SOCIAL
MEDIA
AND
WEATHER
WARNINGS:
EXPLORING
THE
NEW
PARASOCIAL
RELATIONSHIPS
IN
WEATHER
FORECASTING
A
THESIS
SUBMITTED
TO
THE
GRADUATE
SCHOOL
IN
PARTIAL
FULFILLMENT
OF
THE
REQUIREMENTS
FOR
THE
DEGREE
MASTER
OF
SCIENCE
BY
ADAM
M.
KLOTZ
DR.
DAVID
CALL,
ADVISOR
BALL
STATE
UNIVERSITY
MAY
2011
Table
of
Contents
List
of
Figures ........................................................................................................................... ii
List
of
Tables............................................................................................................................. ii
Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................. iii
Chapter
1:
Introduction .........................................................................................................1
Chapter
2:
Literature
Review...............................................................................................6
2.1
Growth
in
Mobile
and
Social
Media ..................................................................................... 7
2.2
Understanding
Parasocial
Relationships ....................................................................... 13
2.3
Weather
Warning
Reactions ............................................................................................... 18
Chapter
3:
Methods .............................................................................................................. 23
3.1
Discussion
of
Subjects ........................................................................................................... 24
3.2
Discussion
of
Interviews ...................................................................................................... 26
Chapter
4:
Trust,
Weather
forecasting,
and
Social
Media ....................................... 29
4.1
Background:
Fort
Wayne
Media
Geography .................................................................. 30
4.2
Critics
of
Weather
Forecasting ........................................................................................... 34
4.3
Framework:
Social
Media
Users......................................................................................... 38
4.4
Case
Study:
October
2010
Storms ..................................................................................... 41
4.5
Discussion
of
Findings........................................................................................................... 45
4.5.1
Audience
and
Trust............................................................................................................. 47
4.5.2
New
parasocial
relationships.......................................................................................... 52
4.5.3
Weather
warnings............................................................................................................... 54
4.6
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 56
Chapter
5:
Online
Presence ............................................................................................... 59
5.1
WANE­TV’s
social
media
strategy...................................................................................... 60
5.2
Case
Study:
WANE­TV’s
Online
Presence ........................................................................ 62
5.3
Discussion
of
Findings........................................................................................................... 71
5.3.1
TV
talent
need
online
presence ...................................................................................... 72
5.3.2
Stations
need
to
promote
social­media
presence .................................................... 74
5.4
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 76
Chapter
6:
Conclusion.......................................................................................................... 79
6.1
Summary
of
Findings ............................................................................................................. 79
6.2
Implications
and
recommendations ................................................................................ 81
6.3
Limitations
and
further
research ...................................................................................... 83
6.4
Epilogue:
Overly
tan
and
perfect
teeth,
but
now
‘interesting’ ................................. 84
Appendix
1 .............................................................................................................................. 87
Appendix
2 .............................................................................................................................. 88
Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 89
i
List
of
Figures
Figure
Page
4.1
October
26th
EF1
Tornado
Path
44
4.2
October
26th
EF1
Tornado
Damage
44
4.3a
Severe
Weather
Thread
50
4.3b
Severe
Weather
Thread
Continued
51
5.1
WANE‐TV
Website
63
5.2
WANE‐TV
Site
Tools
65
5.3
WANE‐TV’s
Tool
Bar
67
5.4
WANE‐TV’s
Facebook
Screenshot
68
5.5
WFFT’s
Facebook
Screenshot
69
5.6
WANE‐TV
Twitter
Screenshot
70
5.7
INC
Twitter
Screenshot
71
ii
List
of
Tables
3.1
Interview
Subject
Demographics
26
ii
Acknowledgments
This
thesis
would
not
have
been
possible
without
my
advisor,
Dr.
David
Call,
whose
guidance
from
its
initial
level
allowed
me
to
gain
both
a
direction
in
my
research
and
an
understanding
of
the
topic.
I
owe
my
deepest
gratitude
to
Dr.
Matthew
Wilson
whose
mentorship
over
the
last
year
has
meant
so
much
to
me
both
academically
and
personally.
I
would
like
to
show
gratitude
to
Dr.
Maria
Williams‐Hawkins
for
her
support
and
interest
throughout
my
collegiate
career.
Lastly,
it
is
an
honor
for
me
to
thank
my
favorite
English
teacher
and
mother,
Terri
Klotz,
whose
hours
of
peer
reviews
have
helped
my
thesis
take
shape.
iii
Chapter
1:
Introduction
On
Friday
October
1st,
2010,
after
nearly
24
years
in
the
Fort
Wayne,
Indiana,
television
market,
WANE‐TV’s
weather
specialist
Sandy
Thompson
signed
off
for
the
last
time.
The
station’s
general
manager
decided
not
to
renew
her
contract
but
noted,
“She
did
everything
we
asked
her
to
do;
she
was
a
great
on‐air
personality
and
a
great
ambassador
for
WANE.”
She
was
let
go
because
she
was
a
weather
specialist,
her
degree
being
in
broadcast
television
instead
of
meteorology.
WANE’s
general
manager
described
the
decision
as
one
of
the
toughest
of
his
career:
“Sandy’s
popularity
stands
on
its
own.”
He
acknowledged
that
the
station
might
“take
some
hits”
from
her
fans.
Jessica
Kristy*,
age
38,
works
in
retail
and
is
married
with
two
children,
ages
10
and
13
years
old.
She
is
also
one
of
those
fans
that
WANE‐TV’s
general
manager
feared
he
might
lose
when
he
replaced
Sandy
Thompson.
Jessica
is
unaware
that
Sandy
was
purposely
let
go;
she
is
under
the
impression
that
Sandy
recently
retired.
Kristy
is
having
a
hard
time
deciding
whom
to
watch
now.
When
it
comes
time
to
choose
a
local
channel
for
weather,
she
admits
that
she
is
“not
sure
anymore,
I
really
like
the
other
people
on
WANE,
but
the
new
weather
person
at
6:00
pm
is
not
easy
getting
used
to.
So,
I
have
been
surfing.”
*
Pseudonyms
are
used
in
place
of
interviewees’
names
throughout
this
research
paper.
Jessica
Kristy
liked
Sandy
because
she
was
comfortable
with
her,
and
because
over
the
past
24
years
she
has
built
a
pseudo‐relationship
with
her.
Jessica
liked,
“her
humor.
She
seemed
like
an
aunt
or
something.
It
is
hard
to
describe:
Sandy
wasn’t
afraid
of
making
mistakes;
she
would
roll
with
it.”
Now
Jessica
is
left
looking
for
a
new
weathercaster;
she
feels
the
new
person
at
WANE
is
not
“real.”
Her
complaints
include
that
he
is
overly
tan
with
perfect
teeth,
something
she
equates
to
seeming
“fake.”
She
cannot
picture
this
new
person
with
his
family
or
coming
into
work
with
a
cold.
Years
of
watching
Sandy
Thompson
on
TV
allowed
Jessica
Kristy
to
develop
what
Horton
and
Wohl
(1956)
identified
as
a
parasocial
relationship:
the
one
sided
relationship
the
audience
builds
with
media
personalities.
She
learned
to
trust
Sandy.
According
to
Kathleen
Sherman‐Morris
(2005),
her
parasocial
relationship
and
trust
meant
that
Jessica
was
more
likely
to
take
potential
life‐saving
precautions
during
severe
weather
if
Sandy
Thompson
told
her
to.
So,
with
Sandy’s
departure,
Jessica
finds
she
is
“channel
surfing,”
looking
for
a
person
with
whom
she
connects,
unknowingly
trying
to
build
a
new
parasocial
relationship.
But
how
is
a
new
weathercaster
going
to
break
through
to
her
and
become
what
Jessica
describes
as
“real”?
The
explosion
of
social
media
in
recent
years
has
created
a
way
of
building
parasocial
relationships
that
Horton
and
Wohl
(1956)
never
dreamed
of.
Kathleen
Sherman‐Morris(2005)
showed
that
strong
parasocial
bonds
result
in
higher
trust
2
between
audiences
and
their
weathercasters,
resulting
in
an
increased
likelihood
that
viewers
will
adhere
to
weathercasters’
calls
to
take
shelter
during
severe
weather.
Social
media
provides
a
way
to
increase
that
parasocial
bond
and
then
communicate
with
the
audience
directly
and
personably,
increasing
both
warning‐
reaction
time
and
the
likelihood
of
viewers
taking
preventative
measures.
We
will
see
that
stations
are
using
some
social
media
tactics
in
local
news
and
local
weathercasts,
but
this
new
medium
is
not
fully
being
taken
advantage
of.
Potential
exists
through
social
media
to
create
much
stronger
parasocial
bonds
than
have
been
previously
created.
Along
with
this,
a
large
portion
of
the
population
remains
underserved.
Creating
larger
social
networks
will
give
weathercasters
unprecedented
influence
over
community
populations,
allowing
them
to
warn
and
mobilize
groups
in
danger
more
quickly
and
more
efficiently
than
ever
before.
Truly,
the
parasocial
relationship
between
viewer
and
broadcaster
weather
forecasters
has
become
more
complex
alongside
dynamic
changes
in
the
media
geography
of
local
TV
markets.
To
address
these
issues,
we
first
must
know
the
research
that
has
led
up
to
this
issue’s
current
standing.
The
next
chapter
begins
with
an
explanation
of
the
long
history
geographers
have
had
studying
weather,
climate
and
environmental
change.
Then,
further
within
the
literature
review,
works
discussing
the
growth
of
mobile
media,
the
Internet,
and
social
media
are
analyzed
to
show
their
importance
in
all
aspects
of
daily
life.
The
literature
review
chapter
then
transitions
into
a
discussion
of
the
history
of
the
parasocial
relationship
from
its
first
conception
by
3
Horton
and
Wohl
in
1956,
to
its
quantification
in
1985
by
Rubin,
Perse,
and
Powell,
and
then
into
today’s
continued
application.
Next,
the
chapter
examines
literature
involving
weather‐warning
systems:
where
and
how
quickly
populations
get
their
weather
warnings,
how
they
react
to
the
warnings,
and
how
successful
the
warnings
can
be
in
saving
life
and
property.
Finally,
these
three
areas
are
brought
together
to
indentify
the
gap
in
the
literature,
a
place
where
this
study
attempts,
through
qualitative
research,
to
explore
and
understand
local
news
stations’
use
of
social
media
to
distribute
severe
weather.
Chapter
3
details
the
methodology
of
this
study,
beginning
with
the
goals
of
the
research.
Next
the
chapter
details
how
the
interview
subjects
were
selected
and
the
questions
they
were
asked,
how
the
interviews
were
conducted,
and
finally,
the
manner
in
which
the
data
was
analyzed.
Chapter
4
begins
with
a
background
and
history
of
Fort
Wayne’s
television
media,
followed
by
a
discussion
with
a
weather
critic
to
demonstrate
an
insight
into
trust
in
weather
forecasting.
Following
this
demonstration,
I
present
a
conceptual
framework
to
assist
in
analyzing
social
media
users.
I
then
evaluate
this
framework
using
a
case
study
of
severe
storms
in
October,
2010.
Using
this
case
study,
I
present
a
discussion
of
my
findings,
highlighting
previously
unrecognized
social
media
pervasiveness.
In
support
of
the
scholarly
literature,
I
examine
how
audiences
inherently
come
to
trust
their
weathercasters.
Social
media
has
provided
a
new
vehicle
for
the
building
of
parasocial
relationships,
and,
therefore,
trust.
Finally,
in
4
chapter
4
this
study
claims
that
viewers
no
longer
rely
primarily
on
television
for
severe
weather
warnings.
The
second
empirical
chapter,
chapter
5,
begins
with
a
discussion
with
WANE‐TV’s
Internet
content
manager
to
illustrate
the
typical
social
media
strategy
employed
by
television
stations.
From
this
case
study
I
present
a
discussion
of
my
findings,
highlighting
the
importance
of
talent
maintaining
individual
social
media
profiles
and
the
station’s
need
to
better
promote
its
social
media
presence.
Finally,
I
revisit
user
and
professional
interviews
to
underscore
the
ways
in
which
social
media
is
not
being
utilized
to
its
full
capability.
Chapter
6
reiterates
this
studies
findings.
Followed
by
a
discussion
of
research
limitations
and
suggestions
for
future
research.
5
Chapter
2:
Literature
Review
This
literature
review
takes
a
focused
look
at
literature
in
three
topical
areas:
growing
mobile
and
social
media
usage,
the
history
and
current
application
of
parasocial
relationships,
and
weather
warnings
and
subsequent
public
reaction.
