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Welcome to the Dark Side, Brent Watts: Former TV Weatherman Now Explaining Why the Media Was Shut Out
BOTETOURT COUNTY, Va. — There was a time when Brent Watts was on television telling us whether to grab an umbrella.
Now, the former TV weatherman is working for Botetourt County as its communications director — and apparently his new job comes with the less glamorous task of explaining why reporters aren't allowed into public meetings.
That became painfully obvious following a recent meeting hosted by Botetourt County Board of Supervisors member Tim Snyder concerning the proposed Google data center project.
Members of the media, including WSLS 10, were not allowed inside the meeting.
Naturally, reporters asked why.
WSLS reporter Jason Freund pressed county officials about the decision, and Watts — once a familiar face on the other side of the camera — provided the explanation.
“It’s not just for media; Tim wants folks from his district, the Amsterdam district, wanted to make sure there is space for folks in there,” Watts told WSLS.
Wait. What?
The meeting was apparently so packed that the county couldn't find a few square feet for members of the local media?
We're supposed to believe there simply wasn't enough room for reporters to sit in the back, along a wall or somewhere else while residents attended a meeting concerning one of the biggest and most controversial development issues facing the region?
Come on.
This isn't a birthday party at somebody's living room where you have to decide who gets the last folding chair.
We're talking about a meeting involving Google data centers, a project that could have enormous implications for Botetourt County, including questions surrounding water use, infrastructure and economic development.
The public has a legitimate interest in knowing what is being discussed.
And the media's job is to report it.
What's particularly ironic is that Watts spent years working in television — on the very side of the room that asks the questions.
He knows exactly why reporters need access.
He knows what happens when government officials decide that controlling the room is easier than answering questions.
And now he's the one explaining why the media couldn't get through the door.
To be clear, TV personalities moving into government communications jobs isn't unusual. People leave television for public relations, corporate communications and government all the time.
But watching someone who once worked in the media defend shutting the media out?
That's the part that stings.
And the explanation that there wasn't enough room?
Really?
It doesn't take much space to accommodate a reporter and a camera. If the concern genuinely was making sure Amsterdam District residents could attend, there were other options: limit the number of staff, move to a larger venue, provide an overflow area or allow the media to stand along the back.
Instead, the message sent was that residents could come inside — but the people whose job it is to tell everyone else what happened couldn't.
That should concern everybody, regardless of whether they support or oppose Google's plans.
So, Brent Watts, welcome to the other side.
The dark side has better benefits, apparently — but somebody should probably remind them that sunlight is still pretty important when you're talking about government.
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