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'Storm-Chaser' Death: Unnecessary Tragedy?

The death of Discovery's "Storm Chasers" stars Tim Samaras and Carl Young in last Friday's tornado in Oklahama City was a tragedy that, according to one commentator, points up the need for reevaluating the practice of TV's weather reporting. "Storm chasers – who pursued the tornadic storms much too closely – set a poor example and need to re-examine their priorities," writes Jason Samenow.

Meanwhile, the National Geographic Society (Samaras  was "a grantee of the Society," according to Hollywood Reporter's Erik Hayden) has another take on storm chasing: "Tim was a courageous and brilliant scientist who fearlessly pursued tornadoes and lightning in the field in an effort to better understand these phenomena."

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1 comment about "'Storm-Chaser' Death: Unnecessary Tragedy?".
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  1. Daphne Talbot from Talbot Services Corp., June 4, 2013 at 8:25 a.m.

    I live in Oklahoma. The local news station storm chasers are often the first to see the tornadoes so are the first to warn locals. They are saving lives. We need those storm chasers.

    The out of state and armature storm chasers get in the legit chasers, locals and emergency responders way, endangering locals lives. We need these storm chasers to stay away.

    Who is to blame? Base stupidity is first then the mass media who is buying and selling sensationalism.

    I find it ironic that it is the "media" calling attention to this.

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Phyllis Fine is the editor of MediaPost's Marketing Daily and Marketing Insider. You can reach Phyllis at pfine@mediapost.com.