Talk about a fast-rising front: After less than a year at WGCL-TV, weather forecaster Dagmar Midcap has already been rewarded her with her own promotional billboards on I-75 and I-85.
The eye catches her first name "Dagmar," dominant, in white against blue. "Tomorrow's Forecast In The First Five Minutes" reads the slogan in much smaller print. Then there's that smiling Dagmar visage to the right with just a hint of cleavage.
Yet the station is being oddly reticent about its latest marketing campaign. General manager Andy Alford declined to comment and both news director Rick Erbach and Midcap herself didn't answer e-mails or phone calls.
Midcap, who can be seen weekdays at 4, 6 and 11 p.m., isn't avoiding all press. She visited the Regular Guys morning show last week where she good-naturedly fended off the advances of the hosts. She told the radio audience she saw one of the billboards last week for the first time. "It's big!" she said.
It's great exposure, too: An average 556,000 cars pass those billboards every day, according to 2006 Department of Transportation statistics. (This compares to a collective average of about 200,000 people who watch the WGCL news broadcasts.)
Stations often promote their best known personalities, typically the evening anchors. At WSB-TV, that's Monica Pearson. At WXIA-TV, that's Brenda Wood. Even WGCL has given billboard space in the past to evening anchor Stephany Fisher.
But there's something about Dagmar. She possesses a soothing voice, a pretty face and a warm personality. Fans have posted videos of her weather reports on YouTube. And the blogosphere has gone ga ga. ("Yes, you babelicious weathergirl with the killer name, can you tell me: is it hot in here or is it just you?" one person wrote.)
Regular Guys co-host Larry Wachs is smitten as well: "She's quite a catch if one were to marry her." Her appeal? "One. The tight sweaters. Two. Her flawless skin. Three. That hair. She could read the stock ticker and I'd watch her. Make her the main anchor! Let her read all the stories!"
Midcap, a 39-year-old Canadian native, isn't a meteorologist and doesn't feign to be one. According to her bio on WGCL's Web site, she started her career in Cleveland as host of a popular weekly current affairs show before moving back to Vancouver, where she did traffic and weather on morning TV shows. She later did acting, nabbing small roles in the film "Catwoman" with Halle Barry and TV shows such as "Stargate SG-1" and "Smallville."
Gene Norman, Midcap's predecessor, left WGCL after eight years to be a meteorologist at a CBS affiliate in Houston. "She doesn't know much about weather," he said, "but she's very interested in cars and animals." Norman said he got his own billboard back in spring 2003 for a couple of months with the line "unseasonably accurate." He has no objection to what his former employer is doing: "They're in a challenging position. They have to try different things."
Midcap began her journalism career in 1990 hosting a public affairs show at a Cleveland TV station for eight years. She co-hosted a Canadian TV show called "Driving Television" out of Vancouver. She's also done feature stories on animals and vehicles for "Better Mornings."
Midcap rides a motorcycle and has worked for animal rescue organizations. In an interview with the AJC last year, she said she always wanted to be an NHL goalie.
Doug Richards, a former WAGA-TV reporter who runs a production company and a popular blog about local TV news, said anchors tend to get the most attention and that "weather folks are typically promoted as part of the package."
"They have tried every which way to get an audience," he said. In this case, "they're definitely not promoting her for her forecasting ability."
Richards said he mentioned Midcap once in his blog and got numerous google hits. "I was little unnerved by it," he said.
About the Author
