Weather Channel
The Weather Channel ® Personalities
The Weather Channel ® has had numerous personalities deliver the weather over its lifetime since 1982. Part of which made The Weather Channel ® famous was formed from many of its on-air personalities.
The on-camera meteorologists, know as "OCM's" worked on a 24/7 basis. Shifts with long hours compared with local networks was common. The on-camera meteorologists had to become proficient in all area of weather and
geography too. Hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, ice storms, snow storms all needed to be covered with expertise. The on-air talent also needed to present weather from various climates, and geographical locations. The
meteorologists who joined The Weather Channel ® had to become in a sense 'super weather presenters".
Some of The Weather Channel ® OCM's are mostly field reporters and others from the studio.
The Weather Channel ® History
The Weather Channel ® first went on the air in 1982. It was founded by meteorologist John Coleman and business partner Landmark Communications ® of Norfolk, Virginia. Atlanta, Georgia
was chosen for the ultimate company site with the "quality of life" being a deciding factor for the location. The Weather Channel® began with a small staff of meteorologists, graphic artists, technical directors and
business people. The idea that anyone would watch weather appeared to be laughable. The Weather Channel ® struggled for it's first few years operating with budget deficits. In August of 1983
Lankmark nearly closed The Weather Channel ® down. Frank Battan, president of the company decided to give it more time. A plan to charge subscribers was pitched to the cable companies that carried The
Weather Channel®. The proposal was accepted and helped bring the company out of the red. The Weather Channel ® steadily grew into a multi-million dollar company. The company grew and prospered on the
philosophy of "weather is the star". Meteorologists were dedicated to the company and a great comradery existed between the staff. Foremost, The Weather Channel ® can thank the late John Hope for
for their success. John Hope was the hurricane forecaster who kept the public informed during the hurricane season. He was a man of great knowledge, wisdom, and kindess.
By the early 2000's, The Weather Channel ®
started to slowly decline. No longer was The Weather Channel ® one of only a few cable companies. By now there were many, many cable stations, each taking a bite of the total TV audience. The more TV stations,
the more potential to lose viewers. With this competitive challange new weather "shows" were launched. The days were gone to find curent weather around the clock. To balance this problem, more resources
were poured into Weather.com ®, The Weather Channel's® sister company on the internet. Weather.com ® increased its popularity markedly as the marketplace changed to more internet savy viewers.
The year 2009 brought more changes to The Weather Channel ®. Landmark Communications ® sold the company that changed the way people watched weather. A group of companies including NBC, Blackstone Group, and Bain Capital
purchased The Weather Channel ® for 3.5 billion dollars. The group downsized in an effort to save costs including many of the familiar Weather Channel ® personalites.
The Weather Channel ® Studios
The Weather Channel ® has always been located in Atlanta, Georgia, although a few smaller sales offices exist in other cities. The first few years the office was on top of Mt. Wilkinson, where General Sherman got his
first look at Atlanta during the Civil War. The Weather Channel ® found its second home in the same office park just a short distance away. Because of it's rapid growth during the late 1980's and early 1990's The Weather Channel ®
needed to find a much larger space. Landmark Communications ® bought a building on the northwest side of Atlanta, just outside of the Perimeter. This is the present home of the Weather Channel ® studios.
The Weather Channel ® Message Board
Come visit Tropicalweather.net's Weather Channel Message board! Rich Johnson, Tropicalweather.net's president and lead forecaster worked at The
Weather Channel ® for over 25 years. He can sharing insite about The Weather Channel ® with you and hopefully answer your questions. Post your questions or discussions under the "public weather forums - weather channel".
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