The Truth About Being A Meteorologist

By Elisa Cervone

I always had an admiration for the weather and dreamed that one day I would become an on air meteorologist. When I was just about eight years old, I would watch the formation of clouds and enjoy looking at the multiple colors in the sky during a sunset. All of these fascinations led me to me to think that maybe I can do more than just watch. As I grew older, I found myself watching the Weather Channel religiously and grew to love meteorologist, Jim Cantore. I admire this man, mostly because he is fearless when it comes to reporting the weather.

This man will be reporting in Kansas City while a hurricane is within a mile away from his stand-up. He shows true dedication to the job and is one of the few who really look like they totally enjoy their career.

In this day and age, to be a meteorologist is not quite as simple as people tend to think. When you’re finally done with high school, you have no other choice but to attend a college with a good meteorology program (i.e. Florida State, Penn State, and Oneota). During those four years you are living and breathing meteorology and let me tell you it’s not easy. Majority of the classes are math related and require a lot of problem solving and formulas. This was my weakness, since math is not my forte.

During your college years professors will tell you the fundamentals you need in order to obtain a successful meteorology career, but they always forget to mention a few things. If you have a desire, like I did, and wanted to be one of the meteorologists that go on camera, great! Although, I will tell you, it’s not what you know, it’s how you look.

When it comes to any on air work, people are very attentive when it comes to looks. If an anchor changes her hair color or get glasses, viewers immediately pick up on that change. Also, researchers have shown that certain networks have higher ratings due to the particular types of people they have reporting on their station.

Truth of the matter is sex sells.  Sorry guys, no one really cares all that much about the male anchors. Women mainly take the center stage when it comes to on air work because viewers like how they report and especially like how they look. If you are the reason why your station is getting extra viewers to watch the 6 o’clock news, then you’re not going anywhere.

When I interned for a local news station, I spoke to the female meteorologists. They all told me how competitive and cut throat this career is. The one female meteorologist had mentioned to me how her boss favored her co-worker over her because she had more sex appeal. They considered her more “homely” looking and claimed she was the reason why ratings weren’t doing so well. She had also mentioned to me that weight, ethnicity and hair color are the three big factors producers look out for when hiring freelancers and such.

What’s in?

Ÿ  Blondes

Ÿ  Women of ethnicity (i.e.: Asian, African American, Indian)

Ÿ  Have a slender body (preferably sizes 4-8)

The qualifications I mentioned above are the characteristics that producers are looking for besides being a good speaker, confident, and knowledgeable. Now, if you are two out of the three, I say you have a good chance of becoming a meteorologist. If your one out of the three, maybe you might be doing some behind the scenes work depending where you apply.

However, when you go into this career you can’t be so discourage and doubt yourself right away. There are some meteorologists who break the mold of what an on air meteorologist ought to look like such as Elise Finch. This African American woman is considered to be “plus-size” and is a brunette that is a weather anchor for CBS. People love her because she is accurate and has a certain appeal to her. She has been on this station for quite a while and I think since hiring Elise, she has opened the doors for the rest of us who aren’t the typical cookie-cutter anchor.

 Disregarding what some professionals might say, if you don’t know what you’re talking about and report fictional information, you will eventually lose your audience. People don’t want to watch a talking head. They want to watch someone who knows their stuff and has charisma, especially when it comes to the weather. Let’s face it, everyone revolves their life and plans around how the weather is going to be for the day. Hence the reason why it is vital to not only have a meteorologist who is appealing but who also knows their stuff (i.e. Bills Evans, Elise Finch, and Sam Champion).

Check out this link below to see a video of Sam Champion. It’s his farewell video ABC had produced for him. Look out for some interesting quotes certain professionals say about him. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-JPGVdRycw&playnext=1&list=PLC8C729D9CA842FDF