49 WEATHER FOCUS Live Broadcasting
into the 1960s and 1970s, because this has always been a weather-driven market,” says Spessard. “And a lot of times, it really is life or death.” Griffin Communications was one of the first broadcast companies to use radar for weather reporting, and one of the first to use colour radar, as well as being a pioneer in tornado forecasting. “I don’t think it would be overstating it to say that the idea of storm chasing started in Oklahoma City, in terms of people going out and finding the storms and showing video as a way of warning people what’s coming,” says Spessard. “We’ve been doing that for years.” Griffin even created its own technology, using satellite to transmit video from storm chasers back to local stations. It was built on a similar concept to bonded cellular technology, but used cellphones to satellite. “At the time it was great, but compared to what you can do now, it was elementary. The video would break up a lot, you would lose frames, it was slow. But back then it was awesome, because nobody else was doing anything like it,” explains Spessard. In the last few years, the company has found bonded cellular technology to be the
chasers are household names. Geared up with cellular bonded units, they are spread all around Oklahoma. The network also employs them for other remote coverage, including stories on the state’s not- infrequent wildfires. “This livestreaming coverage really makes people feel like they’re part of it all. Right now we have 30 bonded cellular units, so that’s 30 different people who can be streaming at the same time if we need it. It’s really increased our ability to be there to cover the event. It’s increased the quality of the coverage,” says Spessard. In the Griffin studios, the weather team uses data and forecasting from Baron, which provides weather intelligence to businesses, governments and consumers. Newsroom workflows are built entirely on Avid. Griffin is also one of the only networks in the US that has its own dual-polarisation radar system for tracking weather. “This technology has transformed our industry,” says Spessard. “I sometimes think technology has reached a point where it will plateau because I’m not sure what else we would want to do, but it wouldn’t surprise me if in a few years everyone is shooting on a 4K smartphone.”
THIS TECHNOLOGY HAS TRANSFORMED OUR INDUSTRY
way forward in its live weather reporting – as well as its regular news coverage. Griffin was an early adopter of the Teradek and LiveU, and is now using Dejero. “We’ve sold our satellite trucks. We still have a couple of ENG trucks, but we only use those where the mass of people with cellphones at a location is so great that the bonded cellular struggles a little bit. But as the cell towers put up more connectivity, it gets easier and easier,” adds Spessard. BEING PART OF THE COVERAGE The storm chasers contracted to Griffin now stream continuously, from waiting in the truck for a storm to break to the major weather events. Social media is a big part of their coverage and a few of the storm
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