Shortcomings
in
the
literature
are
targeted
in
this
study
for
further.
Prior
to
discussing
the
three
major
literature
topics,
we
must
first
briefly
introduce
the
importance
of
weather‐related
topics
to
geographers.
There
is
a
rich
history
of
discussion
among
geographers
about
how
weather,
climate,
and
environmental
change
affect
daily
practices
of
people
worldwide.
In
recent
years
there
has
been
a
rejuvenated
interest
in
these
topics
as
a
new
generation
of
geographers
has
begun
to
tackle
age‐old
questions
(Jankovic
and
Barboza
2009;
Rayner
2009;
Turner
2009;
Pennesi
2009).
In
Under
the
Weather,
Tom
Fort
(2006)
explores
the
role
of
weather
in
the
daily
life
and
history
of
Great
Britain.
Geographers
have
even
probed
the
weatherman’s
role
in
society.
Mark
Monmonier’s
Air
Apparent
(1999)
examines
how
meteorologists
learned
to
map,
predict,
and
dramatize
the
weather
for
an
audience.
With
this
brief
background
into
the
historical
discussion
of
weather
among
geographers,
we
can
now
read
further
to
understand
how
social
media
and
parasocial
relationships
are
affecting
weather
warnings.
2.1
Growth
in
mobile
and
social
media
Because
of
social
media’s
newness,
its
definition
varies
depending
on
the
source.
Most
recent
definitions
of
“social
media”
build
upon
user‐generated
content
that
can
be
shared
amongst
users’
peers.
For
the
purpose
of
this
study,
social
media
is
best
defined
as
a
category
of
website
that
are
based
on
user
participation
and
user‐generated
content.
This
content
can
be
video,
audio,
text,
or
multimedia
that
is
published,
and
most
importantly,
shared
in
a
social
environment.
Some
types
of
social
media
are
forums,
message
boards,
blogs,
wikis,
and
video
hosting
sites.
The
most
popular
of
these
sites
include
Facebook,
YouTube,
Flickr,
Twitter,
and
Wikipedia.
Social
media
websites
and
the
portability
of
the
web
have
become
a
part
of
the
human
experience.
Smartphones,
such
as
the
iPhone,
offer
advanced
PC
(personal
computer)‐type
functionality
and
full
Internet
access
and
are
growing
in
popularity
(Ling,
et
al.
2010).
In
many
cases
the
desire
to
be
connected
to
social
media
has
driven
the
sales
of
smartphones
(ibid.).
The
International
Telecommunications
Union
projects
5.3
billion
mobile
cell
phone
subscriptions
worldwide
at
the
start
of
2011;
of
these,
940
million
are
subscriptions
to
3G
services,
the
type
needed
for
full
access
to
the
Internet
and
for
PC‐type
functionality.
Access
to
these
mobile
networks
is
now
available
to
90%
of
the
world’s
population
in
143
countries
(ibid.).
Developed
countries
show
an
average
of
116
mobile
phone
subscriptions
for
every
100
inhabitants.
This
market
saturation
has
led
to
an
explosion
in
short
message
service
(SMS)
messaging,
the
system
on
which
standard
7
phone‐to‐phone
texts
are
transmitted.
But,
SMS
has
also
been
tapped
into
by
Twitter
and
Facebook,
allowing
users’
tweets
and
Facebook
status
updates
to
be
sent
out
to
any
person’s
phone
in
the
world
that
subscribes,
perhaps
explaining
the
ITU’s
report
of
SMS
messaging
tripling
in
the
last
three
years
to
nearly
200,000
messages
every
second.
The
increase
of
mobile
service
is
a
major
cause
of
the
advancement
of
social
media,
but
just
as
important
is
the
continually
increasing
size
of
the
online
community.
According
to
the
ITU
(2010),
in
2005
approximately
1
billion
people
were
online;
by
2010
this
number
doubled
to
2
billion.
Just
under
half
of
the
Internet
users,
800
million,
are
in
developed
countries.
While
it
is
expected
that
stronger
growth
trends
will
continue
to
be
seen
in
developing
countries,
continued
growth
in
developed
countries
is
expected,
as
only
65.6%
of
people
in
developed
countries
have
Internet
access.
A
number
of
developed
countries
such
as
Estonia,
Finland,
and
Spain
have
declared
access
to
the
Internet
a
legal
right.
U.S.
based
research
has
found
a
significant
increase
in
online
use
and
in
social
media
usage
in
the
last
half‐decade
(Dimmick
2003;
Dimmick
2004;
Jenkins
2004;
Lehart
2009).
Wellman
(2004)
documents
ten
years
of
Internet
growth,
saying
the
Internet
as
a
tool
of
social
communication
has
“become
embedded
in
everyday
life.”
Wellman
adds
that
we
have
evolved
from
“a
world
of
internet
wizards
to
a
world
of
ordinary
people
routinely
using
the
Internet.”
But
what
are
ordinary
people
routinely
using
the
Internet
for?
In
2008
Bill
Tancer,
the
general
manager
of
global
research
at
Hitwise,
a
company
dedicated
to
understanding
Internet
users’
behavior,
8
says
that
social
media
has
overtaken
pornography
as
the
number
one
use
of
the
Internet.
The
most
popular
of
these
social
media
sites
is
Facebook,
a
social
networking
site
that
connects
its
users
with
their
“friends.”
Facebook
allows
users
to
create
individual
profile
pages
that
allow
them
to
share
the
happenings
in
their
lives
by
uploading
pictures
and
videos
and
by
posting
written
messages.
The
site
recently
passed
500
million
users,
more
than
the
populations
of
the
United
States,
Canada,
the
United
Kingdom,
France
and
Spain
combined
(facebook.com
2010).
In
spring,
2010,
Facebook
overtook
Google
as
the
most‐visited
website
on
the
Internet
(www.guardian.uk
2010).
Its
creation
and
astonishing
success
and
growth
spawned
the
critically
acclaimed,
high‐grossing
movie*
The
Social
Network.
Mike
Elgan
(2009),
a
technology
writer
and
former
editor
of
Windows
Magazine,
argues
that
social
media
have
already
begun
to
replace
television,
pointing
out
that
major
news
stories
about
the
US
Airways
flight
landing
in
the
Hudson
River
and
the
terrorist
attacks
in
Mumbai
were
communicated
much
more
quickly
on
Twitter
and
other
social
media
sites
than
on
television.
This
is
a
slightly
presumptuous
statement
as
98%
of
Americans
have
TV’s
compared
to
65.6%
who
have
Internet
access
(ITU
Report).
Nonetheless,
social
media
have
changed
the
way
traditional
mainstream
media
work.
Wright
and
Hinson
(2009)
note
that
social
media
“bypass
traditional
news
media
and,
as
such,
throw
a
major
wrench
in
the
*
As
of
February
1st
2011
The
Social
Network
grossed
$213,824,288
in
worldwide
box
office
sales.
http://boxofficemojo.com
9
suggestion
that
these
traditional
news
media
set
any
agenda
for
public
thought.”
In
a
2008
study,
Wright
and
Hinson
found
that
89%
of
public
relations
firm
employees
think
social
media
have
influenced
news
coverage
in
the
traditional
media.
Only
72%
of
respondents
think
that
traditional
media
have,
in
return,
influenced
social
media.
In
that
same
study,
the
authors
observed
a
gap
in
accuracy,
credibility,
trust,
and
ethics
between
traditional
and
social
medias.
Traditional
media
outlets
showed,
by
receiving
upwards
of
60%
of
the
votes,
a
large
advantage
in
all
of
these
categories.
Fewer
than
20%
believe
social
media
provide
the
most
accurate,
credible,
or
trustworthy
information.
Interestingly,
even
though
social
media
is
less
trusted
than
traditional
forms
of
media,
56%
said
they
agree
that
social
media
serves
as
a
watchdog
for
traditional
mainstream
media.
Still,
75%
expect
mainstream
media
to
be
honest,
to
tell
the
truth,
and
to
be
ethical;
whereas
expectations
for
blogs
and
other
social
media
in
these
areas
are
considerably
less
at
44%.
While
research
does
not
show
high
trust
in
the
information
provided
through
social
media,
it
does
show
that
social
media
has
changed
how
traditional
media
outlets
do
their
jobs.
.
.
.
Understanding
how
the
Internet
is
changing
communication
is
essential
to
television
stations
and
weathercasters,
especially
for
the
purpose
of
getting
out
severe
weather
warnings.
In
the
business
world
quicker
communication
has
kept
businesses
consumer‐focused;
84
%
of
Fortune‐500
employees
said
that
blogs
and
10
other
social
media
have
made
communications
more
instantaneous
because
they
force
organizations
to
respond
more
quickly
to
criticism
(Wright
and
Hinson
2008).
Many
websites
(outside
of
Facebook
and
Twitter)
are
changing
communication
practices
by
providing
places
to
instantly
share
ideas
and
information
with
large
audiences.
The
video
sharing
site
YouTube
claims
some
350
million
monthly
visitors.
Nearly
10
million
registered
users
have
contributed
to
the
user‐edited
online
dictionary
Wikipedia.
More
than
35
million
have
posted
and
tagged
more
than
3
billion
photos
and
videos
on
Flickr.
(Kelly
2009).
Those
who
actively
take
part
in
the
online
revolution
of
social
media
communicate
in
a
different
way
than
the
rest
of
the
world.
In
a
suburb
near
Toronto,
the
two‐thirds
of
residents
who
had
always‐on,
super‐fast
internet
access
knew
the
names
of
three
times
as
many
of
their
neighbors
as
their
unwired
neighbors.
They
also
spoke
with
twice
as
many
neighbors
and
visited
neighbors’
homes
1.5
times
as
often
(Hampton
and
Wellman
2003).
With
new
rules
in
communication,
there
needs
to
be
changes
in
the
way
the
media
reaches
these
online
consumers.
Businesses
have
been
racing
to
get
recognized
online
by
this
new
and
rapidly
growing
online
population,
but
there
is
still
ample
room
for
growth.
In
2009,
Ganim
(2010)
showed
that
22%
of
Fortune
500
companies
were
blogging,
a
large
increase
from
the
9%
reported
blogging
in
2007.
In
addition,
35%
of
Fortune
500
companies
have
included
the
social
networking
and
micro‐blogging
site
Twitter
into
their
marketing
plans.
The
steady
adoption
of
blogs,
Facebook,
and
Twitter
by
Fortune
11
500
companies
expresses
a
necessary
and
important
interest
in
the
growing
online
audience.
This
growth
illustrates
how
important
it
is
for
the
local
news
and
local
news
personalities
to
be
visible
in
this
growing
medium.
Unfortunately,
David
Meerman
Scott
(2008)
says,
“Only
a
small
number
of
practitioners
are
effectively
using
blogs
and
other
social
media
when
communicating
to
the
public,
even
though
the
web
is
usually
free
as
opposed
to
purchasing
space
through
other
traditional
advertising
medium.”
The
value
of
a
television
personality
on
Twitter
might
be
best
understood
in
terms
of
dollars.
Advertising
company
Ad.ly
reports
that
reality‐television
star
Kim
Kardashian
is
paid
$10,000
per
endorsed
tweet
to
her
over
2.7
million
followers
(New
York
Post
2009).
According
to
a
2004
Businessweek
article,
companies
including
Microsoft
and
Dell
encourage
employee
blogging,
believing
that;
“Done
well,
they
can
humanize
faceless
behemoth.
The
Evil
Empire
of
Redmond
can
instead
become
the
home
of
‘The
Schobleizer,’
Microsoft’s
most
famous
blogger.”
This
is
something
television
news
stations
have
long
realized;
by
putting
anchors’
and
weathercasters’
pictures
on
billboards
and
park
benches,
they
are
selling
the
person,
not
the
faceless
company.
But,
they
have
not
yet
taken
full
advantage
of
how
the
Internet
could
help
them
do
this.
Ultimately
making
the
television
experience
as
personal
as
possible
will
only
help
the
station
because
“Real
human
12
beings
speak
like
real
human
beings,
which
is
something
companies
have
forgotten
how
to
do.”
(Businessweek
2004)
In
summary,
there
has
been
an
explosion
in
popularity
of
social
media
in
the
last
five
years.
With
this,
we
must
also
understand
how
parasocial
relationships
have
affected
broadcast
weather
forecasting.
2.2
Understanding
Parasocial
Relationships
While
the
shift
towards
social
media
has
been
quite
recent,
over
half
a
century
has
been
spent
examining
the
relationship
individuals
develop
with
television
personalities.
