A meteorologist in Minnesota has defended himself after he was seen texting his wife live on air during storm coverage.
On July 28, Nick Jansen was helping KTTC and his weather team track severe weather in the region. Concerned about the severe weather, Jansen began texting his wife to make sure she and his daughter were safe.
At the same time, elsewhere in the KTTC studio, one of Jansen’s colleagues was on camera when a power outage cut his feed. A switcher flipped to a camera pointed at Jansen, who was still texting with his wife.
Jansen, 32, apologized to the viewers and explained that he was checking up on his wife, Angie, and their 5-month-old daughter, Jamie. He wanted to be sure his family had sheltered in the basement, NBC Bay Area reports.
The meteorologist told TODAY.com that his wife typically goes to sleep early and he wanted to keep her informed of the weather situation before she dozed off.
On the evening of the incident, the Twin Cities were thrashed by thunderstorms and 76 miles per hour wind gusts. After he was seen texting, Jansen continued with the broadcast.
The meteorologist later received an email from a viewer who called him “unprofessional.”
“That he has to call his wife to make sure she takes the baby to safety? Maybe some people think it’s noble or cute. I don’t,” the angry viewer reportedly wrote.
Jansen responded to the complaint in a Facebook post.
“I take my job and your safety very seriously. But I’m also a husband and a father. In the middle of severe weather, I decided to take a brief moment to make sure my wife and child were safely in the basement. That’s not me being unprofessional, it’s me being human,” he wrote. “I am a husband and a father FIRST. Let’s all try to show each other a little more understanding and respect in life.”
He told TODAY that he always advises viewers to text friends they may have in areas that are about to experience severe weather, and he was taking his own advice.
“I’m sure a lot of viewers were texting their families. And we always say on-air, ‘If you know someone in such-and-such a town, make sure to let them know this is coming.’ So I was kind of taking my own advice,” he told TODAY.
While Jansen did receive the negative comment calling him unprofessional, it appeared as though most of the response was in support of him prioritizing his family over the need to appear perfectly professional at all times.
He posted another Facebook update with a photo of him and his child thanking viewers for their support and encouragement.
KTTC’s vice president and general manager Stephanie Hendrick praised the station’s weather team and Jansen for their work during the storms.
“KTTC knows that when our meteorologists, anchors and reporters are delivering the news, they are also talking to their own families- informing them and helping to keep them safe,” Hendrick said in a statement. “In this case, viewers saw that happen live — Nick being a good husband and dad by taking a moment and making sure they were safe.”
