May 22, 2007 - As of today we have had over 1160 concerned citizens sign the petition to fire Katie Horner.  This shows the majority of Kansas City television viewers believe there are better and more responsible ways of reporting weather emergencies.

We can't leave the pro Katie Stormgasm crowd out.  Of the 150 comments this site has received since its inception, we have received approximately 80 that were positive to her coverage or attacking this website and/or its contributors.  So for those keeping score at home, that's 1160 to 80 in favor of more responsible severe weather alerts.

May 5, 2007 - I had the unwelcome experience of traveling through western Kansas along I-70 to Denver via car during last night's storms that razed Greensburg, KS.  Throughout the ordeal we were stayed glued to our radio.  Both FM and AM stations were alerting the public with brief interruptions about where and when warnings were occurring and what to do.  They would then return to normal programming.  There was no hysteria, no panic, and certainly no sensationalizing of the tragedy. 

KCTV5, Katie Horner, and the rest of the bunch here in KC should take a second to learn how real professionals alert a public that is in far greater risk to severe storms than the KC area.

May 3, 2007 - The KC Star posts another follow-up to the story about firekatie.com, this time to get Katie Horner's opinions.  As if that wasn't enough, the good folks over at the Lawrence Journal World put up this piece which drew some very funny comments.

April 16, 2007 - KCTV 5 preempts the second half hour of a one hour CBS Evening News Special that was scheduled to air between 5:30 and 6:30 pm CST to bring viewers their "Live, Late Breaking, and Instigative" local news report to update us on all the local news that has unfolded since their 5:00 pm newscast.

Mar 28, 2007 - We've put the Forum back online.

Mar 26, 2007 - On Mar 17, 2007 at 10:02 AM, Troy Diggs AKA Amnewsboy, a news producer for KMBC 9, posts the following update to KCTV 5's Wikipedia entry:

"In [[February 2007]], viewers angry over what they deemed as "excessive" severe weather coverage on KCTV (and other stations in the city) created a Web site called [http://www.firekatie.com FireKatie.com]. The site called for the termination of KCTV meteorologist Katie Horner, but thus far, has proven unsuccessful.[http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/entertainment/16838577.htm]" [3]

Mar 21, 2007 - KSHB TV 41 (NBC affiliate) and Chief Meteorologist Gary Lezak preempted a new episode of NBC's hit new series "Friday Night Lights" on Wednesday, Mar, 21 for a half hour "Extreme Weather" special in an attempt to justify interrupting primetime programming for weather.  We question whether this programming would have been more appropriate for broadcast 5, 6, or 10:30 PM or anytime during the day or weekend for that matter.  It's just yet another example of how local affiliates are sensationalizing severe weather and putting viewers lives in danger for the sake of racking up air time during primetime. 

On a side note, they were kind enough to provide a crawl during the hour long flashback to severe weather that occurred 4 or 5 years ago to inform viewers to tune in at 2:05 AM on Thursday to catch the pre-empted episode... less than 12 hours notice.

Gary Lezak responded on his Action Weather Blog to the complaints:

"[C]oncerning the special, and I have taken a lot of heat tonight. More than ever before in my career. I have to explain what happened.

NBC had a Dateline repeat scheduled for tonight and then late last week they decided to put in a brand new episode of Friday Night Lights. This is where everything got messed up. I wish we would have moved the special to another night that had a repeat on. So, this is why this controversy developed. I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. I didn't even know until tonight what had happened. But, there are a lot of angry viewers saying some ridiculously angry things to me."

"[T]here are a lot of angry viewers saying some ridiculously angry things to me," and rightfully so Gary.  This sort of "special" has no business in primetime.  If the special was only a half hour, there is a perfect time slot for it right after the 6:00 PM newscast.  It could have also been broken up into 5 minute segments for broadcast during your regular news programming.  KSHB has 21 other hours of programming to fill and this sort of self promotion belongs there and not in primetime. 

Whether it's Gary's decision or not, Gary is the one in front of the camera and it is he who rightfully deserves criticism along with what ever news director authorized this waste of air time.

Mar 12, 2007 - March 12-16 is Severe Weather Awareness week in Kansas and the City of Olathe has this to say about severe weather alerts, "A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) All-Hazards Radio is the fastest and most reliable way to receive severe weather watches, warnings and advisories and information about other community hazards." [2]

Mar 12, 2007 - The Kansas City Star has posted letters from concerned readers responding to the recent coverage of FireKatie.com and KCTV 5's weather coverage.  You can read them here and here.

Mar 7, 2007 - The Star's Aaron Barnhart offers this follow-up to the wall-to-wall weather controversy that plagues the Kansas City airwaves.

Mar 6, 2007 5:00 PM - 980 KMBZ's Shanin & Parks discuss Firekatie.com and which meteorologist would you tenure and which would you fire?