Horton
and
Wohl
first
recognized
this
relationship
between
viewer
and
audience,
or
the
parasocial
interaction
(1956).
This
interaction
is
also
described
as
an
“illusion
of
intimacy”
between
media
personalities
and
the
audience
members.
Television
personalities
encourage
parasocial
involvement
with
viewers
by
using
conversational
style
and
gestures
along
with
informal
settings
that
invite
interactive
responses
(Horton
and
Wohl
1956).
Horton
and
Wohl’s
ideas
have
been
adopted
and
expanded
since
their
conception
(Rosengren
&Windahl
1972;
Rosengren,
Windahl,
Hakansson,
and
Johnsson‐Smaragdi
1976;
Levy
1979;
Hedinsson
1981).
In
1985,
Rubin,
Perse,
and
Powell
developed
a
conceptual
model
to
predict
parasocial
interaction
in
television
news.
From
this
model,
the
first
empirical
evidence
of
parasocial
interaction,
or
PSI,
was
shown
to
exist
between
the
audience
and
the
newscaster.
Since
1985,
adapted
models
have
been
used
to
show
that
this
relationship
exists
for
a
number
of
public
13
media
figures
such
as
athletes
(Brown
2003),
television
characters
(Rubin
and
Mchaugh
1987),
news
anchors
(Perse
1990),
radio
hosts
(Rubin
and
Step,
2000),
and
television
weathercasters
(Sherman‐Morris
2005).
Giles
and
Maltby
(2006)
named
the
strong
bonds
between
the
audience
and
the
performer
“celebrity
worship.”
To
measure
celebrity
worship,
Giles
and
Maltby
built
from
the
Parasocial
Interaction
Scale
(PSI)
of
Rubin
et
al.
(1985)
as
well
as
from
Wann’s
Sports
Fan
Motivation
Sale
and
The
Celebrity
Appeal
Questionnaire.
Wann’s
(1995)
Sport
Fan
Motivation
Scale
identified
eight
factors
predicting
sport
fandom:
source
of
self‐esteem,
an
avenue
for
escape,
as
entertainment,
family
affiliation,
group
affiliation,
aesthetic
appeal,
excitement,
and
for
economic
reasons.
The
Celebrity
Appeal
Questionnaire
(Stever
1991)
emphasized
the
entertainer
as
a
role
model.
Using
large
United
Kingdom
samples,
three
aspects
of
celebrity
worship
were
isolated
(Maltby
et
al.
2002,
Maltby
et
al
2005,
Maltby
et
al.
2001).
The
vast
majority
of
fans
are
described
as
“Entertainment‐social.”
“These
fans
are
attracted
to
a
favorite
celebrity
because
of
their
perceived
ability
to
entertain
and
to
become
a
source
of
social
interaction
and
gossip”(Giles
and
Maltby
2006).
Fans
included
into
this
category
agreed
with
statements
such
as
“My
friends
and
I
like
to
discuss
what
my
favorite
celebrity
has
done”
and
“Learning
the
life
story
of
my
favorite
celebrity
is
a
lot
of
fun.”
This
one‐sided
relationship
between
the
audience
and
the
media
figures
should
come
as
little
surprise.
Throughout
history
public
figures
from
kings
to
outlaws
have
been
idolized.
Only
recently
have
we
had
access
to
our
idolized
public
14
figures
through
social
media
such
as
Facebook
and
Twitter.
Giles
and
Maltby
(2006)
suggest
that
celebrity
may
be
an
extreme
form
of
popularity.
Hartup
(1996)
notes
that
we
always
flock
to
attractive
people
in
our
immediate
environment;
even
in
preschool
social
groups
there
seem
to
be
‘stars’
that
command
extra
attention.
But
what
is
it
that
attracts
us
to
these
different
public
figures?
According
to
Maltby
et
al.
(2002),
most
fans’
favorite
celebrity
choice
is
tied
to
their
entertainment
value.
Favorite
celebrities
are
also
identified
having
qualities
such
as
intelligence,
talent,
and
social
skills
that
make
them
deserving
of
their
celebrity
status.
PSI
has
been
shown
to
exist
between
audience
populations
and
a
variety
of
celebrities,
athletes
included.
Brown
(2003)
showed
a
parasocial
relationship
existed
between
large
audiences
and
baseball
star
Mark
McGwire
during
his
historic
72‐homerun
baseball
season
in
1998.
Brown
attributes
higher
than
usual
strength
in
the
parasocial
relationship
due
to
the
publicity
that
exposed
McGwire
to
millions
surrounding
his
homerun
chase.
His
homerun
chase
was
a
focus
of
media
outside
the
sporting
world
and
was
discussed
on
radio,
local,
and
national
news
programs.
Sixty
percent
of
those
interviewed
in
the
study
reported
not
to
follow
baseball
regularly,
yet
they
still
followed
his
season,
showing
that
his
repeated
media
exposure
was
a
key
factor
in
the
parasocial
relationships
involving
McGwire.
While
local
news
anchors
do
not
command
the
national
attention
of
star
athletes,
they
have
other
advantages
to
building
strong
parasocial
relationships
with
their
audience.
A
conversational‐style
and
a
face‐to‐face
setting
mirror
15
interpersonal
communication.
Production
techniques
such
as
close‐ups
and
camera
zooms
increase
intimacy
(Horton
and
Wohl
1956).
The
regularity
of
television
news
broadcasts
has
also
been
highlighted
as
a
reason
for
strong
PSI
scores.
Altman
and
Taylor
(1973)
noticed
that
the
more
often
people
interact,
the
more
likely
they
are
to
achieve
deep
states
of
intimacy.
Friendship
is
also
based,
in
part,
on
how
others
help
us
meet
our
needs
(Wright
1978).
Television
news
anchors,
then,
provide
us
with
information
about
our
communities
that
we
desire,
meeting
a
need.
While
not
national
stars,
newscasters
often
become
celebrities
in
a
broadcast
market,
appearing
on
local
interview
programs,
making
personal
appearances,
and
being
topics
of
discussion
in
local
print
media
(Rubin,
Perse,
and
Powell
1985).
While
high
PSI
scores
of
television
newscasters
has
not
shown
an
increase
in
knowledge
gain
by
the
audience,
scores
do
affect
emotional
reactions
to
the
news
(Rubin,
Perse,
Powell
1985).
Thus,
it
follows
that
the
newscaster
can
influence
viewers’
behavior
to
some
extent.
Talk‐radio
hosts
have
stronger
PSI
scores
than
other
celebrities
(Rubin
2001).
One
reason
for
this
is
that
the
perceived
distance
between
radio
listeners
and
their
program
is
closer
or
more
immediate
than
for
other
media
(Rubin
2001).
Talk
radio
is
personality‐driven
and
offers
listeners
an
opportunity
for
conversation
and
interpersonal
involvement
(Rubin
and
Rubin
1985).
Talk‐radio
listeners
often
pay
attention
to
hosts
who
share
their
same
opinions.
Since
audiences
find
it
satisfying
to
have
their
beliefs
and
opinions
confirmed,
the
audience‐host
bond
is
strengthened.
Rubin
and
Step
(2000)
found
that
interacting
with
talk
radio
hosts
16
predicted
frequent
listening
to
that
host.
They
also
found
that
audiences
treat
the
host
as
an
important
and
credible
source
of
information.
The
host
influences
attitudes
and
actions
about
societal
issues,
and
as
the
degree
of
PSI
increases,
listeners
believe
their
attitudes
are
stronger
in
agreement
with
the
host.
Developing
the
relationship
increases
desire
for
more
interaction
through
regular
listening.
This
highlights
the
importance
of
building
parasocial
relationships.
They
benefit
the
host
by
increasing
his
popularity
and
job
security
at
the
radio
station
while
generating
more
revenue.
Having
this
kind
of
influence
of
an
audience
is
helpful
for
any
broadcaster,
but
especially
important
for
weathercasters
who
provide
warnings
during
severe
weather.
Recently,
the
Parasocial
Interaction
Scale,
or
PSI
Scale,
of
Rubin
et
al.
(1985)
was
used
to
test
the
relationship
of
local
television
weathercasters.
Sherman‐Morris
(2005)
measured
PSI
in
the
Memphis,
Tennessee
market.
The
survey
results
indicate
a
stronger‐than‐expected
degree
of
PSI
with
local
weathercasters
compared
to
other
studies
focusing
on
talk
show
hosts,
sitcom
actors,
or
even
local
newscasters.
Sherman‐Morris
suggests
the
high
regularity
of
interaction
between
the
audience
and
weathercaster
and
the
relevance
of
the
information
to
daily
activities
as
reasons
for
the
higher
than
average
PSI
scores.
Sherman‐Morris
also
concludes
that
strong
PSI
scores
result
in
higher
trust,
meaning
the
audience
is
more
likely
to
seek
shelter
when
warned
by
a
trusted
weathercaster.
Therefore,
building
a
strong
parasocial
relationship
with
the
audience
could
increase
safety.
17
This
literature
has
shown
that
parasocial
relationships
do
give
broadcasters
influence
over
audiences.
To
understand
how
this
influence
can
affect
behavior
during
sever
weather
events;
we
must
first
examine
research
investigating
severe
weather‐warning
reactions.
2.3
Weather
warning
reactions
Consumers’
demand
for
ever‐evolving
weather
information
is
driven
by
always‐changing
audiences.
Even
in
the
newspaper
industry,
weather
maps
are
continuously
evolving
to
better
illustrate
to
future
weather
events
(Call
2005).
It
is
important
to
understand
how
persons
react
to
severe
weather
warnings
so
that
we
can
appreciate
how
this
reaction
might
be
changing
with
the
introduction
of
new
media
and
new
ways
of
warning
the
public.
Those
who
take
the
proper
precautions
following
a
warning
have
the
lowest
injury
and
death
rate
(Hammer
and
Schimidlin
2002).
R.
Denise
Blanchard‐Boehm
and
M.
Jeffrey
Cook
(2004)
found
that
people
who
have
had
previous
experience
with
a
tornado,
especially
an
intense
one,
were
most
likely
to
be
prepared
for
future
severe
weather
events.
It
may
seem
obvious
that
behavior
is
affected
by
direct
experience,
but
does
this
apply
to
individuals
only,
or
can
society
as
a
whole
learn
from
previous
disasters?
Craig
E.
Colten
and
Amy
R.
Sumpter’s
(2009)
study
entitled
“Social
Memory
and
Resilience
in
New
Orleans”
examines
the
lessons
learned
from
1965’s
Hurricane
Betsy
and
how
these
18
lessons
were
applied
prior
to
Hurricane
Katrina
in
2005.
After
Betsy,
plans
to
complete
massive
earthworks
and
structures
protecting
the
city
were
put
into
place.
These
structures
were
to
be
finished
by
1978,
but
they
remained
unfinished
when
Katrina
struck
in
2003,
as
the
money
needed
to
complete
the
project
was
spent
elsewhere.
Betsy
also
demonstrated
that
eastern
New
Orleans
was
at
the
greatest
vulnerability
to
flooding,
yet
20,000
homes
were
built
below
sea
level
during
the
40
years
following
the
hurricane.
Betsy
also
showed
that
post‐flooding,
water
would
be
slow
to
leave
and
sit
in
the
city
like
water
in
a
bowl.
Nonetheless,
when
Katrina
hit
New
Orleans,
the
city
was
not
prepared
to
pump
the
resulting
water
out
of
the
city,
and
water
stood
for
weeks.
Colten
and
Sumpter
found
that
as
a
society,
New
Orleans
did
not
learn
its
lesson,
and
they
point
out
the
importance
for
future
generations
to
learn
from
Katrina’s
destruction.
Montz
and
Gruntfest
(2002)
claim
that
newer
technologies
and
increased
warning
times
have
not
affected
flood
losses.
According
to
a
2005
study,
scientists
often
disagree
on
flood
prediction
because
of
the
“complexity
of
meteorological
and
hydrological
processes”
(Downton
et
al.).
Beyond
the
collective
society’s
memory
and
increased
warning
times,
what
is
it
that
makes
individuals
adhere
to
severe
weather
warnings?
Studies
show
varying
responses
during
severe
weather.
During
the
May
3rd,
1999,
Oklahoma
City
Tornado,
65%
of
residents
left
their
homes
when
instructed
to
do
so
through
various
warning
systems
(Hammer
and
Schimidlin
2002).
According
to
a
2010
study
86%
of
respondents
were
not
concerned
about
false
alarms
or
close
19
calls
reducing
their
confidence
in
future
tornado
warnings.
