As last school year ended, Prep’s morning news was left with two spots on the air open. Jimmy Bufalino and Nick Burch, two staples of the morning news graduated and moved on to college. As the new school year began, there are two new faces to fill the void on the news, Sean Taylor and James Kolakowski. Sean, a senior, has taken over as an anchor along with Avery Mooney and Sakhari Thomas.

James, a junior, has been on the news in the past, from being an anchor to doing the “Fact of the Day” segment. But this year James is taking on a new challenge as he aims to fill the shoes of Nick Burch as a weatherman. I caught up with James to ask him about his new position and the future of the weather on the Prep news.
Q: Have you always been interested in the weather?
A: Yes, ever since I was little. I grew up watching The Weather Channel, and my interest grew from there.
Q: Why did you decide to be the weatherman?
A: I have always been interested in weather since I was little. When Nick Burch graduated from Prep, I found out there would be an opening for the weatherman, and I lucked out!
Q: Would you like to be a weatherman when you’re older?
A: Sure. Meteorology is definitely a possible career for me.
Q: What are some important things to keep in mind when you’re a weatherman?
A: Look at the monitor to make sure you are pointing to what you are talking about and speak slowly and clearly. Make sure to get everything including the graphics and the camera ready before the broadcast starts and keep the broadcast to a maximum length of 1 minute and 30 seconds.
Q: Do you have any plans for the weather segment this year?
A: I want to include the “Friday Football Forecast” every Friday before a game.
Q: If you could add something to the weather segment, what would you add?
A: I’d like to explain the highest and lowest temperatures recorded in Erie for that day in history.
James has already done well on the weather this year. With his new ideas the weather segment seems to be looking up. Exciting new changes look to be on the way as well, and if new features like the football forecast are added, the weather on the morning news may become something students look forward to seeing each day.