From the Presidents’ Day blizzard of 1990 to the New Year’s flood of 1997 and a number of historic snowstorms and devastating wildfires, Mike Alger has covered all of the weather events that have affected the Reno-Tahoe region for the last 35 years. After retiring as KTVN’s chief meteorologist in 2024, Alger is excited to bring his nearly four decades of experience to the classroom. The Reynolds School of Journalism is offering a Broadcast Meteorology course for the first time this spring, with Alger at the helm.
“I always thought that if I weren’t a broadcast meteorologist, I’d probably be a teacher,” said Alger. “I love teaching, and in many ways, what I did every night (on TV) was a form of teaching. I loved sharing things, explaining things, trying to make sense of what’s going on here and there, and getting people to understand some of those concepts. So, it’s always fit my personality and my desire to be a teacher of one sort or another.”
Collaborations with the College of Science
In building this course, the Reynolds School has collaborated with the Atmospheric Sciences program within the College of Science. Alger looks forward to balancing and blending the skills of students from scientific backgrounds with students from broadcast and reporting backgrounds. Alger’s class will utilize the Reynolds School’s newly renovated broadcast studio, using state-of-the-art weather modeling software and practicing their weathercasting skills in front of the green screen. Alger also plans to bring his class to the KTVN studios, giving students an inside look at weather reporting from a local news studio.
Learning essential broadcast skills
“I’ve always told people that if you can do weather, you can do anything on television. You don’t have a script except what is behind you; you’re not reading a teleprompter, and you’re having to communicate. It’s great for students who are looking to improve their live, in the field, broadcast skills,” said Alger.
Alger hopes this course will help steer students interested in broadcast meteorology toward the field, bringing more talented journalists to jobs in local news.
“There’s still a huge role that local news and weather fits into people’s lives, both from an entertainment standpoint, but even more so from a public safety standpoint,” said Alger. “There’s a huge shortage right now of weather reporters…and research seems to support that the reason that people will tune in to local news is for the weather content.”
*Photos courtesy of Brin Reynolds, '12, '15 MBA