There's an old saying in Colorado's ski country regarding weather reports and predictions of snowfall: "I'll believe it when I'm shoveling it."
That's what I was thinking to myself several weeks ago as I sat on my couch, sifting through some ideas for a weekly opinion column in the western Colorado-based Summit Daily News, where I was, until recently, employed as a reporter. Little did I know that my musings on the weather would lead to the sudden end of my reporting career with that newspaper.
As I often do when I'm writing, I turned on The Weather Channel. Like many avid skiers, I'm always on the lookout for snow as the season approaches.
On this particular weekend, a wicked upslope storm was pounding the Denver area and the foothills with snow. When The Weather Channel zeroed in on Colorado, I looked up to see a former colleague at the Summit Daily doing a stand-up interview with weather reporter Mike Seidel. These days, the ex-Summit Daily reporter works public relations for Vail Resorts, by far the biggest ski company in Colorado.
So I set down my laptop and watched, getting the distinct impression that Vail Resorts was trying to create a perception of widespread snow in Colorado. In my mind, the simple fact that Vail Resorts was represented in the interview was part of that effort; otherwise, why not interview a weather expert who might present some fact-based information?
I understand that The Weather Channel is as much about entertainment as it is about the weather. But many people still rely on the station for accurate information. So it irked me to see that there was no mention of the fact that on my side of the Rockies – the western side -- it was warm, dry and sunny. No snow at all, no boon for skiers at Vail Resorts. That glaring omission seemed another sign that truth in weather reporting was at risk. I wouldn't call it a conspiracy to sell more season passes, but then again, those passes are a key source of revenue for Vail Resorts these days.
About that same time, the chairman of Vail Resorts sent out a photo of snow on the deck of his house near Boulder -- on the eastern side of the Rockies. That's when I decided to write a column about the weather; how it's reported and how it's sometimes subject to a bit of massaging by the ski resorts.
The first part was easy. I explained the conditions that lead to an upslope storm. Then I gently chided Vail Resorts for its spin on the weather and suggested that the ski areas and the mountain communities nearby would be better served in the long term by honesty and transparency.
Apparently, I hit a nerve, because Rob Katz, the CEO of Vail, called me a few hours after the column was published to complain that I had questioned his personal integrity. I told him that I've lived in the mountains for a long time and that I recognize a snow job when I see one. Katz replied that the column called into question his company's ability to work with me and my newspaper.
A few days later, I was called into the publisher's office. I was told that the ski company had pulled its advertising and that as a result it would be difficult for the newspaper to make up a quarterly budget shortfall. I was also told that I had a lot of groveling to do if I wanted to repair the situation. I was shaken at first, but a few days later, I asked my editor to back me up. Wishful thinking on my part.
I was fired a week later, for reasons "not directly related to the column," according to an e-mail from the editor, who claimed that my termination was the consequence of a long record of issues that had been documented in annual reviews. As icing on the cake, the paper offered me about $3,000 not to talk about the termination. I didn't take it.
This whole thing leaves me still shaking my head. Not that I've given up reporting the facts as I see them. These days, I write stories for my new Web site, the Summit County Voice. I'm planning to set it up as a nonprofit, grassroots community news source, published only on the Web. I may even take some time out to enjoy some skiing -- when it snows.
Bob Berwyn is a contributor to Writers on the Range, a service of High Country News (hcn.org). He writes in Frisco, Colorado.
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We in no way threatened or asked for Bob Berwyn to be dismissed. We simply expressed disappointment when very serious allegations about us were made and we had not been contacted beforehand for comment. Since Rob and all of us have worked with Bob many times and thought we had a relationship whereby we could call one another when there was an issue, we thought there was nothing wrong to call him and Jim Morgan to express our disappointment. Bob knows full well that happens every day at every newspaper across the country. We expect the media to hold us accountable, and they do, but that also means that anyone should be able to hold the media accountable, especially when balance and fairness are at issue. We work with journalists every day across Colorado, the country and the globe. There have been many stories written or broadcasted about us that we may not have liked or agreed with, but never have we threatened someone's position because of our disappointment.
Second, we do not exaggerate snowfall totals. We adhere to the guidelines of measuring and reporting snowfall totals that Colorado Ski Country put together for all of the resorts and we are completely transparent with our reporting - after all, our web cams do not lie. We are unaware of any credible allegations of us misrepresenting snowfall. Furthermore, our guests and employees share real-time, accurate information about snow conditions through social media. Several of our employees did tweet from their personal accounts (which are completely transparent in their profiles about where they live) that our corporate offices were closing early during the big mid-October storm which shut down most of the Front Range for two days - when our ski resorts were not open for the winter. We, like many others in Colorado, enjoy celebrating snow. There's absolutely nothing inappropriate or disingenuine about that.
Third, our company advertises in numerous local, national and international publications and websites that often say things we don’t like, but that in no way affects our advertising policy with them. What is of serious concern to us is not being treated fairly by misrepresenting facts (and not inclined to correct mistakes) or, even worse, not contacting us at all for comment on stories about us - and especially when this becomes a regular pattern of behavior over time, as was the case with Bob’s reporting on stories about us. We hold the media accountable in the same way that we expect to be held accountable.
Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz blogged about what happened, as did the publisher of the Summit Daily News in the paper.
http://news.vailresorts.com/article_displa…
I have worked with Bob for a long time in my public relations capacity here at Vail Resorts and can name numerous instances, particularly in the past two years, where it seemed unimportant for him to contact us for comment on a story involving one of our resorts or company, in the interest of fairness and balance in reporting.
I would encourage you to consider the facts of this story, not just one person's account.
Kelly Ladyga
VP Corporate Communications
Vail Resorts