My husband and I watch the morning news on an Indianapolis television station.

Since the weather has turned cruddy, this station always sends the same news guy out into the elements. I've seen him standing by the side of roadways nearly being blown over by howling winds. Yesterday morning, he was standing in a parking lot with no hat on ... with a half-inch of standing snow on top of his head.

The guy is not a weather person. He is listed on the station's Web site as a news anchor, and I've seen him out and about covering some of the things I've covered.

My question is, is this guy a glutton for punishment who asks for the weather assignments, or do his bosses just enjoy punishing him? How come he's the winter weather patsy?

In any news organization, whether it be newspaper, television or radio, there are assignments that are less popular than others. I'm going to admit it: In our newsroom, going out into blizzard conditions ranks right up there with root canal and sun poisoning. None of us like doing it, but we know it's necessary. We make a concerted effort to split the unpleasant tasks that don't really fall into one of our assigned beats among us so that no one feels like they're being beat up.

Every time I see this TV guy out in the pre-dawn hours being snowed and rained on, I just want to call him at the station later that day and tell him he's no one's chump. Seriously, guy ... ask someone else to go out! How about that smug so-and-so who sits behind the news desk, all warm and dry, telling viewers where you are? Then he always asks inane questions like, "How's the weather out there?"

He's mocking you! You're standing there in snow up to your hind end ... he can see you on the monitor! How does he think the weather out there is?

I liken it to the old television show "Wild Kingdom." Remember how Marlin Perkins would always stay in the tent while Jim wrestled the bull snake?

I want the guy behind the desk to get out of the tent and wrestle the snake just once. I want to see the guy who's always getting blown around, who has to try to report without his teeth chattering, in the nice, warm newsroom behind that fancy desk.

Maybe it's the guy's choice ... maybe he likes freezing and being soaked.

But I kind of doubt it.