I would have stayed on,” he said.
• Description: As the storm moved east of Interstate 75, Mr. Delkus focused most of his attention on the large red radar blotch over southeastern Butler County. He read off West Chester streets, and barely mentioned the bottom of the blotch over Blue Ash and Montgomery, where greatest damage occurred.
Mr. Horstmeyer, at 5:07 a.m., became concerned about the bottom “tail” of the storm cloud, and told viewers that the strongest part of the storm was headed for “an area near Blue Ash and Montgomery.”
Unlike Channel 9, Channel 12's Doppler radar showed turbulence in flashing magenta. These changing wind speeds were over Blue Ash and Montgomery, in the tornado “tail.”
Mr. Horstmeyer also kept his radar on the wide range most of the hour so viewers could see the severe thunderstorms over Owen County in Northern Kentucky and northern Hamilton County.
• Ratings: Viewers who didn't see a weather bulletin on their favorite station gravitated to Channel 9. According to Nielsen ratings, based on 353 local meters, Channel 9 had 48 percent of the audience from 5 to 5:15 a.m. As the tornado bore down on Blue Ash, Channel 9 had a 10.9 rating — or an estimated 87,200 TV households — nearly matching the station's 11 p.m. news average. That was huge.
Channel 9 had the largest audience 4:30-6 a.m., and 8:15-10:30 a.m. But Channel 12 won the ratings 6-7:30 a.m., and for local newscasts at noon, 5:30-6:30 and 11 p.m.
• Results: Folks at Channel 9 argued that the ratings at the height of the storm signaled a shift in TV news habits, like Channel 12's live Beverly Hills fire coverage in 1977.
“I think this is a watershed event in Cincinnati TV news, or at least I hope it is,” says Mr. Diener, 37, who replaced Stuart Zanger as news director the week of the storm.
Channel 12's superior live pictures of the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire in 1977 helped change many Tristate viewing habits, including mine. Loyal viewers of Channel 9's Al Schottelkotte, the top-rated newscast for two decades, were impressed by Channel 12's excellence that night, when Channel 9 had trouble relaying clear live video of the Memorial Day weekend blaze that killed 165.
By the early 1980s, enough people had switched often enough that Channel 12 news finally ended Channel 9's 21-year first-place streak.
“I think something changed in this town that Friday morning — that when you really need to know in a crisis, someone is there for you,” Mr. Diener said.
The forecast
We may not know until the next millennium whether this has prompted a shift in viewing patterns. But here is my TV weather forecast:
• Channel 9 and Mr. Delkus earned a new measure of credibility and respect, particularly with people who loyally watched other stations.
That was what Beverly Hills did for me 22 years ago. I was impressed by a news team I hadn't watched much. I found myself flipping more often to Channel 12 as a new second option. That could happen again.
• When the next severe storms roll in, all the TV stations will broadcast extended, continuous weather bulletins, afraid to be the first to blink. We may become desensitized to their warnings.
• Frankly, when I hear tornado sirens next, I won't care if all the stations broadcast block-by-block play-by-play of the storm path. I won't be lulled into a false sense of security by TV reports that a tornado isn't headed down my street. I'll head to the basement with my family, as I did April 9.
John Kiesewetter is Enquirer TV/radio critic. Write: 312 Elm St., Cincinnati 45202; fax: 768-8330.
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