I've Given Up On The Weather Channel

Twice today I've sat in front of my television with the idea that The Weather Channel (TWC) would show me a national map with current radar imaging. I wanted to know where it was raining, where it wasn't and which way any thunderstorms were heading.

At one time, that was TWC's stock in trade. Not any more. TWC has increasingly blended "entertainment" programming into its schedule, moving away from the format that once drew me to it glowing presence several times a day.

I've watched this progression and simmered a bit while waiting for information of substance. Today, though, I finally had enough.

In the morning while having my first cup of coffee I was subjected to 10 minutes of blabber.

Most of that time - the 10-minute space between Local On The Eights (LOTE) - was filled with an aging rocker plugging his environmental web site and the re-release of a new album. The meteorologists gushed. TWC also managed to plug in a short feature of some kind. Maybe it was on the oil spill or the space shuttle. All I could think was, "Where's the map?".

Today while having an early sandwich, I again turned on TWC just as a LOTE started. I sat there, thinking that surely when it finished that the U.S. radar map would be presented. It's didn't. What I got, instead, was a mini-feature on tornado hunters and the upcoming business travel forecasts, basically wide guesses about rain and temps over the next week. Then a commercial, followed by the next LOTE segment.

Remember that the there's 10 minutes between each LOTE segment, so I've essentially blown 20 minutes today without ever once seeing a national radar map, not even a hint of it.

It can be argued that all I have to do to see the map is go to the channel's web site and pull up the video there. But, pardon my 21st Century outlook, I wanna see something live.

I've had it with TWC. I want my 20 minutes back.

- Owen Taylor