Data gathering in 1950 for independent TV forecasters

Early day independent weather forecasters on radio and television had to overcome many obstacles to acquire raw synoptic data to draw their maps in order to make forecasts. Official data was denied to them and had to be accessed, in many cases, from short wave Morse code broadcasts. How some of us cracked this bureaucratic barrier is an interesting story to relate, especially in light of today's easy access to an information overload.