Hot weather woman: Sexiest meteorologist?
BY DAVID OVALLE, THE MIAMI HERALD

Weather diva Jackie Johnson is raising temperatures on the Internet.

The WSVN-Fox 7 morning personality is poised to be named sexiest meteorologist by Playboy.com today.

The website has conducted polls for sexiest sportscaster and sexiest women's basketball star over the past five years, but the response to the ''Mercury Rising'' poll has been so great, editors had to double-check to make sure the site wasn't being hacked.

''We've gotten more than half a million votes in 10 days, which is absolutely incredible considering that we only allow each person to vote once,'' said Rob Walton, senior editor at Playboy.com.

Johnson's warm fronts and high-pressure systems have captivated viewers since she began at WSVN in September 2001 as the morning counterpart to chief meteorologist Bill Kamal.

Her popularity has soared in part because she is a favorite of WZTA-FM (94.9) morning show hosts Paul Castronovo and Ron Brewer, who recently composed an ode to the weather woman. Each morning, after her 5 a.m. and noon broadcasts, Johnson fans call in to discuss her snug-fitting wardrobe.

Some mention how whole gyms stop for ''Jackie Time'' when the morning weather report is on.

''It's very flattering. The people in South Florida have been so nice to me,'' Johnson said.

She added her sex symbol status does not bother her.

''I take my job seriously and I know what I'm doing,'' said the 24-year-old, who studied meteorology at the University of South Alabama. ``I know people who truly watch me and listen to what I say.''

In the past two weeks, Castronovo and Brewer have made sure that votes have come in a downpour. Since the poll began Jan. 6, they have urged viewers to click away on Playboy.com. They even posted a link from the radio station's website.

''I'm giving a gift to America. We in South Florida have been selfish with the treasure we have in Jackie Johnson,'' Castronovo said of his show's campaign. ``And she looks so much better than Bill Kamal in a dress.''

By Wednesday afternoon, Johnson had earned about 550,000 votes -- more than 60 percent of the vote. That's about 40 percent more than Rebecca Hower, a meteorologist from the CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh. The nine candidates were nominated by write-in e-mails on the website in November. The poll ended Wednesday night.

''Every male here knows about it and has voted,'' said one fellow WSVN reporter.

Of course, Castronovo and Brewer's motivations are more than skin deep.

The winner is offered a nude celebrity pictorial in the pages of Playboy. The champs of the six previous polls -- like CBS sportscaster Jill Arrington and pro basketball player Lisa Harrison -- chose to not pose nude.

Harrison, who plays for the WNBA's Phoenix franchise, did consider shedding her jersey, but said the pay -- reportedly in the six figures -- wasn't enough.

Johnson is enjoying her place in the sun, but said posing is not a consideration.

''My friends and family have all called from Michigan. Response has been positive, but they know I wouldn't pose,'' she said.

The Guardian desperately tries to re-heat its own souffle today, with an op-ed article by fashion reporter Laura Barton claimimg, "The G-spot has always been a contentious issue, but perhaps never more than this week when the latest advertising campaign from the Italian fashion house Gucci was unveiled in Vogue. Yes, the world was aghast at Mario Testino's photographs of supermodel Carmen Kass, splayed against a wall while a sharply cheekboned young chap gazed at her crotch".

"The world was aghast"?? Really. I thought the world was aghast with the North Korea's threat, shock arrest of The Who legend Pete Townshend, the Iraki arsenal, the economic recession, the floods in Europe and Eminem's new movie. Apart The Guardian itself, you could say virtually no newspapers carried the Carmen Kass scandal this week.

But, wait, there's more. Dissecting the scandal effects in History (that is, from 2000 to 2003, since Ms Barton apparently has no real perspective to offer), the article continues:

"Yves Saint Laurent's advert for Opium, displaying a gloriously naked Sophie Dahl, is one of the best-remembered perfume campaigns. It led to 948 complaints to the ASA, and staggering sales for YSL."

That's fashion journalism for you. The PR for YSL told Barton the sales of Opium jumped up, and she woudn't bother to open the PRP_Gucci financial statements to check. As reported here earlier, the Opium sales were catastrophic, leading YSL executives to drop the Dahl ad for a pic of the Opium bottle. But then, that wouldn't fit nicely in this PR service to Gucci, would it?