Gear Lets Reporters Get Fashionably Wet

(From The Altanta Journal-Constitution -- By Jill Vejnoska)

What'll they call the next one, HURRICANE DIOR?

HURRICANE TV SEASON is here again and the outlook is for torrential waves of windbreakers with frequent outbreaks of network insignia-boasting ball caps.

And don't even get us started on those jammed-up ponytails and geekers-delight goggles currently being sported all over the 24-hour cable news airwaves.

HURRICANE KATRINA blew into the South with 130-mph winds, and once again, all the boring, button-down fashion rules blew out the window.

"We don't give reporters outfits to wear," said FOX NEWS CHANNEL spokesman PAUL SCHUR. "STEVE HARRIGAN in GULFPORT, MISSISSIPPI, has been wearing a pair of sturdy goggles and rubber shoes that grip well in the mud when the wind gets high."

Uh-huh. And that's all anyone's been talking about?

Flood levels and power outages are important, sure, but the question on many Hurricane TV watchers' lips is, "What's that ANDERSON COOPER is wearing?"

Answer -- A red heavy-duty jacket with A CNN LOGO the approximate size of a white cumulus cloud emblazoned over the heart area. Visible on-air in even the stormiest conditions, the jacket is part of the uniform severe weather gear that CNN began issuing after HURRICANE DENNIS in July.

"The safety of our people is always foremost and paramount," said CNN spokeswoman MEGAN MAHONEY of the waterproof outfits made by outdoor outfitters PATAGONIA. "The colors were chosen because they are the network logo colors."

(Proving how dangerous this coverage can be, CNN's mobile hurricane satellite center was heavily damaged Monday afternoon when a chunk of fence landed atop HURRICANE ONE and a hotel sign smashed a window. No one was injured.)

Not to be outdone, THE ATLANTA-BASED WEATHER CHANNEL, commissioned special L.L. BEAN GORE-TEX PARKAS. In WEATHER CHANNEL blue with the network insignia, they can be worn with either of two pairs of boots the network issues, including the waterproof STORM CHASER SHOES. The 24-hour channel say it's less about looking good than creating the conditions for their people to do good work. Still, anything that makes one network stand out helps.

Unless they're all under one corporate roof.

"If you look on our air, you'll see two distinguishing things, either an NBC NEWS BALL CAP or an MSNBC NEWS BALL CAP," said DAVID VERDI, Vice President of Worldwide Newsgathering for the various NBC NETWORKS. "Either is fine with us. We'll advertise any way we can."