I've wondered about that too.

About that newscast showing the kids walking about, it may have been made while the weather was getting a bit rough, but before the real thing hit - bad editor should have caught that!
Other instances reporter stands before the green screen in studio and storm-takes from the archives are being run as back-ground.
There appears to be the need to illustrate everything, words are not enough.

One time I saw a young reporter, reporting in a flooded area, sitting in a small row boat with the oars submerged in the water, when a couple of guys in work boots walked by and the water did not even reach the first eyelets on the laceup boots.

rofl!

Yep...........walked by the tube today and there is a man bent over double against the wind and rain reporting at a beach. It's idiotic. I really miss the days of the news being reported by a mature man, sitting behind the desk and getting 'er done in fifteen minutes. I don't mind real scenes, but can forgo the talking heads who are interviewing a gal who has a friend who was a maid for somebody or other or the consulting 'experts' with their opinions. It's like reading a tabloid only you can't line your birdcage with it.

One of the few times I 'watch TV' is occasionally during potentially severe storms - this only since I found a channel with near-continuous radar. During severe thunderstorm/tornado episodes it will zoom in to the affected area/s, otherwise the view is from the Shenandoah valley to the Delmarva coastline [and mid-Pa to Fredericksburg]; exactly the area I'm interested in. For Irene, I sometimes changed channels to see NOAA's projected track, otherwise I don't bother watching/listening to the talking heads. The more they show So-and-so out braving the elements, the more I discount their exhortations of danger.

I did see one guy supposedly on the beach at Ocean City an hour before Irene's eye was expected, talking about being in the 60-70mph winds: his raincoat barely flapping and the beach grass gently swaying on the dune behind him. Uh-huh: wherever he was, the wind wasn't more than a gentle breeze. OTOH, earlier & farther south, a reporter kept wincing and turning his back to the wind as the sand visibly blew horizontally against him and the background seagrass was mostly flat against the dunes. He commented the winds were mostly 40-50mph ~ and *that* I find more believable.

There was a lot of "mis-information" about Irene. I think the worse about any hurricane is the lack of proper information.

For example: Irene was a big one, yes.

It extended 500 miles across....yes and no. The hurricane SYSTEM ( the area in which the weather was affected) was that big. The area with the hurricane force winds and rains was much much smaller. But the Media seldom pointed out the difference. We have often been within a SYSTEM, with little rain and a slight breeze.

I think if the Media were more sensible about pointing out the very real dangers in certain area and less about screaming "run for the hills" when a cloud springs up of the coast of Africa, then we would see more people being more sensible about the dangers.

And YES....hurricanes can be terrible. But we here so much blather about getting ready, being prepared, etc. that after a while we tune the whole thing out. And that's when the danger comes. We have ignored the warnings.

The Media started in May here. "Hurricane Season starts June 1" Maps of low lying areas were published, locations of emergency shelters, oops and gobs of info. It's like this every year. It hasn't been needed in my lifetime. It's difficult to pay attention to the same old thing, over and over again.

There must be a better way of keeping the public informed and ready.

Yep..........it's one of those you're danged if you do and danged if you don't situations. Honestly, if you fly have you ever looked around to how many people are paying attention to the flight attendant when he/she describes the exits? How many times in large hotels with multiple floors have you ever once looked at the maps inside the door with the exit routes in case of fire?

We get the occasional tornado here. Not like when I was in Texas or Kansas, but it comes...it's usually very local and dies out quick.......but it touches down every couple of years and does damage. Our volunteer fire departments sound the siren once or twice a year to test it but I know for a fact when they go off most people just ignore them.
How many folks you know actually keep an emergency preparedness stash? You'll know if you ever flew downtown the night before a storm is to hit. LOL Carry a small stash in your vehicle with a blanket, flares, or reflectors? Keep fire extinguishers or a fresh first aid kit? Run your kids or grandkids through a fire drill routinely so they know what to do and where to go and what NOT to do. It isn't the school's responsibility........it is yours! Know CPR and the appropriate kind for the age of the people you many need to use it on. Have at least one battery powered radio.

I don't obsess with any of those situations but I do all of the above. It only takes a few minutes of time each year to check them and keep them current. I have to build a fire under my spouse, however, to make sure the generator is tested each fall and at least one can of fuel is handy in case we need it. My whole house is retrofitted for use without power and we have benefitted for it numerous times when we lost it for extended periods.

I get really stoked about the above simple things. But yes...........the endless rattling on about one weather front for the 'news' segment of it does turn people numb unless they're in the aread where they need to know.

When the tornado siren goes off around here one quickly looks at one's watch and scrambles to remember the day of the week. If it's Monday 9:00 a.m. then and only then does one give a sigh of relief.

In the Valley and elswhere in Alabama we are still cleaning up and rebuilding after the April tornadoes.