27. Those of us who've done radio can relate to this. Sometimes we get so smooth and slick on the air that we don't even realize what we're saying. When I was working at KKLY-FM in Grand Junction, CO as the morning show host, I was doing the weather one day. It's usually pretty hot there in the Summer. One day the temp was going to be up around 101 F. This was a Friday and the Delta Days festival was coming up that weekend along the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers. I said, on the air, "Yep, the temp is headed up toward the century mark again this weekend, so it'll be a great time to take the family out to Delta Days and take a dump in the river!" (Of course, I meant to say "dip"...D'OH!!) 26. Our morning show ran a story recently about flu shoots and vaccinations in the medical segment right before one of the weather updates. During the adlib chat between the two segments, one of the anchors and our morning meteorologist commented that they don't like getting shots. The other anchor said he didn't mind getting a shot and then asked the meteorologist (a female), "is it going to be a good day to get a poke?" She and the anchors and the floor crew proceded to laugh hysterically through the entire 90 second weather segment before finally going to break. 25. Our local weatherman, after a cold rainy day a couple of weeks ago, said "It was a great day to pee inside!" He meant to say "be inside" but it didn't come out that way. Either way, he was correct! 24. This had most of the state of Michigan laughing for 2 days and a very embarrassed female news anchor who will, in the future, likely think before she speaks. What happens when you predict snow but don't get any... a true story... We had a female news anchor, who the day after it was supposed to have snowed and didn't, turned to the weatherman and asked: "So Bob, where's that 8 inches you promised me last night?" Not only did HE have to leave the set, but half the crew did also! They were laughing so hard! 23. We have a "weather porch" which we do intros from at one point during our morning show. We then walk in from outside to the chroma key. Just a few weeks ago there were some flurries and the decking outside was wet. I was hurrying back inside to get to the wall and just before I stepped into the shot, my feet went right out from under me! I landed right on my rear at the base of the camera (off-camera!). Everyone in the control room (and at home) heard my little "oof" as I hit the floor, but I didn't miss a beat and jumped back up and stepped into the shot. I've since gotten rid of those shoes. Hopefully no more slip ups!! 22. Our station is really big into doing part of the weathercast outside the station in front of a remote camera which happens to be located next to a busy street. One time during a heat wave, I was preparing to do a cut-in when a pick-up truck pulls-up next to the camera position and I hear a guy saying, "Boy, it sure is hot!". I look-over and there's his girlfriend in the passenger seat with her shirt yanked-up. About 30-seconds later, I did the cut-in which went fine,except that I had this smirk on my face that didn't make sense to anyone---except me and the couple in the truck. 21. Here's one for ya. Many years ago as a Producer at a small market station I asked our Meteorologist to do something funny during his taped "Weather Update" that wouldn't go on the Air. Instead it would be added to our Christmas Party Blooper Reel for laughs. We started taping and after a short intro. we cut to him at the Weather Desk where he jumped up and began to thrust his pelvic region into the camera shouting, "Check me out!!!!" Everyone laughed and then we taped the real thing for air. Okay, you know where this is headed. The "R" Rated Update aired instead. I came into work the next day to find that the Meteorologist was suspened for two weeks and the person who aired the wrong "Take" was fired. Of course the evidence was destroyed by management. The papers, radio stations and competition had a field day making jokes and asked anyone for a copy of this "Must See" event. They even offered a lot of money for a peek but not one viewer taped it. Then I realized that I taped a program that night at home. Sure enough, I was not only the person who cause this mess but I was also the sole person with the evidence. I held on to it until I was about to take another job and played it where it was originally intended, the Station Christmas Party. It is good to know that the person who was fired ended up getting a better job at the competition. 