Are TV Weather People And Grocery Stores Conspiring?

It's cold today in Howe, Indiana. Not only is it cold but we have our first measurable snowfall of the season. We woke up this morning to a winter wonderland. Three inches of snow had fallen overnight. Now, this happens every year about this time, but people seem to forget that. It's the first snow and everyone goes into "winter storm" mode. OIn fact we go through this just about every time it gets cloudy and the winds come off the Great Lakes to our northwest.

The TV stations begin with dire warnings of nearly a foot of snow with blowing and drifting, causing white out conditions. Wives call their husbands at work and instruct them to stop at the store and get bread, milk, and other staples to have in the house just in case they get snowed in. All the children are anxiously watching the weather and the news to see if they get a "snow day," allowing them the day off from school. Yes every year we have all this hype and hoopla surrounding the first snow event. But what drives this phenomenon?

I wonder, since I am a closet conspiracy theorist, if the grocery stores, hardware stores, TV stations and radio stations aren't in collusion in fostering the urgent call to action in this and other similar situations? Think about who has something to gain in the whole matter.

Take grocery stores, for example. How many husbands got calls from their wives yesterday, based on the weather reports, to "stop by the store, honey, because Mecklenburg, on Channel 22, says we are getting a winter storm tonight. We might get snowed in." Consider our local Channel 22. They have a potential viewing audience of close to 5 million people. Let's assume that they are reaching just five percent of the audience. That gives us 250,000 people who heard of the winter storm and the urgency to prepare for it. We can further narrow our sample down to this; out of the 250,000 people who heard the message, for arguments sake, lets say that ten percent respond by going grocery shopping, when they had not already planned to do so. That means that 25,000 people spent money at their local grocer, when they would not have otherwise.

Now, having said all that, we all know you just don't get bread and milk when you go to the store. It doesn't matter which one of local grocers I go to. They are all set up that you have to go completely through the store to get to the bread and milk. Scott's Foods in Kendallville, Indiana is one of my favorite stops. It's usually later in the evening, I haven't eaten supper and my 6 year old boy is with me. Get the picture? You have a man and a six year old boy, fresh our of Pee Wee Basketball practice, who have not eaten yet. It's a grocer's dream!

When you enter Scott's the first thing you see is sale items that you can't do without. And immediately to the left of that is our downfall; the fresh baked goods section. I can never get past this section without a couple of items. Proceeding from there I go through fresh fruit and veggies. We can always use some lettuce, green onions and cucumbers; and, wow, do those apples look good. I bet the wife wants some more bananas; something about potassium. After a few discreet selections from the produce aisle it's on to the butcher section, and since I'm here they have a special on chicken breast and ground round. I'd better not pass up that. From the meat section I have to travel down a couple of aisles with many entrees just jumping off the shelves into my cart, on my way to the bread section. From bread, to get to milk, I have to pass the soda pop aisle and a couple of cases find their way into the cart. "Hey, wait," my little boys says, "Dad, we need some chips and popcorn." Since I'm as hungry as he is his idea seems very good, so Doritos, plain chips, and bar b cue take their place in the cart by the bread. Finally we reach the milk section.

It's funny how the milk section works. Here you fiind the goodies that make the chips you just bought better; French onion chip dip, salsa, guacamole dip, and veggie dip for those cucumbers and green onions you picked up on the way - better grab them! Finally we have milk and we're on our way to the checkout stand, but one more section lies in our path to the door; the ice cream section. The next words out of my son Luke's mouth; "Dad, can we get some ice cream?" What the heck? We might as well, since we're here. After feeling like I've run the gauntlet we finally reach our destination; checkout.

As I watch the items we've chosen go past the scanner, hear the incessant beeping sound as the price is registered, I begin to have some second thoughts, but it's too late now. "That will be one hundred twenty two dollars and fifty eight cents sir," says the nice young lady working the checkout. "Will that be cash, check or credit card? Do you want paper or plastic?" What I want at that point is to kick myself! I fell for it again.

Now back to our calculations. If 25,000 people, who respond to the weather forecast go to the store, and on the average, spend just $50.00 each (some have a little more willpower than I) that is 2.5 million dollars! Keep in mind this was the calculation based on just one of the 6 TV stations, not to mention radio stations, reporting the same "winter storm" warnings! You can do the math from there.

Now, I ask you who has a vested interest in this "sky is falling" reporting? Well, as I've depicted clearly, grocers, but what about the others? You need ice melt, snow shovels, and possibly new tires on your car. Think of all the other items that come to mind when you believe a serious winter storm is approaching. You must make sure all your vehicles are filled completely with gas, and you'd better have some snacks stashed away in the glove box and a blanket in the back seat, you know, just in case. But what about the TV and radio stations, how do they benefit? Who advertises on their stations to pay the salaries of the weather and news people? You guessed it; grocery stores, hardware stores, and discount stores. So call me a conspiracy theorist if you will, but this is my story and I'm sticking to it. Happy emergency shopping!