Is Discovery Channel Storm Chasers Cancelled?

Jan 20, 2012; 4:11 PM ET

A rumor, started this morning by a couple of people in the Storm Chasing community on Facebook, has spread like wildfire on Social Media today: Discovery Channel’s “Storm Chasers” reality TV show is cancelled. One website “confirmed” it, adding fuel to the fire, but only showed a lengthy YouTube video which did not contain proof. But as of now, there is no proof.

And what I mean by that is that there has been no public statement by any of the crew or Discovery Communications, who I left a voicemail for earlier today. This is a great example of something that is not a news story being portrayed as news by naive Social Media users. They used to say “you can’t believe everything you read” — what ever happened to that?

So what’s the real story? It’s only a rumor at this time. As a reporter for AccuWeather.com I have to say that it is not cancelled, because I have seen no proof that it is. This is the problem with the Internet: Everybody’s a reporter.

If I get updates, I’ll post them here. If you have sources, please post them below. If the rumor ends up to be false, some respected people in the storm chaser community will have egg on their face, and I won’t let them live it down. If it turns out to be true, it still wasn’t good reporting to say that it was, with no source or an anonymous one. (If you’ve never seen the show, below is the 2011 Premiere trailer).

Here are some pros (that the rumor is false) and cons (that the rumor is true) for the show:

PRO: The videographer claiming to have taped the video which was used by someone else as “confirming proof” said on Facebook: “In our video of Reed Timmer at the Minnesota Storm Chasing Convention, not once does he make reference to storm chasers being cancelled.”

PRO: The message has some basis but is still false. Did a friend of a friend really speak to a member of the crew or not? Even if a crew member did start the rumor, has it morphed from “I lost my contract” or “The show might be cancelled” to “Aaaaaaaaaa! The show’s cancelled!”?

PRO: The website that claimed confirmation has an unusual amount of invasive advertising; he could just be in it for the profit.

CON: I trust the people who have connections in the storm chasing biz that have been saying this — certainly *they* believe it’s true.

CON: There has been much drama in the Storm Chasing community over the past year or two, especially in regards to the safety of the show (though some whining is just jealousy).

CON: Discovery Channel is not answering my requests.

CON: The show’s most popular star Reed Timmer is not responding via his official Facebook or Twitter or YouTube channels.

A lot of storm chasers are opposed to the show; I recognize it as a drama, not real life, and I think it’s quite good. I have respect for all involved in the show. Below is a photo of me with the “TIV” crew from the show in Fall 2010.