20. Once I was talking about thunderstorms over Michigan...it had been a looong day! And as I talked about what was going on I slipped and instead of saying what I wanted to say, I somehow referred to it as a "Big-Ass System". My co-anchor was barely able to finish the show, I turned purple on the air and my news director was not pleased at all... 19. Years ago, Anchorage was experiencing a rare thunderstorm (this is the Shangra-la of stratus clouds) and it was raining as hard as I've ever seen in this town. I concluded my forecast by urging the viewers to practice safe weather and wear their rubbers. I thought it was a clever line but apparently some old ladies disagreed and the switchboard lit up like a Christmas tree. It earned me an audience with the news director, the station manager and the owner. Not really an embarrassing moment but certainly on the short list of my fondest memories. 18. Worked with a guy that was giving a very detailed (probably too detailed for television) description of some severe weather moving through the area. He was getting pretty deep discussing "rear flank development" when the building took a lightning hit. The charge ran through the mic cable which was running up his leg (no wireless mics) and gave him a shock. He gave a short little jump and without missing a beat said, "Whoa, I think I just had a little rear flank development!" I never laughed so hard in my life!!!! 17. Once upon a time while on the air, I pointed to a line of T-storms near Utica, NY & blurted something about "a squall line moving through uterus" (that must have woken up a few viewers). 16. In radio, my program director lit the weather wire copy on fire to see how fast I could read the forecast on the air. The forecast? tonight..dark. That's about all I could think off before loosing three fingers to first degree burns. (radio doesn't pay) 15. A storm system trying to make it over the Rockies was going to die out. so on the air I said that due to the fact the storm was going to "peter" out, don't look for anything to ruin the nice conditions. I got calls for referring to a man's schmeckle during the forecast. (get a life) 14. Instead of saying the jet stream divides cold and warm air "masses", I said "asses" instead. It make Dick Clark's Bloopers show and I made $100 bucks! 13. Having the mic cord wrap around you high heel, stepping on it with the other foot, tripping off of the set and spraining your ankle, then having to go to the hospital and explain what happened. 12. At one of my past stations, we had to do a little weather teaser from the weather office; As I sat in front of the camera, the chair I was in started to sink. To compensate, I just 'pretended' to sit. Nothing like doing the equivalent of deep squats while talking about how great a day its going to be! 11. I once said (by accident!)that it was "raining quite a bitch" instead of "raining quite a bit." Usually the floor crew and other anchors read the newspaper or do whatever when I do weather, but that one word made them sit up and listen! 10. Using an old magnet board for weather once at my first job, ALL the temps fell off so I said "Apparently the temperatures are falling fast" 9. Right after the new weather open which claims "The Area's Most Trusted Forecasting Technology" - the computer froze up on - air. Nice. 8. Having East Peoria fire dept come in for smoke investigation during your weather - they didn't kick us out until sports.... the guy said: "we have a fire in the building and we have to leave, goodnight" and we went to bars. 7. The WSI computer died on me 12 seconds before airtime...so I used some video tape, my Doppler Display with nothing on it and spent as much time as possible explaining what would happen. After that I simply explained that my computer thought it was in California because it had just experienced a "rolling blackout" and everyone laughed... Left my poor producer about 1:30 light. Ouch. 6. How about this? As you're about to start your forecast at the chroma wall, the control room suddenly substitutes your weather maps with a picture of a young man who was brutally murdered in the last 12 hours. Being unfamiliar with the story you make a flippant remark about the smiling face. It actually happened. 5. When leaving the anchor desk to walk to the chroma wall, my foot tangled in a mic wire & I went flat on my face. The viewers heard a "whoa" and saw the clicker fly by the map. A second later, as I recovered, I flew by the chroma wall to retrieve the clicker. 4. On my 1st time on air.. in college.. my cord got wrapped around my chair (no wireless mic in the old days). So when I went to change maps (manual.. no computer) I couldn't reach and had to reach down and grab the cord. I made faces when tugging on it. I still have the tape. Very funny! Also hilarious cuz I had 80's hair!! 3. A new technical director had some problems keying me in one night. It turned out that you could see the weather maps in my eyes, and in my mouth every time I spoke or smiled! Really creepy looking! 2. Several "Star Trek" like moments.....when I either abruptly appear, or disappear out of thin air - that's always a fun one to try to talk through! 1. The unreliable "clicker" I work with is always keeping me rambling on about some map or other while I try to get it to work. The worst was one night when it NEVER kicked in, and I basically had to sum up the entire weather picture while frozen on a "Tonight" forecast page. |