Atlanta NBC affiliate 11Alive is retiring its cutesy Wizometer measurement to summarize daily weather conditions after 13-plus years.
“Wiz” technically stood for Weather Information Zone and rated daily weather from 1 to 11, with 11 being the type of day to take a pleasant, leisurely walk in the park or anything outdoors.
Director of content Carol Fowler, who joined the station in December, said this move was a “content-driven decision.”
“Keeping Atlanta prepared and safe from severe weather is our top priority and will be the clear coverage promise going forward,” she said. “The purpose of the Wizometer rating was to measure the chances of having a perfect ‘11′ weather day. We found that to be at odds with our ‘Storm Trackers’ brand and communicating the day’s most accurate weather story.”
In 2010, then 11Alive news director Ellen Crooke (now senior vice president of news at 11Alive’s parent company TEGNA), told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the Wizometer idea “makes people laugh. It’s kind of funny. It’s memorable. In my 24 years in the business, I’ve never seen people react this way” to a weather presentation.
A gimmick at first, the Wizometer ended up becoming an established part of the weather forecast until new management recently took over. The station’s new general manager Kristie Gonzales arrived in September and she brought Fowler in.
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