Weather is always one of my favorite parts of a talent coaching visit in the US or Canada. But it's different here in Maldives because the TV and radio weather comes from the forecasters located on the airport island in the National Meteorological Centre. Each evening at around 5:30 they pre-tape the on-camera forecast in Dhiveli and English and then send the tape over to TVM by ferry boat. They also provide forecasts that are read on VOM.
About a dozen forecasters, weather observers and presenters gathered in a conference room for a coaching session including examples from KABC-TV, WSB-TV and CTV Canada. Then we critiqued their segment, which, among other things, requires the forecaster to pace back and forth across the weather graphics which are plastered into the center of the screen.
Then we went into the studio to practice and see how we could improve the segment. First order of business was to move the graphics over to screen right and create a place on the left for the forecaster to stand. Second, we worked on a more user-friendly and less scientific approach, stressing the inclusion of more "news you can use" like how to dress the kids or whether you will need an umbrella today. Pictured is Asni, one of the top women forecasters. All wear the burugaa or head scarf.
My excellent host was Hussain Waheed, the chief of the weather forecasters, and an expert in tsunami preparedness and climate change. He has studied in Africa, Asia and the US. I believe the forecast would be more effective on radio if the meteorology deparment people provided an audio feed of the forecast instead of just faxing over a script. We'll try to make this happen next week, and also arrange for more frequent appearances on television. They will be launching new and better graphics on March 23, but unfortunately a super duper mega doppler is not in the budget. One low-cost change we can make is putting a live robot cam on the roof of their building that could be used for weather shots. They are also in the process of setting up live webcams on the atolls.
2 comments:
Sorry, but I had to take this thread down. It had degenerated into personal attacks instead of a rational discussion about improving the weather bulletins on radio and TV. As several posters have pointed out, I am new here and in no position to judge who is the most qualified or who is corrupt. If the system is corrupt, the voters will soon have their say at the ballot box to change it. Meanwhile, I am only here to work with the people who are presenting at the moment and I have enjoyed working with them to make their presentation more informative for the average viewer.
Terry looks like somebody has threatened you badly!
I'm not suprised even a little bit...
Coz that happens alot...
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