Saturday Morning Profile: Christian Boris
The Joys And Pitfalls Of Being Central Oregon’s Weatherman
By Joseph Friedrichs, 4-07-07
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Each weeknight, thousands of Central Oregon residents count on him so they can plan their activities for the following day, or even week. It’s a “high pressure” job and brings both local fame and sometimes distrust, at least when his predictions are wrong. He’s Christian Boris, the weatherman at KTVZ News Channel 21 in Bend.
During a recent taping of the 6 p.m. news, I visited the KTVZ studios to watch a live taping from the confines of the director’s room. The KTVZ studio is an easygoing place for most of the day, but there are the hour, or half-hour spots when the news is being broadcast where it transforms into a whirlwind of instructions, light changes, camera switches and, of course, the weather reports from Boris.
On this particular evening, Boris is wearing his standard sport jacket and a tie with black and gold stripes. His thin-framed glasses are mounted on the bridge of his tanning-bed darkened nose. Although the public sees Boris standing in front of maps as he does his reports, he actually is standing in front of a large green wall with nothing on it. The image is only projected on the blank wall, and Boris looks at two nearby television monitors to gauge what he is looking and pointing at. Boris does two full weather reports during the hour-long newscast, and during the first round he accidentally drops the clicker that switches the background maps. In typical Boris fashion, he adlibs a little and the report rolls on.
“Well,” he says, bending down to pick up the tiny black object, “I’ve got my clicker back.”
Unlike the other newscasters at KTVZ, the weatherman does not work off a teleprompter. Boris must fill his three or four minute time slots on the fly, working off only the maps and his mind to create dialogue. That, says News Channel 21 Technical Director Gretchen Pitluk, is one of Boris’s best qualities.
“He does a great job at filling his time,” she says. “Boris is really good at improvising on the spot.”
Boris arrived to Central Oregon in June of 2003, fresh off his graduation from Penn State University. In college, Boris majored in the study of Meteorology, something he was fixed on since his high schoo. In those days he was a frequent viewer of the Weather Channel. Born and raised in Southern New Jersey, Boris has become one of the premier weather watchers in Central Oregon, and he says his four years in the area have made him confident to push the limits on his forecasting.
Boris spends hours each day studying weather patterns in and around Central Oregon. Unlike his fellow news anchors Molly Hendrickson and Lee Anderson, Boris does most of his own reporting.
After Boris completes his second report, he slyly strolls over to his nearby desk and observes his fellow anchors with a humble grin on his face. The camera is about to switch over to Hendrickson, only she isn’t at the desk.
“Where’s Molly?” Pitluk asks harshly. Nobody responds.
A few seconds roll past, the camera needing to be switched to somewhere very soon, and there’s still no sign of Hendrickson. Boris is still seated in his chair, grinning, seeming to be enjoying the show.
In a frenzied state, Hendrickson suddenly emerges from a nearby doorway and scoots into her seat. It’s too late.
“Screw it,” Pitluk says. “Take it Lee.”
Anderson covers the line and seconds later the news cuts to a commercial brake.
Hendrickson laughs and says “I was in the bathroom.”
Boris looks to the director’s room and waves at me. I feel strange.
After the newscast came to an end, I caught up with Boris in the studio at KTVZ to find out what it’s like to be Central Oregon’s most watched weatherman.
When you arrived to Bend in June of 2003, was it easy to forecast the weather, because, well, its pretty much sunny and nice every day during the summer?
I’d say it was pretty easy. I actually specifically remember that summer because I had gotten a jeep and I had the top down and didn’t have to put it back up until October.
What is the most challenging month of the year to predict weather in Central Oregon?
I would say December. It’s getting into that transition to winter where there’s the potential for a big snowstorm but you could also have flooding rain. At the same point, it’s getting colder with shorter days. It’s typically one of the more violent months weather wise.
What is your favorite time of the year in these parts?
I’d say August. By then you’ve gotten through most of the heat and the allergy season has calmed down, which is good for me. Everybody’s outside, it’s camping season, anything you want to do.
What’s the most challenging aspect of your job?
It would have to be getting up for three minutes and adlibbing. I don’t have a script. Also, it can be difficult to be critical of yourself and kind of refine your craft. The on-air presentation is so all adlibbed because the weather people don’t have a prompter. We just sort of go with the flow.
How long does it take to master the art of pointing to a blank wall but pretending there is a map on it?
A lot of people think it’s very difficult, but we have monitors on both sides so everywhere you look you can see yourself. Once you realize that if you’re standing in front of a map of Oregon, it’s like your lying down on the ground facing space. So your left hand is Idaho and your right hand is the Pacific Ocean. Once that clicks with you, it’s really not that difficult. It’ll take you a week.
What are some of the more memorable experiences that have happened to you or your co-workers during a live broadcast?
Back in the fall there was an explosion at the Madras High School chemistry lab. About a week later, we got a call that there was another one. We had a little bit of information but nobody ever really finished the story. It was left in the prompter, somebody kind of tongue and cheeked it. We said “In other news, the Madras chemistry lab blew up today. We’ll have pictures later.” It was like we threw out this juicy bit of news and we were just like “we’ll have pictures later.” When the anchors realized what had happened, some people were just crying.
When did you first take a serious interest in meteorology?
I was probably a sophomore or junior in high school. I was good at science and kind of got sucked in by the weather channel. I don’t know if it was the weather or just because it makes a great screen saver for the television.
Do you ever flip on the Weather Channel nowadays?
Not as much as I used to. At Penn State I was kind of scared of some of the people I was in class with. They were obsessive about the Weather Channel. They were wearing Weather Channel polo shirts. Then the Internet age kicked in and that’s where I started getting a lot of my weather information.
Do you pick up tips from the Weather Channel anchors?
There were a few people I really enjoyed. I always like Jim Cantore and Dave Schwartz. I picked up on some their mannerisms.
What are some reasons why people should want to tune into your weather reports?
Well, there’s no other place where a meteorologist is sitting here watching just this area. I’m probably the only one who keeps close tabs on weather patterns. And if you do anything for four years, day in and day out, you’re probably going to be the most qualified person to do about any job, whatever it is.
What is the best part of working at KTVZ?
Number one, I like sleeping in. I don’t have to be work until three. I also enjoy the forecasting aspect of it, going through and figuring it out. The people I work with are a lot of fun too.
Do you get recognized a lot in public?
Oh yeah.
What are some of the better stories from when people have recognized you?
One time I ran into some people at a Halloween party downtown. A guy dressed like Peter Pan says, “Hey, it’s Christian Boris!” I was barely dressed up. The guy had a few in him and says “Hey, it’s the weatherman.” His wife or whoever says, “Honey, that is not the weather man. It’s someone dressed up to be the weatherman.”
It happens all the time. Just because we’re the only station in town in a small town.
You are a fan of the New York football Giants, do you have faith that Eli Manning is the quarterback for the future?
I do. If you go through the list of the quarterbacks the Giants have had since Phil Simms, including Phil Simms, I would say Eli is the best quarterback they have had.
Better movie, Will Ferrell’s Anchorman or Nicholas Cage’s The Weather Man?
I’m going to go with Anchorman. It just has too much going over the Weather Man. And it’s got all the great one liners. “I believe diversity is an old, old wooden ship.” It’s certainly one of the best of the Frat Pack movies.
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