Why? For one thing, it's funny, as you'll see in the clip below, supplemented with examples of pics Clark prefers. For another, it's true -- and as a bonus, his quasi-rant kinda/sorta bites the hand that feeds him.
As we know, the main reason viewers send TV stations their snow shots is because the outlets regularly ask for them. Montages of these images help pad out weather segments even as they create a connection between the average person and the station that translates to viewer loyalty -- plus, slide shows made up of the free photos add website pageviews. When viewed from this perspective, Clark's hilarious criticism is as much an indictment of fellow 9News employees who post such shots without a second thought as it is of viewers who would rather take a photo of wintry wonders through their sliding glass doors than step outside.
Still, the main take-away from the popularity of Clark's broadside is that TV news has become so formulaic that anything the slightest bit beyond the ordinary stands out by comparison. We hope the success of this bit inspires Clark and his peers at 9News and beyond to take a few more chances, rather than simply sharing more photos of snowy patios.
Here's the Clark commentary, followed by photos from the video of ways to spice up storm images -- either by supplementing patio pics with dolls, dogs or husbands drinking beer, or actually snapping shots from a little farther afield, even if they're not right-side up.
Continue for more photos Kyle Clark would prefer over a typical snowy-patio show.Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.
More from our Denver Blogs archive circa October 2012: "Kyle Clark leads critic's list of election cycle's best Colorado political journalism."
