Well Played
Advice to media professionals: When people are critical of your work, follow the lead of WMC-TV weatherman Spencer Denton and remind your critics there are dead children in the world, and it’s sad.
This proved effective last week when Denton joined other local weather forecasters in over-hyping a winter storm that never really happened in Memphis but still resulted in event cancellations, school closings, and businesses shuttering.
On the night before the “storm,” Denton dropped a post on his “Spencer Denton Meteorologist” Facebook page implying that, even if his prediction turns out wrong (like it did), people need to chillax and think about unrelated tragedies, like the recent death of 2-year-old Noah Chamberlin, an East Tennessee boy whose body was found several days after he disappeared during a hike with his grandmother.
“We are already getting blasted by people about our forecast, and the event hasn’t even happened yet. And some of the comments are personal attacks,” Denton wrote. “Funny thing is, I really don’t care. All I can think about is that little boy Noah and what he endured over the past several days. It puts things in perspective. If you get 3 to 6 inches of snow, enjoy a snow day with family and friends. If you get an inch or less, be thankful for less accidents on the roads. Whether my forecast is right or wrong, I get to go home to a little two-year-old girl tonight, for that I am truly thankful. #RIPNOAH.”
Neverending Elvis
If it’s true, this has to be one of the saddest “what ifs” in pop history. In an interview with the Orange County Register, honky-tonk torchbearer Dwight Yoakam claimed that Elvis Presley heard a recording of David Bowie’s “Golden Years” and called the Thin White Duke to ask if he’d consider producing a future record for him. It was 1977, six months before death week prime.