Unless you live under a rock OR don't own a television--you would know that Philadelphia news teams covered Hurricane Irene nonstop throughout the storm. Personally, I switched back and forth between Channel 6 and Fox. I checked out 10 several times but not being a fan of Tim Lake or Bill Henley made me watch less than I would have otherwise. I did not watch channel 3 at all. Not a fan of Bob Kelly, Justin Drabick or Kathy Orr.
That being said, I found the coverage informative and repetitive. Of course, how can it not be repetitive when it's continuous for 30+ hours? Being in the business myself--it is very difficult to talk about the same thing over and over and to talk continuously to the point of mental exhaustion. I found Brian Taff and Shirleen Allicot to be effective and informative. Alicia Vitarelli got alot of face time as well and the jury is still out for me whether I've warmed to her or not. There is a likeability to her, yet, I find a bit of phoniness to her as well. A bit of self-involved maybe? Self-impressed, perhaps? David Murphy and Adam Joseph were very good under pressure. Joseph seems very genuine, no ego...and I like that. Again, especially for the weather and traffic people, keep in mind that all that they do is AD-LIB! Imagine doing that for 12 hours nonstop? Not easy. I also found John Bolaris, over at FOX29, to be good. SallyAnn Mosey was effective, but I personally find her to be weak. Maybe just my own thing, who knows? Kerry Barrett is very good and I like her presentation. I couldn't help but feel bad for her when I read one tweet from a person who I believe only meant well, asking within her first 30 minutes on-air "are you feeling okay? You don't look well." Another tweet asked if she had John Bolaris' pubic hair caught in her throat. She handled that one well too in her response. Thomas Drayton provides his delivery in a calming, authoritative manner. Meanwhile, Lauren Cohn seems to be in downward slope. And a question came to mind when watching Jeff Cole in the middle of the storm wearing a ball cap, clutching with one hand. That hand didn't move--it kept a firm grip on that ball cap the entire report! WHY DO REPORTERS WEAR HATS WHILE REPORTING IN A FRIGGIN' HURRICANE, I ask? The new Social Media reporter, "Kelly", could have taken a few extra minutes to do something with her appearance. Her hair looked like she may have been related to IRENE!
In flipping by Channel 10, I certainly found Glen Schwartz to be very good as well. His delivery is to the point, spot-on, no hype, just the facts. I appreciate that! Monique Braxton reported from a fatal accident scene in N.E. Philadelphia in a heavy downpour with no umbrella. Looks pretty silly to me to do that. A new Social Media reporter debuted as well with some good information to pass on.
All-in-all, a good job by all. I do find it noticeable that all the stations tend to cover the same places over-and-over. The true and tried locations. What about the flooding that ALSO occurs in Chester, Delaware county? Or in areas of Chester county?
I had to wonder where Jim Gardner was, though? He finally appeared on Sunday. Who knows, maybe he wasn't able to appear or was on vacation as was Rick Williams who returned today.
