• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, October 30, 2012

Death and taxes are a certainty. But troubling hurricane-type weather? Less so -- unless you believe in massive global weather change.

Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast has made a mess of thing, with television and political campaign changes. Lots of big asterisks for those with media plans and consumer spending goals.

Business executives, in general, like predictability.  But they get paid to solve problems when all goes wrong. A single day is one thing; a week-long problem is something else.

Millions of voters/viewers are expected to endure several days of prolonged electrical blackouts, which will affect  television, the political process, and lives. At the same time, for those who still have power, viewership could be higher for local news stations.

Yesterday, TV reporters ventured into the dramatic weather -- perhaps too much. Some TV programming execs realized retreat was more prudent. Among the late-night shows that decided to stop production last night were ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live"  and Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report.”

Two late-night shows -- CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman" and NBC's "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" -- both decided to let their respective hosts do their monologues with no studio audience. CBS and CW decided offering up original primetime programming wasn’t a good idea, and aired reruns.

Big changes -- weather or otherwise -- put things in better perspective, especially in a presidential election year.