This
same
study
showed
that
over
half
of
respondents
would
take
shelter
from
a
tornado
under
a
highway
overpass
if
they
were
driving,
indicating
that
people
need
educated
and
warned
on
the
dangers
of
using
highway
overpasses
as
shelter
from
severe
weather
(Schultz
et
al.).
Overpasses
create
a
wind
tunnel
meaning
wind
speeds
will
actually
be
higher
underneath
them
during
tornados.
A
2005
study
showed
that
nearly
90%
of
the
severe
weather
warnings
are
discovered
through
the
television
medium
(Sherman‐Morris
2005).
Sherman‐Morris
also
discovered
that
during
severe
weather
on
a
university
campus,
text
message
alerts
were
the
most
effective
way
of
alerting
the
student
body
and
faculty
of
a
tornado.
Faculty
often
knew
that
severe
weather
was
coming
from
having
seen
it
on
local
news
coverage
prior
to
its
arrival,
whereas
students
were
less
often
informed.
However,
as
the
storm
approached,
more
students
than
faculty
say
they
learned
of
it
from
television.
In
the
conclusion
of
the
study,
respondents
were
asked
which
would
be
the
best
way
of
communicating
storm
warnings
in
the
future.
Students
overwhelmingly
choose
cell
phone
messages,
while
the
faculty
preferred
emails.
A
2010
study
by
Silver
and
Conrad
documented
Hurricane
Juan’s
strike
of
the
Atlantic
Canada
coast
on
September
29,
2003,
and
showed
the
public’s
unpreparedness
for
severe
weather
events.
Fifty‐eight
percent
interviewed
indicated
that
they
checked
the
forecast
at
least
once
per
day.
Non‐government
Internet
sources
ranked
as
the
most
reliable
sources
for
weather
information.
The
most
commonly
used
media
by
respondents
over
age
60
years
was
local
news
and
20
radio,
whereas
the
most
common
form
of
media
for
respondents’
ages
20‐40
was
the
Internet.
From
this,
researchers
concluded
the
importance
of
understanding
that
different
age
groups
obtain
their
severe
weather
information
in
different
ways,
emphasizing
the
importance
in
the
future
to
develop
forecasts
for
all
target
groups.
This
lack
of
tailored
media
coverage
coincides
with
the
rising
use
of
social
media,
especially
in
portable
mobile
devices,
leaving
the
perfect
opportunity
for
local
media
to
provide
a
needed
and
profitable
service
to
the
public.
Once
warned,
teachers
and
students
both
search
out
more
information
about
the
storm.
Other
literature
has
confirmed
similar
behavior.
A
1995
study
showed
that
only
8%
of
west
Tennessee
residents
constantly
listened
to
NOAA
Weather
Radio.
That
percentage
raised
to
nearly
25
after
hearing
of
approaching
severe
weather
(Redmond
1995).
Sherman‐Morris
studied
how
the
parasocial
relationship
between
the
weathercaster
and
viewer
is
stronger
than
any
other
previously
demonstrated
PSI
relationship
(2005).
She
also
was
able
to
demonstrate
how
this
relationship
gives
the
audience
more
confidence
in
the
severe
weather
warnings.
But
still,
in
2005,
the
majority
of
people
surveyed
had
learned
of
the
severe
weather
on
television.
Since
this
time,
the
above
literature
has
shown
that
there
has
been
an
incredible
upsurge
in
social
media
applications.
How
this
upsurge
in
the
use
of
social
media
affects
the
relationship
between
the
weathercaster
and
the
audience
has
yet
to
be
explored.
Nor
has
it
been
explored
how
and
if
these
trusted
local
weathercasters
using
social
media
to
alert
audiences
has
helped
populations
take
heed
to
warnings
more
quickly.
Furthermore,
it
is
not
yet
fully
known
if
local
news
stations
or
21
weathercasters
are
taking
full
advantage
of
the
social
media
at
their
fingertips
to
reach
an
audience
that
is
relying
less
and
less
on
television.
These
are
all
questions
that
this
study
will
explore.
22
Chapter
3:
Methods
To
gain
an
understanding
of
how
respondents’
growing
use
of
social
media
and
other
emerging
media
have
impacted
the
relationship
with
the
local
television
weathercaster
and
how
this
growing
use
has
ultimately
changed
how
people
receive
weather
warnings,
respondents
in
this
study
participated
in
a
semi‐structured
interview
designed
to
explore
the
following
topics:
‐
Understand
amount
of
time
spent
on
social
networking
sites
such
as
Facebook,
Twitter,
YouTube,
MySpace,
Bloggs,
etc.
‐
Understand
how
social
media
sites
have
changed
where
respondents
hear
about
breaking
news
and
how
they
pass
along
that
information
‐
Understand
the
respondents’
attitudes
toward
their
weathercaster
and
if
they
use
social
media
to
stay
connected
to
that
weathercaster
‐
Learn
where
respondents
turn
during
severe
weather
as
well
as
where
they
first
hear
it.
Also
if
they
feel
they
are
alerted
in
a
timely
manner.
Respondents
were
selected
through
a
non‐probability
sampling
technique,
known
as
snowball
sampling,
in
which
existing
research
subjects
help
recruit
future
subjects
from
their
acquaintances.
Other
non‐probability
sampling
techniques
considered
include
reliance
on
available
subjects
sampling,
judgment
sampling,
and
quota
sampling.
Available
subject
sampling
stops
respondents
at
a
given
location.
23
This
was
not
selected
because
it
is
overly
used
and
a
risky
sampling
method
(Babbie
2008).
Quota
sampling
is
the
most
thorough
sampling
technique,
resulting
in
demographics
that
best
mimic
that
of
the
entire
population.
This
non‐probability
sampling
technique
was
not
used
because
of
time
and
expense
constraints.
Judgmental
sampling
allows
more
exact
sections
of
a
population
to
be
targeted.
This
was
not
proper
for
this
study
because
such
exact
sections
of
the
larger
population
were
difficult
to
identify.
Snowball
sampling
is
most
like
judgmental
sampling,
but
in
snowball
sampling,
only
a
small
number
of
the
desired
population
must
be
identified.
Those
identified
then
led
to
other
respondents.
Once
initial
snowball
sample
respondents
were
identified,
they
were
provided
with
informational
sheets
describing
the
study
as
seen
in
Appendix
1.
3.1
Discussion
of
subjects
Two
interview
subjects
were
selected
specifically
as
experts
in
different
areas,
Mitch
Manning,
CEO
of
the
RRRgroup,
and
Joel
Jackson,
Internet
content
manager
at
WANE‐TV.
Two
more
interviewees
were
found
through
WANE‐TV’s
Facebook
fan
page.
These
subjects
were
contacted
based
on
the
high
quality
of
the
comments
they
had
posted
on
a
thread
discussing
the
October
26th
tornados.
These
interviewees
then
helped
recruit
additional
subjects,
and
those
subjects
helped
recruit
more
subjects
until
the
interview
questions
no
longer
received
previously
unmentioned
responses.
24
Six
of
the
subjects
are
women
representing
all
different
ages
(see
Table
1).
Jessica
Kristy,
described
earlier
as
a
“power
user,”
is
searching
for
a
new
weathercaster
after
her
favorite,
Sandy
Thompson,
was
fired
at
WANE‐TV.
Kristy
is
married
with
two
children
and
works
in
retail.
The
38‐year‐old
Kristy
is
one
of
two
female
research
subjects
that
are
not
educated
beyond
high
school.
The
youngest
of
the
women
is
22‐year‐old,
single,
with
a
high
school
education.
The
next
oldest
is
a
23‐year‐old
college
student
who
provided
a
unique
perspective
into
the
use
of
social
media
as
she
is
a
marketing
major.
Another
of
the
younger
subjects
is
a
25‐year‐old
married
woman
who
recently
settled
just
outside
of
Fort
Wayne
after
finishing
graduate
school.
Another
female
subject
is
a
38‐year‐old
wife
and
mother
of
two.
She
has
taken
some
college
courses
but
never
finished.
Currently
she
has
her
own
online
business
selling
jewelry
she
makes
to
people
around
the
world.
The
oldest
of
the
female
respondents
is
a
54‐year‐old
nurse.
She
is
married
and
has
adult
children.
Unintentionally
but
fortuitously,
this
subject
pool
had
subjects
representing
every
level
of
education,
from
the
high
school
dropout
to
doctoral
degree.
The
youngest
of
the
men
is
a
high
school
dropout.
The
25‐year‐old
single
man
grew
up
in
Tennessee
but
moved
to
Fort
Wayne
a
year
ago;
he
remains
unemployed.
The
only
interview
subject
with
a
weather
background
was
the
high
school‐educated,
retired
firefighter,
a
60‐year‐old
divorcee.
During
his
time
as
a
firefighter,
he
volunteered
as
a
storm
spotter
for
the
National
Weather
Service
in
Northern
Indiana.
He
now
lives
25
next
door
to
one
of
his
two
adult
children.
The
last
of
the
interview
subjects
has
his
Doctorate
in
Veterinary
Medicine.
He
is
65,
married
and
has
adult
children.
Table
3.1
–
Interview
Subject
Demographics
Respondents
Gender/Age
Education
Marital
Status
Employment
#1
Jessica
K.
Female/38
High
School
Married
Retail
Sales
#2
Marie
M.
Female/22
High
School
Single
Unemployed
#3
Brenda
A.
Female/23
In
College
Single
Full‐Time
Student
#4
Jenna
F.
Female/25
Grad
School
Married
At
home
mother
#5
Patty
S.
Female/54
College
Married
Nurse
#6
Katie
J.
Female/38
Some
College
Married
Self
Employed
#7
Matt
S.
Male/25
Some
HS
Single
Unemployed
#8
David
D.
Male/60
High
School
Divorced
Retired
#9
Rajiv
K.
Male/65
Doctorate
Married
Veterinarian
3.2
Discussion
of
interviews
Interviews
were
conducted
in
two
different
manners.
On
several
occasions,
trips
were
made
to
Ft.
Wayne,
where
in‐person
interviews
were
conducted.
These
interviews
typically
lasted
no
more
than
thirty
minutes
and
were
recorded
by
hand‐
written
field
notes;
a
digital
recording
device
was
not
used
during
these
interviews.
Another
portion
of
the
interviews
was
conducted
with
an
Internet
chat
service,
26
Google
Chat
or
Facebook
Chat.
These
interviews
took
much
longer
to
conduct,
slightly
over
an
hour
in
most
cases,
but
less
time
was
spent
summarizing
the
interview,
as
the
entire
conversation
could
be
copied
and
saved
into
a
Microsoft
Word
document.
Subjects
were
interviewed
with
a
layout
of
12
questions.
Questions
evolved
during
each
interview;
respondents’
answers
led
to
new
questions.
An
outline
of
the
questions
asked
can
be
found
in
Appendix
2.
In
an
attempt
to
understand
the
social
attitude
towards
weathercasters
and
social
media
in
Fort
Wayne,
the
respondents
were
asked
to
provide
information
about
themselves.
This
provided
a
composite
picture
of
the
group
that
the
individual
informants
represent.
There
is
no
way
to
be
certain
that
non‐probability
sampling
demonstrates
the
attitude
of
the
entire
population,
but
it
does
provide
a
starting
point
for
understanding
the
influence
of
social
media
when
it
is
used
by
television
weathercasters.
Interview
field
notes
and
transcripts
were
analyzed;
themes
were
indentified,
separated,
and
reorganized
according
to
their
place
in
the
study.
To
do
this,
transcripts
of
all
subject
interviews
were
reviewed
and
coded
according
to
theme.
The
themes
identified
are
•
Pervasiveness
of
social
media.
•
Trust
in
weather
forecasters.
•
Perceived
social
media
awareness
of
television
stations.
•
Information
gathering
behavior.
27
•
Changing
parasocial
interaction.
•
Reactions
to
severe
weather.
Coded
responses
were
then
pulled
from
original
transcripts
and
put
into
separate
documents
based
on
themes.
In
conclusion,
the
use
of
the
non‐probability
snowball
sampling
method
allowed
original
respondents
to
recruit
new
respondents.
Twelve
semi‐structured
questions
led
to
interview
responses
that
were
coded
by
themes
and
used
to
gain
an
understanding
of
how
respondents’
growing
use
of
social
media
and
other
emerging
media
has
impacted
the
relationship
with
the
local
television
weathercaster
and
how
this
has
ultimately
changed
how
the
respondents
receive
weather
warnings.
