The Weather Channel

In 1982, Frank Batten flipped a switch and began what he called "a weather forecast that will never end." There's probably no better emblem of niche media than the Weather Channel and its super-specialized field of interest. After 20 years of mapping high-pressure fronts and covering hurricanes, however, "We have built one of the strongest brands anywhere in the media business," writes Batten, former chairman and CEO. Most of The Weather Channel concentrates on all the problems Batten and his media company experienced in the early 1980s when they hatched their idea for all-weather programming and struggled to get it on the air. "I'm sure that we tried to do too much, too fast," says Batten, who nevertheless endorses the too-much, too-fast approach: "I'm convinced that if we hadn't acted as aggressively as we did--if we hadn't spent the money, rushed down the road, and pushed ourselves and our partners ... The Weather Channel may never have been." Batten concludes by discussing the future of weather predictions (they're going to get a lot better, he thinks) and offering unconventional advice to aspiring media tycoons (don't offer stock options to employees). This book will appeal to aficionados of isobars and other weather events, as well as readers interested in how to start a thriving business. --John Miller