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Standing in the Storm

Image result for hurricane coverage

It is a venerable television trope: a reporter (invariably a man) standing in the midst of a storm, while a camera guy presumably films him from inside a van. We see the force of the wind because our intrepid reporter is either leaning with it or leaning into it at an ever-sharpening angle. We see from his wary glances about that projectiles are a danger in a hurricane (who would've thought).

Is this entertainment, public service, actual news, or something else?

My own impression is that our intrepid reporter in such footage is there to  put a "human face" on the news. The faces of the victims of the damage it does will be on the front pages in following days -- the newly homeless, shocked to discover that standard homeowners' insurance is not generally hurricane or flood insurance, along with photos of people grieving for their dead, or suffering from injuries. We'll see all of them in due course. But for that moment, our intrepid reporter is still the human face of the storm.

Without him, what would the news be? Shots of inanimate nature roaring away, and voices telling us about miles per house, or footage of storm surge, or precipitation volume. All important, but all difficult to digest (since we are humans, not computers) without ... a face.

So lift a glass this weekend to Our Intrepid Reporter. Coverage from both Texas and Florida has recently conveyed to us the images of worthy members of this tribe.
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