28
Chapter
4:
Trust,
Weather
Forecasting,
and
Social
Media
Trust
is
central
to
unpacking
the
complexity
of
the
relationship
between
weather
forecasting
and
new
social
media.
As
Sherman‐Morris
argues,
parasocial
relationships
and
trust
are
interrelated.
Higher
measures
of
parasocial
interaction
equate
to
higher
levels
of
trust.
However,
Sherman‐Morris’s
work
is
limited
in
at
least
two
ways,
which
this
chapter
seeks
to
address.
First
her
method
is
quantitative
and
cannot
fully
explore
the
nuances
of
audience
trust
in
weather
forecasting.
Second,
her
studies
do
not
consider
the
role
of
social
media
in
contemporary
parasocial
relationships.
Therefore,
this
research
employs
qualitative
interviews
with
both
professionals
and
viewers
to
understand
the
complex
relationship
between
weather
forecasting
and
social
media.
This
argument
is
situated
by
the
Fort
Wayne,
Indiana,
media
geography.
According
to
Nielsen
(2011),
Fort
Wayne
is
the
107th‐largest
television
market
in
the
nation,
making
it
a
medium‐sized
market.
In
proceeding,
this
chapter
begins
with
a
background
and
history
of
television
media
in
Fort
Wayne,
followed
by
a
discussion
with
a
weathercaster
critic,
which
illustrates
an
example
of
the
issues
of
trust
in
television
weather
forecasting.
His
interview
provides
both
insight
into
social
media
use
in
Fort
Wayne
and
makes
assumptions
about
weathercasters
that
are
later
addressed
in
the
findings.
Following
this
illustration,
I
present
a
conceptual
framework
to
assist
in
analyzing
social
media
users.
I
then
evaluate
this
framework
using
a
case
study
of
severe
storms
in
October,
2010,
demonstrating
the
importance
of
trust
in
viewers’
response
to
severe
weather
warnings
by
weathercasters.
From
this
case
study,
I
present
a
discussion
of
my
findings,
highlighting
previously
unrecognized
social
media
pervasiveness.
In
support
of
the
scholarly
literature,
I
examine
how
audiences
inherently
come
to
trust
their
weathercasters.
Social
media
has
provided
a
new
vehicle
for
the
building
of
parasocial
relationships,
and
therefore,
for
building
trust.
Finally,
this
study
claims
that
viewers
no
longer
exclusively
rely
on
television
for
severe
weather
warnings.
In
conclusion,
I
return
to
the
weathercaster
critic
to
underline
the
ways
in
which
trust
is
a
dynamic
and
shifting
relationship.
Indeed,
the
parasocial
relationship
between
viewer
and
broadcast
weather
forecasters
has
become
more
complex
alongside
dynamic
changes
in
the
media
geography
of
local
TV
markets.
4.1
Background:
Fort
Wayne
media
geography
To
properly
understand
the
relationship
among
weathercasters,
the
audience,
and
weather
warnings,
we
must
first
understand
the
media
geography
in
the
Fort
Wayne
television
market.
The
city
of
just
over
250,000
residents
is
home
to
all
four
of
the
major
networks.
NBC
affiliate
WKJG‐TV,
now
WISE‐TV,
became
Fort
Wayne’s
first
television
station
in
1953.
One
year
later,
CBS
affiliate
WINK‐TV,
now
WANE‐TV,
joined
WISE‐TV
to
become
the
city’s
second
TV
station.
In
1957
WPTA‐
30
TV
became
ABC’s
Fort
Wayne
affiliate.
WFFT
launched
in
December
of
1977
as
an
independent
station.
It
was
not
until
the
day
of
Fox
network’s
launch,
October
6th,
1986,
that
the
station
WFFT‐TV
became
its
affiliate.
For
most
of
Fort
Wayne’s
television
history,
there
have
been
three
local
daily
broadcast
news
programs
from
which
to
choose.
That
fact
remains
the
same
today,
but
the
choices
have
changed
over
the
years.
For
the
majority
of
the
last
50
years,
WISE‐TV,
WANE‐TV,
and
WPTA‐TV
all
offered
local
news
coverage.
On
April
6th,
2009,
WFFT‐TV
launched
a
nighttime
hour‐long
news
program,
Fox
Fort
Wayne
News
First
at
10.
Currently
they
produce
one
daily
one‐hour
show
through
the
week.
Other
stations
produce
at
least
4
shows
daily
through
the
week,
along
with
weekend
editions.
Even
with
the
addition
of
WFFT‐TV
to
the
marketplace,
viewers
only
have
three
news
teams
from
which
to
choose.
In
what
remains
one
of
the
most
unpopular
moves
in
Fort
Wayne
television
media
history,
NBC’s
WISE‐TV
news
department
was
merged
with
ABC’s
WPTA
in
2005.
In
the
process,
57
employees
were
fired,
including
on‐air
and
production
staff.
Only
the
lead
anchor
from
WISE‐TV
was
integrated
into
the
WPTA
news
production.
The
move
to
combine
stations
was
wildly
ostracized
by
the
public.
Fort
Wayne’s
News­Sentinel
became
a
fashionable
place
for
viewers
to
voice
their
complaints.
Nothing
angered
fans
more
than
the
release
of
WISE‐TV’s
lead
meteorologist.
Seizing
the
opportunity,
CBS’s
WANE‐TV
quickly
hired
the
recently
fired
weathercaster
and
put
him
to
work
on
the
weekday
morning
and
noon
forecasts.
According
to
Nielsen
Media
Research,
WPTA
and
31
WISE‐TV
immediately
saw
a
drop
in
ratings
while
WANE‐TV
took
over
as
the
market’s
news
leader
(2005).
Just
as
the
NBC
and
ABC
affiliates
now
share
news
staff,
they
also
share
a
website.
The
site
provides
a
video
of
the
weather
forecast,
along
with
a
written
7‐
day
forecast.
Tabs
on
the
weather
page
offer
viewers
links
to
live
skyview
cameras,
interactive
radar,
and
information
on
school
closings.
CBS
affiliate
WANE‐TV
can
also
be
found
online.
The
website
provides
more
weather
information
and
tools
over
the
web
than
any
of
their
competitors.
The
site
offers
current
conditions
for
surrounding
areas,
video
forecasts,
weather
blogs
from
staff
meteorologists,
live
satellite
and
radar
feeds,
and
a
number
of
other
options.
Fort
Wayne’s
newest
news
team,
WFFT,
resides
at
fortwaynehomepage.net.
The
site
includes
live
local
radar,
school
closings,
and
a
weather
warnings
page.
All
three
of
the
news
teams
have
created
at
least
some
kind
of
social
media
identity.
Leading
the
way
in
that
category
seems
to
be
WANE‐TV.
They
are
by
far
the
most
“liked”
television
station
fan
page
in
the
Fort
Wayne
market.
When
Facebook
users
visit
WANE‐TV
or
any
other
fan
page,
they
have
the
option
of
“liking”
that
page.
If
they
choose
to
do
so,
they
will
be
informed
when
that
is
updated.
WANE‐
TV’s
fan
page
had
been
“liked”
by
6,856
people
in
late
2010(October
18th
http://www.facebook.com/#!/wane15
).
WANE‐TV
is
the
most
active
of
the
stations
in
updating
its
fan
page
with
stories
they
are
covering
on
television.
From
their
Facebook
page,
they
often
link
to
stories
on
their
own
website,
bringing
them
higher
traffic
and
more
possibility
for
add
revenue.
From
their
Facebook
page,
one
32
can
also
find
a
link
to
their
station‐run
Twitter
account.
A
review
of
their
tweeting
history
in
late
2010
shows
1,084
followers
(October
18th
http://twitter.com/#!/wane15).
Their
Twitter
status
updates
indicate
that
it
is
not
attended
to
as
actively
as
the
Facebook
page.
An
overview
of
Indiana’s
News
Center’s
(WPTA
and
WISE‐TV)
Facebook
page
shows
what
appears
to
be
the
most
well‐thought
out
and
most
updated
of
all
of
the
fan
pages
in
the
television
market.
Updates
are
very
frequent
on
their
fan
page,
and
the
number
of
people
commenting
on
their
stories
is
equal
to
those
commenting
on
the
posts
of
WANE‐TV.
Yet,
Indiana’s
News
Center
had
only
been
“liked”
by
2,909
people
in
late
2010(October
18th
http://www.facebook.com/#!/IndianasNewsCenter).
The
fan
page
is
set
up
well
to
send
people
to
their
stations
website.
The
Facebook
page
also
connects
fans
to
their
Twitter
account.
1,272
are
following
them
(October
18th
http://twitter.com/#!/inctoday)
,
but
their
updates
are
infrequent.
There
are
gaps
of
days
during
which
no
updates
are
sent
out
at
all.
Finally,
the
youngest
station
in
the
market
has
left
the
smallest
social
network
fingerprint
to
date.
As
of
late
2010,
WFFT’s
fan
page
had
a
total
of
590
followers
(October
18th
http://www.facebook.com/#!/FOXFortWayne).
WFFT
offers
updated
posts
that
appear
on
their
follower’s
walls.
Links
in
their
updates
guide
traffic
to
their
own
webpage.
A
link
to
any
Twitter
profile
is
missing
from
both
the
Facebook
page
and
the
station
webpage.
Missing
from
all
of
the
stations’
social
media
profiles
are
connections
to
the
individual
reporters,
anchors,
and
weathercasters.
Nowhere
are
Twitter
accounts
33
for
the
television
personalities
displayed,
nor
are
there
ways
to
friend
the
television
personalities
on
Facebook.
There
is
a
give
and
take
between
the
station
and
the
audience
on
Facebook
walls,
but
not
between
the
audience
and
the
personalities
who
are
on
the
news
every
day.
If
stations
wish
to
take
advantage
of
parasocial
relationships,
they
will
need
to
promote
and
require
their
talent
to
maintain
social
media
profiles.
4.2
Critics
of
weather
forecasting
InterAmerica
Incorporated
is
a
company
based
in
Fort
Wayne
that
is
responsible
for
hosting
hundreds
of
blogs.
The
RRRGroup
is
a
construct
of
the
larger
InterAmerica
Inc.
This
smaller
group
is
responsible
for
some
of
the
company’s
most
important
blogs.
Of
the
RRRGroup’s
300‐some
blogs
ranging
on
all
topics,
twelve
are
updated
daily.
None
is
more
important
to
the
business
than
Fort
Wayne
Media
Watch,
a
watchdog
blog
that
editorializes
on
the
quality
of
coverage
by
Fort
Wayne
media
outlets,
primarily
television
stations.
According
to
InterAmerica
Inc.
CEO
Mitch
Manning,
Media
Watch
has
been
published
for
21
years,
first
as
a
fax‐send
and
then
as
a
website
in
2001.
Media
Watch
is
not
beloved
by
Fort
Wayne
media.
Even
while
making
enemies
with
Fort
Wayne
media
outlets,
Media
Watch
remains
a
powerful
voice
in
the
city.
As
Manning
describes
the
blog,
“We’re
often
mean,
but
everyone
reads
it,
despite
words
to
the
contrary.”
34
Manning
is
an
expert
in
both
Fort
Wayne
media
and
the
use
of
social
media
such
as
blogging.
Starting
in
ad
sales
at
a
small
paper
in
Michigan,
he
later
became
a
reporter
for
Mellus
Newspapers
and
then
for
The
Detroit
News.
Manning
then
spent
several
years
as
a
radio
host
at
Detroit’s
WLIN‐FM
before
finally
working
for
the
RRRGroup.
Throughout
the
1980’s,
he
and
his
team
at
the
RRRGroup
worked
as
news
correspondents
for
Fort
Wayne’s
The
News‐Sentinel,
the
Indianapolis
Star,
the
Toledo
Blade,
and
the
Fort
Wayne
Television
station
WANE‐TV.
In
the
last
two
decades,
Manning
and
the
RRRGroup
have
made
a
name
for
themselves
among
television
broadcasters
in
Fort
Wayne.
As
part
of
his
duties
at
Media
Watch,
Manning
records
and
views
all
of
the
television
broadcasts
from
all
of
the
stations
on
a
daily
basis;
and
as
might
be
expected
from
someone
who
makes
a
living
and
name
for
himself
as
a
critic
who
holds
the
media
to
the
highest
of
standards,
Manning
is
not
full
of
complimentary
statements
about
Fort
Wayne
television.
Of
his
complaints,
perhaps
he
is
hardest
on
weather
broadcasting.
“Media
managers
in
television
think
of
weather
as
entertainment,
a
break
between
hard‐core
news
and
sports,”
says
Manning.
