Whether it was from his time at KOMU in Columbia or his recent move southward to KSPR in Springfield, Josh DeBerge has a busy time keeping his eyes to the skies. Recently (between flooding rains, severe weather outbreaks, and tornadoes) I had a chance to chat with Josh.
2K:How is life behind the scenes at KSPR?
JD: Life "behind the scenes" at KSPR is good. I think the thing I admire themost about the people here is how hard working they are. It's no secretthat we're the underdog in the market, but that just means we work evenharder and I think it shows in the product we put out. The atmosphere, forthe most part, is laid back and relaxed. Everyone's excited about the movewe'll be making into a new facility in the next year or so!
2K: Is there one thing you have learned in your time at either at KOMU or at KSPR that you wished you would have learned in college?
JD: College certainly teaches you the ropes of forecasting and theins-and-outs of television. But I wasn't prepared for the hateful peoplethat are out there. I guess it isn't something that can be taught but Iwas surprised at how rude and thoughtless many people can be - whetherit's after cutting in to their favorite program, busting a forecast, orsaying the wrong thing.
2K: KSPR has been leading the way in connecting with the viewers indifferent mediums, such as the Weather blog and the new chat room. Why is this important to you?
JD: There are several answers to this question. When we first tossed aroundthe idea of the blog it was primarily because no one else in the Ozarkswas doing it. We felt it would be a unique feature that could provide awealth of information for people in southern Missouri and northernArkansas. It has exceeded all of my expectations and blog trafficcontinues to grow (the active weather of late certainly hasn't hurt).It also gave us a chance to connect on a more personal level with viewersand weather enthusiasts. We realized that the days of being a one-waycommunication tool are gone. With the Internet at everyone's fingertips,viewers want more information than we can give in a 3 minute weathercast.We can give an almost unlimited amount of information on the blog.I should say that a blog associated with a television station certainlyisn't new, but I think the interactivity we've brought to it is! Forexample, during the January 7 tornado outbreak, viewers asked questions onthe blog and almost instantly got an answer on-the-air. It helped usrefine our coverage to better serve our viewers as we got feedback andquestions. Many people are at home, scared, and we've been told time andagain that our personal responses put them at ease. Now, as the blog getsmore and more popular it becomes much more difficult to keep that personaltouch, but we'll continue to do it as long as we can! The chat is just areal-time verson of the blog and it shows promise!My thought about it all is that people make better decisions when theyhave an abundance of accurate information. I want people to make gooddecisions during severe weather and if manning the blog or chat is theanswer, then I'm going to do it. I guess above everything else, that iswhy it's important to me.
2K: Do you have an I-Pod? If so, what songs are on it?
JD: I have all my favorite songs on my I-Pod Nano and I actually like not knowing what song is coming up next. About half of it is filled with whatall my friends call my "melancholy mix" which is collection of indie,alternative, and R&B. The other half is filled with Christian music. Ialso don't mind techno on a long drive.
2K: What are some of your favorite tv shows?
JD: Me and my girlfriend are completely obsessed with LOST and we're weeklywatchers of Prison Break. I like Top Chef and for some reason, every timeAmerica's Funniest Home Videos is on...I'm watching.
2K:How is life behind the scenes at KSPR?
JD: Life "behind the scenes" at KSPR is good. I think the thing I admire themost about the people here is how hard working they are. It's no secretthat we're the underdog in the market, but that just means we work evenharder and I think it shows in the product we put out. The atmosphere, forthe most part, is laid back and relaxed. Everyone's excited about the movewe'll be making into a new facility in the next year or so!
2K: Is there one thing you have learned in your time at either at KOMU or at KSPR that you wished you would have learned in college?
JD: College certainly teaches you the ropes of forecasting and theins-and-outs of television. But I wasn't prepared for the hateful peoplethat are out there. I guess it isn't something that can be taught but Iwas surprised at how rude and thoughtless many people can be - whetherit's after cutting in to their favorite program, busting a forecast, orsaying the wrong thing.
2K: KSPR has been leading the way in connecting with the viewers indifferent mediums, such as the Weather blog and the new chat room. Why is this important to you?
JD: There are several answers to this question. When we first tossed aroundthe idea of the blog it was primarily because no one else in the Ozarkswas doing it. We felt it would be a unique feature that could provide awealth of information for people in southern Missouri and northernArkansas. It has exceeded all of my expectations and blog trafficcontinues to grow (the active weather of late certainly hasn't hurt).It also gave us a chance to connect on a more personal level with viewersand weather enthusiasts. We realized that the days of being a one-waycommunication tool are gone. With the Internet at everyone's fingertips,viewers want more information than we can give in a 3 minute weathercast.We can give an almost unlimited amount of information on the blog.I should say that a blog associated with a television station certainlyisn't new, but I think the interactivity we've brought to it is! Forexample, during the January 7 tornado outbreak, viewers asked questions onthe blog and almost instantly got an answer on-the-air. It helped usrefine our coverage to better serve our viewers as we got feedback andquestions. Many people are at home, scared, and we've been told time andagain that our personal responses put them at ease. Now, as the blog getsmore and more popular it becomes much more difficult to keep that personaltouch, but we'll continue to do it as long as we can! The chat is just areal-time verson of the blog and it shows promise!My thought about it all is that people make better decisions when theyhave an abundance of accurate information. I want people to make gooddecisions during severe weather and if manning the blog or chat is theanswer, then I'm going to do it. I guess above everything else, that iswhy it's important to me.
2K: Do you have an I-Pod? If so, what songs are on it?
JD: I have all my favorite songs on my I-Pod Nano and I actually like not knowing what song is coming up next. About half of it is filled with whatall my friends call my "melancholy mix" which is collection of indie,alternative, and R&B. The other half is filled with Christian music. Ialso don't mind techno on a long drive.
2K: What are some of your favorite tv shows?
JD: Me and my girlfriend are completely obsessed with LOST and we're weeklywatchers of Prison Break. I like Top Chef and for some reason, every timeAmerica's Funniest Home Videos is on...I'm watching.
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