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Gone are the days when local news anchors and weathermen went viral for unfortunate slips of the tongue or medical emergencies. Now these local TV staples are dancing and singing their way through their on-air reports, supposedly with the goal of making the news more “fun.”
Of course, these silly moments also coincidentally help these news anchors build their followings on TikTok.
Nick Kosir, a former meteorologist for a local Fox affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina was one of the first local anchors to enjoy viral fame. He first garnered headlines by posting copycat versions of NFL quarterback Cam Newton’s wildest fashion moments on his social media accounts, then exploded after nailing a dance challenge while wearing a business suit. Kosir earned millions of views, the nickname “The Dancing Weatherman” and the opportunity to host and co-host shows for the Fox Weather app.
Local anchors used to wait years for their chance to move up to a big network — if the opportunity ever came! — but many now seem to know that a viral video can more quickly release them from small media market purgatory.
Adam Krueger, a television meteorologist from Houston, has started his own shtick of sneaking famous song lyrics into his weather forecasts. In a recent viral clip, Krueger took on “Without Me” by Eminem, telling viewers, “Clouds providing some shade that can help with with the heat a little bit, well if you want Shady this is what I’ll give ya.” He fields requests from his loyal TikTok followers and has used song lyrics from Queen, Taylor Swift, Tupac and more in his live forecasts, even earning a shoutout from famous rapper Snoop Dogg after doing one of his songs.
Mike Taylor, who works for Detroit’s ABC affiliate, is another dancing weatherman who has pulled the whole news team into the game. An article on his moves in the Michigan Chronicle notes that Taylor “realized this spontaneous and cool Instagram reel was the type of content that drew more people than much of his weather content on his personal accounts.”
A Minnesota sports anchor by the name of Chris Long got creative on the back of pop star Taylor Swift’s concert in Minneapolis, writing forty of Swift’s song titles into his live newscast of highlights from a recent Twins game. WSLS said their meteorologist Chris Michaels “is going viral on TikTok after his recent witty forecasts” that also feature hidden song lyrics.
Most of these local TV stars say they are just trying to “spread positivity” with their antics. Call Cockburn a curmudgeon, but he preferred it when his weathermen just read the forecast without trying to get famous.