“The
more
gadgets
and
glitz
that
the
segment
can
incorporate
the
better;
(that
way)
viewers
think
they
are
getting
a
valuable
service
from
the
station.”
Media
Watch
CEO’s
lack
of
trust
in
weather
forecasting
does
not
stop
there;
he
continues,
“The
station
managers
pretend
to
have
the
public’s
concerns
as
a
priority,
but,
if
you
can
get
them
candid,
you’ll
hear
just
what
I’m
telling
you.”
According
to
Manning,
viewers
are
only
concerned
if
it
will
be
hot
or
cold
or
if
there
are
any
“caveats”
on
35
the
day’s
drive
to
work.
He
puts
even
less
importance
on
weather
warnings,
“They
are
not
locale
specific
and
are
only
a
gambler’s
guess
to
where
bad
weather
might
hit.”
Manning
points
out
that,
in
many
cases,
a
station’s
frequent
use
of
weather
warnings
is
doing
more
harm
than
good:
“Generic
tornado
warnings
merely
increase,
unnecessarily,
the
anxiety
of
the
viewers,
and
when
storms
don’t
actually
follow
those
alerts,
viewers
loose
trust
in
future
warnings
and
alerts.”
Manning
believes,
“It’s
a
matter
of
crying
wolf
by
the
TV
stations
and
is
such
a
matter
of
practice
that
many
viewers,
most
perhaps,
take
such
alerts
with
a
grain
of
salt.”
And
as
for
local
weathercasters
being
able
to
warn
audiences
in
time
for
them
to
take
action,
Manning
claims,
“Indiana
weathercasters
have
never
predicted
a
situation
that
is
preventative;
they
have
always
presented
scenarios
that
are
too
little,
too
late.”
While
pessimistic
of
the
weathercaster’s
ability
to
correctly
identify
severe
weather
in
time
to
help
audiences,
Manning
does
feel
that
social
media
have
shortened
notification
time.
He
says
that
the
stations
in
Fort
Wayne
are
either
just
starting,
or
at
least
planning,
to
send
warnings
and
other
information
via
Facebook
and
Twitter.
He
notes
that
doing
so
will,
“certainly
provide
a
cachet
for
TV
stations,
and
will
allow
ad
revenue
to
be
accrued
by
such
practices.”
But
currently,
weathercasters
are
overlooking
the
possibilities
of
social
media;
for
the
most
part
it
is
only
the
station
as
a
whole
and
not
individual
television
personalities
that
is
starting
to
try
to
take
advantage
of
social
media
to
further
its
cause.
Manning
says
that
TV
personalities
can
attain
“cachet”
by
having
Facebook
and/or
Twitter
36
accounts,
“although
most
remain
aloof.”
Manning
believes
that
social
networking
humanizes
television
personalities
that
stations
have
built
up
to
be
celebrities.
He
says,
“They
really
think
they
are
stars
or
celebrities,
which
TV
stations
have
fostered
over
the
years,
but
Facebook
and
Twitter
have
humanized
TV
persons
and
taken
them
down
a
peg
or
two
as
far
as
ego
goes.”
Manning
points
out
that
social
networking
has
forever
changed
local
media.
He
argues
that
these
sites
have
democratized
media.
To
Manning,
this
can
be
both
a
good
and
a
bad
thing.
He
says,
“Media
can
become
more
likable
but
loses
stature
in
the
process;
that
is,
media
becomes
less
austere
at
the
expense
of
professional
cachet
or
credibility.”
Manning
is
clearly
skeptical
of
the
trustworthiness
of
weathercasters
in
any
medium
or
small
market.
However,
he
is
quick
to
point
out
the
possibilities
that
social
media
sites
offer
to
local
stations
as
well
as
to
local
television
broadcasters
of
all
types.
For
personalities
themselves,
he
sees
Facebook
and
Twitter
as
a
way
to
humanize
themselves
to
the
audiences.
Manning
believes,
however,
that
in
doing
so,
credibility
is
going
to
be
sacrificed.
One
would
imagine
then,
that
a
lack
in
credibility
would
result
in
lower
trust
between
the
television
personality
and
the
audiences.
His
opinion
is
in
contrast
to
research
that
suggests
that
strengthening
parasocial
relationships
between
weathercasters
and
the
audience
results
in
higher
trust,
and
ultimately
in
faster
reaction
times
during
severe
weather
events
(Sherman‐Morris,
2005).
The
issues
raised
by
Manning
will
be
recurring
and
addressed
later
in
this
chapter.
37
4.3
Framework:
Social
media
users
Interviews
of
the
nine
participants
in
the
study
showed
different
levels
of
social
media
usership
and
competence.
From
the
interviews,
I
was
clearly
able
to
define
three
different
types
of
social
media
users:
“power
users,”
“social
users,”
and
“new
users”.
“Power
users”
are
the
most
comprehensive
social
media
users,
spending
up
to
5
hours
each
day.
“Social
users”
use
the
site
to
connect
to
friends
and
spend
around
an
hour
each
day.
“New
users”
have
been
social
media
users
for
less
than
a
year.
They
only
spend
15
minutes
a
day
connecting
to
friends
they
otherwise
would
not
ever
see.
Power
Users:
“Power
users”
spend
the
most
time
on
social
networking
sites
each
day
by
far
(up
to
5
hours
in
several
cases).
Often,
but
not
always,
they
spend
a
good
portion
of
that
time
logged
on
through
a
smartphone.
These
users
see
social
media
as
a
viable
way
to
communicate,
just
as
effective
as
phones,
texting,
and
email.
“Power
users”
more
often
have
social
networking
accounts
beyond
Facebook,
including
Twitter,
Youtube,
personal
blogs,
and
Linkedin.
These
users
depend
on
social
media
to
keep
them
informed
of
the
happenings
of
their
world
on
a
day‐to‐day
basis.
“Power
users”
go
out
and
38
actively
find
sources
that
can
provide
them
with
this
information;
they
then
subscribe
to
these
sources,
checking
back
with
them
frequently
to
be
updated.
“Power
users”
do
not
stop
at
passively
taking
information
in;
they
instead
have
a
much
more
symbiotic
relationship
with
their
social
media.
They
give
by
finding
stories
that
affect
their
lives
and
communities
and
sharing
them
with
their
friends,
family,
and
colleges
via
social
media.
They
use
these
sites
to
actively
network
with
people,
to
make
business
connections,
and
to
meet
clients.
“Power
users”
most
effectively
make
social
media
work
for
them.
Social
Users:
“Social
users”
spend
significantly
less
time
each
day
(usually
no
more
than
an
hour)
on
social
networking.
Just
like
“power
users,”
these
users
see
social
media
as
a
viable
way
to
communicate.
These
users
are
less
likely
to
have
an
account
outside
of
Facebook;
those
who
do
most
often
have
accounts
with
Twitter
that
they
pay
less
attention
to.
While
on
social
media
sites,
these
users
spend
the
majority
of
their
time
looking
through
friends’
photos
or
reading
status
updates.
These
users
will
read
articles
and
links
posted
by
their
friends,
but
rarely
take
the
initiative
to
share
an
article
or
information
on
their
own
walls.
These
users
are
also
less
likely
to
actively
pursue
sources
of
information
available
to
them
over
social
media,
yet
are
still
just
as
likely
39
to
follow
information
sources
if
the
provider
is
offered
to
them
without
the
effort
of
their
own
searching.
Ultimately
these
users
view
social
media
as
a
way
to
connect
with
friends
and
family
and
use
it
only
in
a
small
way
to
gather
information
and
to
share
information.
New
Users:
These
users
spend
15
minutes
or
less
on
social
media
each
day.
These
“new
users”
are
often,
but
not
always,
new
to
social
media
as
a
whole.
The
majority
of
these
users
have
had
Facebook
accounts
for
less
than
6
months.
Unlike
the
“power
users”
and
“social
users,”
these
users
do
not
use
social
media
to
communicate
in
the
same
manner.
These
users
limit
social
media‐based
communication
to
those
who
live
great
distances
away
or
those
to
whom
they
have
not
talked
in
many
years.
The
other
two
groups
of
users
are
just
as
likely
to
share
information
with
someone
a
room
away.
These
users
rarely,
if
ever,
have
social
media
accounts
outside
of
Facebook.
“New
users”
do
not
share
articles
and
information
through
social
media
sites.
These
“New
Users”
are
often
surprised
to
discover
that
they
can
receive
alerts
and
updates
from
news
organizations.
This
group
of
people
will
not
actively
hunt
down
sources
of
information
on
social
media
sites.
Nonetheless,
this
group
is
very
important
because
my
interviews
suggest
this
is
a
rapidly
evolving
group.
Nearly
all
will
eventually
become
“social
users”
and
some
will
become
40
“power
users.”
As
a
result,
this
group
is
still
in
the
beginning
stages
of
social
media
use
and
needs
to
be
more
aggressively
sought
out
by
the
media
entities
themselves.
Interviews
show
that
“power
users”
have
stronger
connections
to
specific
weather
casters
than
either
of
the
two
user
groups.
This
suggests
that
parasocial
relationships
are
being
built
primarily
or
even
completely
through
social
media,
something
that
has
yet
to
be
recognized
by
other
studies.
4.4
Case
Study:
October
2010
storms
A
case
study
of
storms
moving
through
Fort
Wayne
provids
a
context
to
evaluate
how
respondents
interact
with
social
media
and
how
they
responded
to
the
severe
weather
warnings
associated
with
that
storm.
On
October
26th,
2010,
a
well‐documented
and
forewarned
widespread
weather
event
that
was
unusual
for
that
time
of
year
took
place
across
the
Midwest;
this
event
challenged
the
participants
of
this
study
to
make
decisions
about
where
to
turn
for
potentially
life‐saving
information,
how
to
share
this
information
with
family
and
friends,
and
ultimately
how
to
put
that
information
into
action
to
protect
themselves
and
their
loved
ones.
41
According
to
the
National
Weather
Service,
a
record‐breaking
low‐pressure
system
over
Minnesota
pushed
a
strong
cold
front
through
the
lower
Midwest
on
the
morning
of
October
26th.
This
cold
front
aided
in
the
creation
of
a
line
of
strong
thunderstorms
known
as
a
squall
line.
In
the
early
morning
hours,
the
squall
line
developed
and
stretched
from
northern
Wisconsin
through
Illinois
and
into
Missouri.
This
line
then
pushed
east,
eventually
affecting
Indiana,
Michigan,
Tennessee,
Kentucky,
Mississippi,
Alabama,
Georgia,
and
Ohio,
before
breaking
up
over
the
east
coast.
The
squall
line
produced
50‐60
mile
per
hour
winds
with
gusts
recorded
at
over
75
miles
per
hour.
In
addition
to
strong,
straight‐line
winds,
storms
produced
tornados
in
Wisconsin,
Illinois,
Indiana,
and
Ohio.
This
line
of
storms
passed
through
northern
Indiana
during
the
mid–
to‐
late
morning
hours.
Television
stations
in
Fort
Wayne
put
the
watch
and
warning
graphics
onto
their
regular
programming
early
in
the
morning,
allowing
ample
warning
for
those
who
checked
the
television
for
updates.
Additionally,
two
of
the
three
stations,
WANE‐TV
and
Indiana’s
News
Center,
provided
live
cut‐ins
from
regularly
scheduled
programs
with
more
detailed
weather
updates.
At
8:37AM,
WANE‐TV’s
morning
meteorologists
posted
information
and
video
on
WANE‐TV’s
Facebook
fan
page
concerning
the
coming
severe
weather.
That
was
the
only
warning
by
any
of
the
stations
sent
out
via
social
media
prior
to
the
storms’
arrival.
Conversations
did
develop
among
Facebook
users
on
the
fan
page
walls
of
all
three
stations
about
what
was
happening
during
the
storms.
42
Ultimately,
the
area
covered
by
Fort
Wayne
television
media,
northeastern
Indiana
and
northwestern
Ohio,
received
the
brunt
of
the
tornados,
with
13
confirmed
by
the
National
Weather
Service.
Of
the
13
confirmed
tornados,
8
were
classified
as
EF1
and
the
rest
were
classified
as
EF0
on
the
Enhanced
Fujita
Scale,
which
rates
the
strength
of
tornados
in
the
United
States
based
on
the
damage
caused.
Winds
in
EF0
tornados
range
from
65‐85
miles
per
hour,
while
winds
inEF1
tornadoes
range
from
86‐110
miles
per
hour.
