This report provides initial findings from the fourth nationally representative survey of broadcast meteorologists conducted by George Mason University and partner organizations (American Meteorological Society, Climate Central, NASA, NOAA, National Weather Association and Yale University) with National Science Foundation funding. The aim of these surveys – the first three of which were conducted in 2010, 2011, and 2015 –is to explore broadcast meteorologists’ views about climate change, and their views and activities related to reporting on climate change.
The current survey differed slightly from the previous three in that, for the first time, we began the survey with a broader focus to better understand broadcast meteorologist’ day-to-day activities and engagement with their viewership. These topics included: the relative priority of forecasting and reporting versus other educational activities; use of different communication channels, including social media outreach; the use of outdoor activity forecasts; and the influence of news consultants on the weather segment.
The first two surveys (2010, 2011) were limited to broadcasters who were current members of the American Meteorological Society and/or the National Weather Association. In 2015, and again this year, we attempted to survey all broadcast meteorology professionals currently working in the United States – 2,033 professionals in 2016. Our survey was administered via email between January 6 and January 31, 2016. After making an initial request to participate, we sent up to five additional requests/reminders to participate to those people who had not yet completed a survey. A total of 646 broadcasters participated, with participants coming from 49 U.S. states. Participation rate in the survey was 32%, which compared favorably to the 22% participation rate in 2015.
We wish to sincerely thank all of the 646 broadcast meteorologists who took time out of their busy schedules to participate in this research. We hope the following report is useful to them.
Funding for this research was provided by NSF Award # DRL-1422431.