Mar 6, 2007 - The Kansas City Star has chimed in with "Fire Katie - an Idea Whose Time has dot-com?" - by Aaron Barnhart

Mar 2, 2007 - Be sure to tune into The Wild Wild Westmar Show  March 6th at 6 PM CST  where they will be discussing FireKatie.com and everything that is Katie Horner.  You can catch the show online at wildwildwestmar.com or kchost.net.

Mar 2, 2007 - We went Wayback and found Katie's bio from 1996.  Enjoy.

Mar 2, 2007 - FireKatie.com has KC all abuzz. Whether your favorite talk radio station is 980 KMBZ or 710 KCMO you no doubt heard what we did as Kris Ketz and Gary Lezak along with their radio counter parts circled the wagons to defend their sensationalist reporting.  Your voices are being heard and having an impact and it's only been 24 hrs since FireKatie.com launched.  Sign the petition and keep the pressure on.

Mar 1, 2007 5:45 PM - The crowd at KCTalk.com are chatting up the movement.

Mar 1, 2007 4:15 PM - We've been Dugg.

Mar 1, 2007 3:42 PM - Tony's Kansas City takes the time to talk about FireKatie.com.

Mar 1, 2007 12:24 PM - We've received word we were mentioned on the Darla Jaye Show on KMBZ 980 this morning as callers all over the metro called up to voice their concerns over Katie's broadcasts.

Tell your friends about FireKatie.com!

Sign the Petition

The Response

Despite the outpouring of support we've received from people all over the metro who are also concerned with the current trend in weather reporting by local affiliates and the swarms of you signing our petition, we have received a few hate messages as well.  Here are just a few for your viewing pleasure.  These messages are posted unedited with misspellings, grammatical errors and all:

"i like katie a lot...get over it." - Mike Drake

FK:  We don't dislike Katie, we don't like her coverage of weather emergencies.

"Someone mentioned this site at lunch today as a classic example of how mean spirited people in this nation have become. I didn't believe someone could get so bent out of shape over something like this. I was wrong. Are you crazy? If you don't like how this person does her job, change the channel! You need a life." - Alan Farris

FK:  Mean spirited?  FireKatie.com is freedom of speech in action.  All these network execs care about is ratings, ratings that are suspect at that.  How much are her ratings due to CSI viewership hoping she will return them to regular programming versus people who enjoy her ridiculous recommendations and false alarms?  If you think they are doing wall-to-wall coverage of thunder storms for 5 to 6 straight hours for people's safety you are fooling yourself.  While Katie was busy telling us to drag mattresses into our basements she didn't even bother to give us the exact location of the tornado that was on the ground in Miami county.  Thankfully no one was hurt.

"If you are old enough to remember the horrific tornado that hit Ruskin Heights in the 50's you might see the importance of pre-warning.  I'm sure there would have been far fewer deaths, had this been available then. In particular, I remenber standing in our driveway in Grain Valley, seeing the storm come through in the western sky, the MASS DESTRUCTION, AND THE LITTLE CHILDS LIFELESS BODY HANGING FROM THE WATER TOWER. Better safe than sorry." - Lynne Anderson

FK:  We can't say we "remenber" storms from over half a century ago, but we do remember those that occurred pre-Katie.  The ones where responsible meteorologists only interrupted programming when an actual tornado was on the ground and they told you when and where and as soon as it was over they returned us to our feature presentation.  When is the last time you heard Katie Horner say, "We now return you to regular programming?"

"You may live in an area that has warning systems.  Our rural areas South of Kansas City are not privy to such systems and we rely on Katie et al for up to the minute information.  You should not be so engrossed in your TV shows (which are really ridiculus) and pay attention to dangerous situations." - Richard Jacobs

FK:  You rely on Katie for your safety?  Wow, we have a bigger problem than we realized.  If you don't live in an area with early warning systems then you should go out right now and buy yourself a weather radio like the rest of our rural neighbors and stop watching Katie and get in your basement.  When the storm clears, contact your local city council and let them know you want some of the those hard earned tax dollars put towards a new system so that during the next storm you aren't putting your life in the hands of a Public Relations graduate.

"Wow, you must have a lot of free time... Who has the time to set up a web site to get someone fired because they missed CSI?!  Kudos to you!" - newsreporter

FK:  Actually, thanks to the 5 or 6 hours of wall-to-wall coverage from Katie and the other stations we had plenty of time to sit down at the computer and start a movement that is already having a dramatic effect.  Even though CSI is the most watched show on TV our concerns are for the safety of our fellow citizens.  If every pink square touching a green square causes Katie to send people into a panic, how long before they grow complacent and ignore a real warning about a tornado touched down in their neighborhood?

"So hurry home, turn on the TV, put on your bike helmet, and cry yourself to sleep while Katie Horner does play-by-play on the arriving apocalypse." - BlogKC