There
were
no
deaths
or
injuries
as
a
result
of
the
storms
on
October
26th,
but
there
was
a
significant
amount
of
property
damage
across
the
region.
One
EF1
tornado
that
touched
down
in
Allen
County
left
a
seven‐mile
damage
path
up
to
a
half‐mile
wide
in
some
places
(figure
4.1).
As
a
result
of
the
95
mile
per
hour
winds
associated
with
the
tornado,
moderate
damage
to
many
structures
was
observed
to.
Numerous
barns
were
completely
destroyed
as
well.
Similar
destruction
was
seen
throughout
the
region
(figure
4.2).
43
Figure
4.1­
October
26th
EF1
Tornado
Path
Figure
4.2­
October
26th
EF1
Tornado
Damage
44
4.5
Discussion
of
findings
The
participants
of
this
study
were
broken
into
three
groups
of
social
media
users:
“power
users,”
“social
users,”
and
“new
users.”
Literature
has
pointed
out
that
the
online
population
has
doubled
from
one
to
two
billion
users
in
the
last
five
years
(Ling,
Bjelland,
Canright,
Engo‐Monson
2010),
and
we
also
know
that
Facebook
recently
surpassed
500
million
users
(facebook.com,
2010).
Still,
one
might
assume
a
population
of
social
media
users
to
be
a
younger
generation,
perhaps
between
the
ages
of
20‐30,
but
this
is
not
the
case.
Perhaps
even
more
surprising
is
that
age
does
not
play
a
role
as
to
which
of
the
three
groups
participants
fell
into.
Two
of
the
strongest
“power
users”
were
middle‐aged
women,
one
woman
near
40
years
old
with
preteen
children
and
the
other
a
woman
an
empty‐nester
just
over
50.
Both
of
these
women
spend
over
three
hours
a
day
on
Facebook
and
other
social
networking
sites.
This
somewhat
surprising
“power
user”
demographic
has
discovered
the
power
of
social
media
and,
as
a
result,
has
put
it
to
work
for
them
in
their
personal
lives,
saving
them
time,
money,
and
giving
them
more
mobility.
“I
am
a
fan
of
different
news
sites;
I
get
their
notifications.
Depending
on
what
it
is,
I
may
join
the
conversation
and
I
may
repost
it.
Since
I
got
my
smart
phone
in
April,
I
don’t
have
to
spend
as
much
time
on
my
computer
and
I
don’t
watch
as
much
television.”
‐Patty
Middle‐Aged
“Power
User”
45
Another
participant,
David,
a
retired
volunteer
firefighter,
is
now
disabled.
Being
a
social
networking
“power
user”
has
allowed
him
to
maintain
a
social
life
when
getting
out
is
increasingly
difficult.
The
self‐proclaimed
weather
junkie
spends
over
4
hours
each
day
on
Facebook,
connecting
with
old
firefighting
friends
and
keeping
track
of
his
daughters,
because
according
to
David,
“I
keep
track
of
my
family
with
Facebook
because
it
is
just
so
easy.”
And
of
course,
as
a
former
public
servant
and
weather
junkie,
David
likes
to
post
weather
warnings
as
they
come
out,
so
that
all
of
his
friends
from
the
area
can
see
them.
Jokingly
David
adds,
“Sometimes
I
think
people
get
sick
of
me
posting
warnings,
but
like
it
because
they
want
to
be
able
to
take
cover.”
None
of
the
participants
grasp
the
power
of
social
media
quite
like
the
23‐
year‐old
senior
marketing
student
who
spends
up
to
6
hours
connected
to
social
media
each
day.
Again,
the
smartphone
is
a
common
factor
among
these
users
and
it
keeps
them
more
connected
and
more
mobile
than
the
rest
of
the
interview
population.
“If
something
big
was
happening,
I’d
be
checking
Twitter,
because
it’s
so
instant.
I
always
know
what
is
happening.
I
get
emails
from
ABC
telling
me
about
breaking
news,
and
I
don’t
have
to
wait
for
a
TV
to
find
out
what’s
happening
in
the
world.”
The
participants
who
fell
into
the
“social
user”
and
“new
user”
groups
did
not
follow
a
stereotypical
group
demographic
either.
Two
of
the
younger
participants
fell
into
46
the
“new
user”
category,
showing
less
of
an
understanding
of
social
media
than
many
participants
much
older
than
themselves.
Of
course,
the
pervasiveness
of
social
media
use
by
the
members
of
this
study
was
largely
influenced
by
the
self‐selection
of
those
participating.
Presumably,
those
who
do
not
use
social
media
of
any
kind
would
not
have
found
the
topic
interesting
and
thus
not
volunteered
to
take
part.
Still,
it
would
be
suspected
that
those
who
did
volunteer
of
their
own
free
will
would
have
been
of
a
similar
demographic
age
wise.
This
proved
not
to
be
the
case,
as
participants
in
all
stages
of
life
showed
varying
levels
of
social
media
sophistication
and
aptitude.
4.5.1
Audience
and
trust
Just
as
pervasive
in
the
subject
population
as
the
use
of
social
media
is
the
inherent
trust
participants
have
in
their
local
weathercasters.
Despite
Media
Watch
CEO’s
assertion
that
“sophisticated
viewers
do
not
accept
weathercasts
as
bon‐a‐
fide,”
interviews
suggest
that
a
high
level
of
trust
is
given
to
the
weathercaster.
All
of
the
participants
indicated
that
they
value
the
predictions
made
by
a
trusted
weathercaster.
This
holds
especially
true
during
severe
weather,
when
every
interviewee
agreed
that
he
or
she
would
take
cover
if
told
to
do
so
by
his
or
her
television
weathercaster.
One
participant
said
she
trusts
warnings
from
television
weathercasters,
but
she
trusts
Internet,
coworkers,
and
friends
warnings
just
as
much.
This
was
not
the
case
for
most
of
the
interview
population.
Further
47
questioning
showed
that
this
was
not
a
trust
tied
solely
to
the
threat
of
dangerous
severe
weather,
but
instead
it
was
a
trust
tied
directly
to
the
fact
it
was
provided
by
a
weathercaster.
One
participant
said
she
has
gotten
to
the
point
where
she
does
not
trust
the
tornado
siren
in
her
neighborhood
anymore.
During
the
severe
weather
on
October
26th,
she
was
following
the
track
of
the
storms
with
her
favorite
local
weather
station
while
the
tornado
siren
was
sounding
off.
The
television
showed
that
tornados
were
not
a
threat
in
her
area,
yet
her
neighborhood
siren
was
going
off.
She
never
doubted
that
the
television
weathercaster
was
the
provider
of
accurate
information,
and
she
was
correct.
There
is
no
doubt,
during
severe
weather;
consumers
do
trust
the
predictions
of
weather
forecasters.
Even
with
high
trust
in
television
weathercasters,
citizens
are
turning
to
different
locations
to
receive
the
trusted
weather
warning
information.
Previous
studies
have
shown
that
television
provides
a
major
source
of
warning
information
during
severe
weather
(Hammer
and
Schmidlin,
2002;
Legates
and
Biddle,
1999,
Paul
et
al.,
2003).
Subjects
in
this
study
displayed
reliance
on
television
for
severe
warnings
also,
but
people
are
turning
to
other
sources
outside
of
television
for
information,
primarily
to
secondary
information
sources.
Literature
has
shown
that
people
exhibit
a
level
of
dependency
on
mass
media
and
television
to
fulfill
certain
needs
during
normal
conditions
(Ball‐Rokeach
et
al.,
1985),
but
once
an
event
occurs
that
challenges
normal
expectations,
people
begin
information‐seeking
behavior,
creating
a
stronger
dependency
on
mass
media
during
these
times
(Mileti
and
Darlington,
1997).
Interviews
support
this
previous
literature:
All
of
the
48
interview
subjects
recall
searching
out
secondary
sources
of
information
after
hearing
of
the
approaching
severe
weather
on
October
26th.
It
appears,
however,
that
first
and
secondary
sources
are
changing
due
to
the
wide
application
of
social
and
mobile
media.
Television
remains
an
important
part
of
the
process,
but
it
is
no
longer
the
biggest
component
in
information
gathering
for
the
public.
Media
consumers
now
turn
to
the
Internet
as
their
primary
source
of
weather
information
during
severe
weather.
Seeing
an
online
alert
may
lead
consumers
to
turn
on
the
television
for
secondary
information.
One
participant
labeled
as
a
“power
user”
who
still
relies
on
television
as
an
important
information
source
had
this
to
say
about
the
storms
on
October
26th:
“I
got
the
alert
on
my
phone
and
then
I
turned
on
the
TV
before
going
about
my
usual
cooking
and
cleaning.
I
continued
to
get
texts
from
friends
and
family
talking
about
the
weather.
I
read
a
lot
of
(weather
related)
Facebook
posts
about
what
was
going
on
in
other
areas.
I
was
glad
when
I
got
another
alert
to
my
phone
that
the
warning
was
cancelled
and
the
storm
was
dissipating.
I
passed
that
information
on
to
my
parents
and
brother
who
had
lost
power
and
only
had
their
cell
phones
to
keep
up
to
date
with
things
while
they
hid
in
their
bathrooms.”
Building
on
the
literature,
these
interviews
suggest
more
people
are
turning
to
online
and
mobile
sources
for
their
secondary
information.
Even
those
who
heard
of
severe
weather
through
television
generally
still
went
to
the
Internet
for
more
information.
A
number
of
respondents
said
they
loaded
a
radar
loop
from
either
a
local
or
national
website
to
follow
the
weather
on
their
own.
Over
half
of
the
subjects
visited
the
fan
page
of
their
favorite
local
television
station
to
post
49
comments
and
to
join
the
conversation
of
how
the
weather
was
affecting
different
people
(figure
4.3a
and
figure
4.3b).
Figure
4.3­
Severe
Storm
Thread
50
Figure
4.4­
Severe
Storm
Thread
Continued
51
The
23‐year‐old
marketing
student
spent
October
26th
at
her
workplace
where
she
has
access
to
a
computer.
“I
sat
on
the
computer
at
work
on
the
(television)
station’s
website
and
kept
clicking
refresh.
I
was
on
Facebook
and
Twitter
the
entire
time.
I
was
seeking
more
information
about
the
storms.
I
know
its
kind
of
lame,
but
I
don’t
want
to
die.”
4.5.2
New
parasocial
relationships
This
increasing
importance
to
the
audience
of
online
sources
of
information
has
changed
the
nature
of
the
parasocial
relationship
in
the
last
five
years.
Taking
advantage
of
social
media
allows
weathercasters
to
be
more
accessible
to
the
public
than
ever
before,
giving
them
a
new
avenue
to
build
the
parasocial
relationship
that
has
proved
to
increase
their
value
across
a
spectrum
of
media
outlets
(Horton
and
Wohl,
1956;
Rubin,
2001;
among
others).
The
potential
for
social
media
in
building
parasocial
relationships
is
just
now
beginning
to
be
taken
advantage
of,
and
it
is
already
making
a
difference
for
some
viewers.
The
majority
of
those
interviewed
said
they
had
a
specific
weathercaster
they
enjoyed
the
most.
One
person
had
this
to
say
when
describing
why
she
likes
a
particular
weathercaster:
“He
is
more
personable
than
other
meteorologists.
I
feel
like
he
is
talking
directly
to
me.
He
is
funny,
too.”
From
earlier
in
the
paper,
Jessica
Kristy
described
her
favorite
weathercaster
with
similar
intimacy;
52
“I
like
her
personality
and
her
humor.
She
seems
like
she
could
be
my
Aunt.
It
is
hard
to
describe
but
she
is
not
afraid
of
making
mistakes
and
just
rolling
with
it.”
Kristy’s
complaint
of
other
weathercasters
was
that
they
appeared
more
artificial
and
that
they
were
not
real
people.
Unknowingly,
Kristy
has
built
the
textbook
case
of
a
parasocial
relationship
that
was
first
recognized
by
Horton
and
Wohl
(1956)
and
first
described
as
a
relationship
with
the
illusion
of
intimacy
between
a
viewer
and
audience
.
Horton
and
Wohl
also
pointed
out
television
stations’
promotion
of
such
relationships
by
manipulating
camera
angles.
Kathleen
Sherman‐Morris
was
the
first
to
point
out
this
relationship
among
weathercasters
and
audiences
(2005).
The
advent
of
social
media,
however,
has
begun
to
change
the
nature
of
the
relationship
entirely.
While
the
majority
of
the
subjects
have
social
networking
connections
to
a
news
organization,
only
one
subject
has
built
social
networking
connections
with
particular
“personalities”
at
a
station.
