I have covered my share of winter weather as a TV reporter. But, since I now live in Florida, I thought you might see me as lacking credibility when it comes to covering winter weather. Some time back, I turned to some journalists who know a lot about such things.
Today is a good time for us to republish their advice.
Scott Libin, former news director for KSTP in Minneapolis (now teaches at University of Minnesota):
When I got to KSTP as news director in 1998, I was a stickler for certain rules. (No, not all of them grammatical.) I insisted every live shot be established with a reporter in front of the camera 10 minutes before air — not 10 minutes before the shot was scheduled to hit; 10 minutes before the newscast began.
It took me less than one Minnesota winter to learn that things don’t work the same way in this kind of cold. Cables go rigid, masts stick and faces freeze — literally. People can’t speak normally after only a few minutes outside. It was easy for me to sit in climate-controlled comfort and insist that all remote signals, audio and lighting be checked before the open rolled, but if the reporter was visibly suffering and couldn’t form intelligible speech, all that technical excellence went to waste.
I wish all managers and producers would take weather conditions, whether sub-zero cold or summertime lightning, as seriously as they take, say, crowd control. I think we’ve all learned the hard way that some settings require extra hands in the field for safety’s sake. I think weather is one such circumstance. A one-person, unassisted live shot is tough enough under ideal conditions. It may well be unreasonable to ask in the paralyzing cold.
The best way to educate inside staffers is still to send them outside.
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Holly Paige, CEO of Wave One Group:
While my TV news days are behind me, I remember being shoved out the door by overly aggressive producers + assignment editors in Salt Lake City to cover cold-weather related stories. Here’s what I wished I knew then, and what has worked for me now:
Wool socks, wool scarf, wool hat. There’s a theme here!
Avoid wearing anything made of cotton because cotton holds moisture like a sponge.
Make sure you can be seen at night. Wear reflective gear.
I know it’s futile to change the minds of producers who are hell-bent on airing a “cold weather story”, so you’ve got to take care of yourself.
Mike Borland, chief photojournalist at WHO-TV in Des Moines:
We expand the rule usually applied to doing live shots in storms. If the crew in the field feel they are in danger, they can call off a shot. In general, we don’t do live shots when temps are below 0º. Spot news is different. Sometimes an extra person on the shot can make all the difference so one can shoot while the other gets warm.
Getting the story shot when it’s not live sometimes means shooting a little, getting warm, shooting a little more and repeating that cycle until the job is done. The camera stays cold, I don’t bring it in the car as long as it’s working. If it stays cold, it won’t fog up. I have a charger in my car, so I always have a fresh battery. Same goes with a live truck.
Anna DeVencenty, photojournalist at KCBS/KCAL (formerly from Colorado):
Keep the car colder than you would. Don’t blast the heat the whole trip because the extremes of getting in and out will take a toll on you. It also helps the equipment not to fog up. Keep the car somewhat comfortable but not hot or even too warm if you’re a crew needing to jump in and out. It also helps you acclimate.
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Todd Walker, formerly of KTUU and KTVA in Anchorage:
I grew up in Alaska and worked my first few news jobs there. Reporters, MMJ’s, photogs, anyone in the field needs to recognize what their body is telling them. Cold, numb, so cold it’s burning, suddenly feeling not so cold anymore and kind of warm, it all means different things and are warning signs from your body that something is wrong and you need to do something about it. Toughing it out will only get you hurt, and possibly permanently.
Brett Akagi, owner and operator at Akagi Media, learned a lot about cold weather work while he was at KARE 11 in Minneapolis. He sent some photos of his “must-have gear.”
(Courtesy: Brett Akagi)
The only time I suffered frostbite was in Kansas City of all places. I shot a car ax in the elements for an hour without a stocking cap. The temp was in the mid-20’s with a stiff breeze. Two hours later my ears were bright red and hurt. This only happened once, because I learned from this mistake. When I moved to Minneapolis and started working at KARE-TV a few years later, I got good advice on shooting in the cold. “Try to buy the best gear possible to keep warm.”
I used to keep my batteries warm in Minnesota by heating up a microwavable neck wrap, placing it in a small cooler, covering it with a towel and placing my batteries in the cooler.
Finally, I turned to my old friend, Scott Jensen. Today he runs his own agency in Anchorage, and he has covered everything cold in Alaska including the Iditarod in the Arctic. If there is anybody who knows something about working in extreme weather, it is Scott:
If you are going to work in a blizzard or winter weather, they make a polar cover, which is kind of like a down coat for your camera. But a camera generates a little heat and a canvas cover was enough when I worked in Alaska. If it is snowing, you need a rain cover at least. Keep your batteries close to your body to keep them warm. I have heard of people keeping hot packs around their controls if they have camera with mechanical parts, but I have never done that. I have had brand new nine-volt batteries in my wireless mic fail in extreme cold.
Remember your hands will freeze fast if your bare hands touch a metal tripod.
You should also keep your drinking water close to you in a pocket. Put it outside and it freezes fast. My parka is like a sleeping bag that you wear. I have snow pants in two different weights.
I wear my wind protection underneath my parka. Undergarments should be the “wicking” kind. I wear a polypropylene fiber skull cap and sometimes I wear a heavier wool hat over that. I wear a balaclava to keep my neck warm.
Remember, you are in charge of your OWN safety. Don’t do anything dumb.
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