-Isms: Views on life in rural America

Even though weather changes daily (and sometimes, minute to minute), it is a constant discussion point. It’s usually one of the few television channels I will tune into while working.

Weather has been in the news a lot lately: the May 12 dust and rain storm that caused damage in the area, the nearly month-long days of strong winds this spring, the weekend storms.

Sometimes, it feels like I am constantly checking weather notices and sharing updates on the SAM website and our social media channels.

And, when weather is the cause of a major disaster, it typically becomes front Page news. When the Elkhorn River flooded in 2011, I was a Norfolk Daily News correspondent. On a Saturday morning, Kent Warneke called, wondering if I could make it to Inman. They had reports of water crossing Highway 20 and flooding Inman. I made it there and back to the farm. I also snapped a few great photos of locals, standing in two feet of water in Harte’s Bar, while drinking a cold one.

It happened during the drought in 2012 and the bomb cyclone in 2019.

The point is, weather dominated the news cycle. It still does, especially if a snowstorm hits the region and wipes out electricity or the river outs its banks or anytime it impacts area residents and our livelihoods.

I’ve been thinking about the weather - and whether or not to include it - since listening to a speaker at the Nebraska Press Association convention in April. During a breakdown of “what readers want in newspapers,” based on age, we learned research shows individuals who identify as Gen Y or Gen Z prefer not to read weather-related items in the paper.

Since then, I have talked at length with Scott, the presenter and other news gurus, whose opinions I value, for their points of view.

Does weather matter?

Definitely. A newspaper is the recording of a community’s history. Here, in the heart of agriculture, weather plays an important role, a silent partner who urges us to go either one direction or another, based on Mother Nature’s mood. If weather plays into a news story, it should be covered.

Weather can and does affect all news beats: the stand-out athlete who breaks a state record but it doesn’t count because of wind speed; lack of precipitation and how it affects crops, best ways to treat sunburns, the deluge of storm chasers visiting northeast Nebraska over the weekend, hoping to chase “the big one.”

The more extreme a weather outbreak, the bigger chance it’s going to be covered, probably in color, most likely on Page one.

Does that mean a week-long forecast needs to be included in the weekly edition? Doubtful. I don’t pick up the World-Herald or Journal-Star for weather forecasts. I watch TWC or use its app. A March 2022 YouGov America survey reports that 41% of the 1,500 respondents rate TWC as a trustworthy news source. Count me in, too.

So, I’m curious, readers. What is your take on weather coverage in the print edition and online? Would you check conditions on the SAM website if it contains a weather graphics package, that would provide radar data and satellite imagery? Are there weather-related stories you feel should be covered?

Nature is powerful and strong. As a journalist, I feel that’s the type of story that needs to be shared in news publications. Leave the meek and the mild to water cooler or coffee shop talk.

Let us know your thoughts on weather-related coverage. We are always interested in hearing our reader’s thoughts.