definition of hype

[Rocky Raab]

Give them a little bit of a break, Val. It wasn't NOAA or the National Weather Service who were running aroung like Chicken Little - it was the media, as usual.

I've worked with reporters way too much, and here's how an interview usually goes...

Reporter: "What's the worst thing that could happen in this situation?"

Spokesman: "That's extremely unlikely to develop."

Rep: "But what is it?"

Spoke: "Well, we don't think that it's likely, but in the worst possible circumstances, it could be very severe."

Reporter (on air, live): "Official sources today confirmed that this could turn into a mega-disaster!"

Yes, that's really how it happens.