The
interviewee
that
has
made
the
connection
appears
to
be
more
attached
to
that
weathercaster
than
those
whose
relationship
has
been
built
solely
through
watching
television.
The
interviewee
talked
fondly
of
seeing
her
favorite
weathercaster’s
posts
on
the
station’s
Facebook
page.
She
enjoys
looking
at
the
posted
pictures
of
the
pumpkin
he
designed
for
Halloween.
This
seemingly
intimate
sharing
led
her
to
name
him
as
her
favorite
weathercaster
because
“It’s
fun
to
know
someone
who
is
regularly
on
TV.”
53
Interviews
show
that
there
is
a
new
way
to
create
a
stronger
parasocial
relationship,
but
television
stations
have
failed
in
using
social
media
to
do
what
they
have
become
experts
in
doing
through
traditional
forms
of
media.
Social
media
campaigns
have
focused
so
much
on
getting
viewers
to
notice
the
station’s
online
presence
they
have
forgotten
to
promote
the
“talent”
that
they
work
so
hard
encourage
with
television
and
print
adds.
The
next
chapter
explores
and
postulates
a
plan
that
can
help
better
utilize
social
networking
websites
to
create
stronger
parasocial
relationships.
4.5.3
Weather
warnings
Finally,
this
study
is
meant
to
study
how
people
react
to
severe
weather
warnings
in
an
age
in
which
people
are
increasingly
getting
those
warnings
from
different
sources.
Also,
we
want
to
further
understand
how
getting
warnings
from
favorite
weathercasters
via
social
media
might
change
reactions
during
severe
weather
warnings.
Literature
from
Kathleen
Sherman‐Morris
in
2005
has
already
shown
that
a
strong
PSI,
Parasocial
Interaction,
results
in
higher
trust
and
a
higher
probability
that
viewers
will
take
cover,
but
she
does
not
look
at
how
the
social
media
influences
this
decision
to
take
heed
to
warnings.
These
interviews
showed
that
respondents
who
fell
into
the
“power
users”
group
were
the
most
likely
to
take
action
when
told
to
do
so
by
a
trusted
weathercaster
with
portable
social
media.
These
respondents
proactively
sought
54
out
trusted
information
and
then
followed
instructions.
One
of
the
“power
users”
took
cover
in
a
lower
level
hallway,
bringing
with
her
her
smartphone
continually
to
be
updated
on
when
it
would
be
safe
to
resume
her
normal
responsibilities.
Another
respondent
who
lives
in
a
trailer
park
followed
the
storm
on
television
and
Facebook
all
morning.
This
respondent
is
disabled
and
the
closest
storm
shelter
is
a
quarter
mile
away;
he
decided
to
take
cover
in
the
next
best
place.
When
the
storm
arrived,
he
and
his
dog
sat
in
the
bathroom
and
rode
out
the
storm.
When
it
is
suggested
one
moves
to
a
safer
location,
literature
shows
trailer
park
residents
are
less
likely
than
homeowners
to
take
shelter
(Schimidlin
et
al.,
2008).
Another
subject
limits
her
weather
media
coverage
to
The
Weather
Channel’s
website.
She
did,
however,
know
there
were
local
tornados
on
October
26th
because
of
posts
she
had
seen
from
friends
on
Facebook.
She
sat
and
watched
the
weather
on
her
computer
the
entire
time
the
storm
moved
through,
but
she
felt
safe
enough
not
to
take
cover
beyond
that.
When
another
interviewee
heard
of
the
storms
while
visiting
a
friend,
she
and
her
friend
headed
straight
to
the
computer
upstairs.
She
signed
on
Facebook
but
did
not
see
a
warning
from
her
“liked”
news
station.
Her
friend
turned
on
the
TV
to
be
able
to
follow
the
storm.
She
then
kept
one
eye
on
the
national
radar
and
another
on
the
window,
ready
to
move
to
the
bathroom
if
needed.
These
interviews
found
that
people
individually
decided
if
they
were
in
danger
or
not,
but
it
was
not
a
lack
of
information
that
kept
any
of
the
respondents
from
taking
cover.
All
the
respondents
knew
about
approaching
bad
weather.
55
Perhaps
more
importantly,
all
of
the
respondents
had
quick
access
to
secondary
information.
So
while
the
respondents
did
not
necessarily
take
cover,
they
were
all
well
aware
of
approaching
bad
weather
and
took
an
extra
step
to
calculate
their
own
danger
by
gathering
information
from
radars
and
weathercasters.
4.6
Conclusion
Despite
Media
Watch’s
Mitch
Manning’s
suggestion
that
weathercasters
are
merely
charlatans
and
that
sophisticated
viewers
do
not
generally
accept
their
forecasts,
research
suggests
this
is
far
from
the
case.
Weathercasters
are,
in
fact,
the
most
trusted
media
personality
(Sherman‐Morris
2005).
Along
with
this
trust
is
a
relationship
built
through
a
number
of
factors,
an
increasing
factor
being
social
media’s
role
in
the
newsroom
and
its
increasing
importance
in
an
individual’s
everyday
life.
Whether
a
“power
user,”
“social
user,”
or
a
“new
user,”
the
pervasiveness
and
impact
of
social
media
is
influencing
how
people
first
hear
of
severe
warnings,
where
they
turn
for
secondary
information‐seeking,
and
how
they
share
severe
weather
information
with
the
world.
During
the
unusually
severe
weather
across
the
Midwest
on
October
26th
residents
in
Fort
Wayne,
Indiana
turned
to
their
television,
computer,
and
mobile
phones
to
find
information
that
could
help
them.
The
source
of
the
weather
information
is
more
mobile
than
ever
before,
but
the
message
is
still
the
same.
Those
who
are
warned
in
time
prepare
56
themselves
as
much
as
they
feel
is
needed.
And
because
of
mobile
media,
more
people
are
warned
earlier
of
severe
weather
than
anytime
in
our
history.
The
first
interview
with
Media
Matters’
CEO
Mitch
Manning
took
place
a
week
prior
to
October
26th’s
unusually
strong
storms.
As
a
Fort
Wayne
media
critique
and
blogger,
Manning
was
quick
to
point
out
the
potential
for
social
media
as
a
tool
for
increasing
the
station’s
profit
and
as
a
way
to
quickly
communicate
during
severe
weather.
“TV
weather
warnings
are
optimal
when
they
occur
early
enough
to
get
the
attention
of
the
viewers
and
are
pinpointed
so
that
those
viewers
can
tell
if
they
are
in
the
tornadic
path.”
And;
“TV
stations,
in
Fort
Wayne,
plan
on
or
are
already
using
Facebook
and
Twitter
for
weather
alerts.
Such
use
will
certainly
provide
cachet
for
TV
stations
and
will
ad
revenue
to
be
accrued
by
such
practices.
“
Furthermore,
Manning
thinks
stations
have
more
to
do
before
they
perfect
their
social
media
use.
Other
interviewees
agreed
that
stations
are
not
taking
full
advantage
of
social
media.
There
was
one
topic,
were
Mitch
Manning’s
view
of
public
opinion
proved
to
be
incorrect.
Manning
says,
“I
generally
loathe
weather
people,
and
have
said
so
at
the
Media
Watch
site
and
blogs.
They
are
“charlatans”
in
my
estimation.”
“Our
experience
is
that
sophisticated
viewers
do
not
accept
weathercasts
as
bona
fide.”
57
Interviews
showed
that
people
do
trust
their
weather
forecaster.
When
people
learn
of
weather
warnings,
they
most
often
turn
to
their
local
weathercaster,
either
on
TV
or
increasingly
online,
for
confirmation
and
advice
of
how
to
react
to
the
information.
Literature
has
shown
that
those
who
have
had
experience
with
severe
weather
in
the
past
are
more
likely
to
pay
closer
attention
in
the
future
(Blanchard‐
Boehm
and
Cook,
2004),
and
perhaps
this
was
the
case
for
Mitch
Manning.
In
a
follow
up
interview
after
the
storms
producing
13
tornados
and
straight‐line
wind
gusts
up
to
75
miles
per
hour,
the
mood
of
Mitch
Manning,
Media
Watch
and
RRRGroup
CEO,
had
changed
towards
Ft.
Wayne’s
weather
presentation
proclaiming,
“The
weather
people
here
did
an
excellent
job
with
the
storms
last
week,
interrupting
shows
of
course,
but
rightfully
so.
When
bad
weather
hit,
stations
here
put
on
their
meteorological
hats
and
stopped
the
foolishness.
Weather
people
are
schizophrenic
that
way:
they
can
be
silly
and
irrelevant
but
when
storms
enter
their
area,
they
become
professional
and
do
their
jobs
with
gusto.”
58
Chapter
5:
Online
Presence
As
discussed
in
the
previous
chapter
and
demonstrated
through
interviews
with
users
and
experts,
understanding
the
parasocial
relationship
is
an
important
means
to
understanding
the
connection
between
viewers
and
television
weathercasters.
This
chapter
will
argue
that
users
who
are
connected
with
TV
stations
through
social
media
have
even
stronger
parasocial
relationships
than
those
limited
to
traditional
television
viewership
and
that
TV
stations
have
an
opportunity
to
capitalize
on
these
emerging
relationships.
For
the
past
50
years,
television
stations
have
purposely
exploited
parasocial
relationships,
but,
today,
the
nature
of
these
relationships
is
changing
due
to
the
rise
in
social
and
mobile
media.
A
procedure
first
pointed
out
by
Horton
and
Wohl
(1956),
TV
stations
promote
this
one‐sided
relationship
using
camera
zooms
and
other
tricks
such
as
conversational
style,
gestures,
and
informal
settings
to
invite
interactive
responses.
It
is
common
that
TV
anchors,
reporters,
and
weathercasters
are
seen
in
print
adds,
billboards,
and
told
to
attend
public
events,
all
increasing
their
public
exposure
and
ultimately
their
parasocial
relationships
with
the
community
(Rubin
Perse,
and
Powell
1985;
Brown
2003,
et
al.).
It
also
has
been
established
that
in
radio,
the
higher
the
PSI
(parasocial
interaction),
the
more
likely
the
viewer
is
to
frequent
that
station
and
radio
personality
(Rubin
and
Step
2000).
For
weathercasters,
a
higher
PSI
has
shown
to
result
in
higher
trust
(Kathleen
Sherman‐Morris
2005),
which
ultimately
increases
the
likelihood
that
a
person
will
take
appropriate
cover
when
instructed
to
do
so
by
a
trusted
weathercaster.
This
chapter
begins
with
a
discussion
with
WANE‐TV’s
Internet
content
manager
to
illustrate
the
typical
social
media
strategy
employed
by
television
stations.
His
interview
provides
insight
into
both
the
growing
importance
of
social
media
to
stations
and
the
room
left
for
improvement
in
utilizing
social
media.
I
then
evaluate
this
illustration
using
a
case
study
of
WANE‐TV’s
complete
online
presence,
the
station
shown
through
comparisons
in
section
4.1
to
have
the
most
comprehensive
online
presence
in
Fort
Wayne,
demonstrating
both
the
strengths
and
the
weaknesses
in
their
online
campaign.
From
this
case
study
I
present
a
discussion
of
my
findings,
highlighting
the
importance
of
talent
maintaining
individual
social
media
profiles
and
the
station’s
need
to
better
promote
its
social
media
presence.
In
conclusion,
I
shall
return
to
user
and
professional
interviews
to
emphasize
the
ways
in
which
social
media
is
not
being
utilized
to
its
full
potential.
Indeed,
due
to
the
shifting
parasocial
relationship
between
viewer
and
weathercasters
as
discussed
in
Chapter
4,
there
are
clear
opportunities
for
TV
stations
to
integrate
social
media
in
this
emerging
media
geography.
5.1
WANE­TV’s
social
media
strategy
60
Even
the
most
well
established
online
station,
WANE‐TV,
requires
nothing
from
their
personalities
online.
That
duty
falls
only
on
the
Internet
department,
which
takes
care
of
the
online
content
for
Wane.com,
as
well
as
Facebook
and
Twitter
on
a
secondary
level.
The
station’s
Internet
Content
Manager,
Joel
Jackson,
describes
the
strategy
for
social
media
use
as
“loose.”
Jackson
has
worked
for
WANE‐TV
for
23
years
and
full
time
in
the
Internet
department
as
content
manager
for
nearly
four
years.
His
education
and
background
are
in
television
news.
He
received
his
BA
in
Radio
and
Television
Broadcasting,
now
commonly
called
Telecommunications.
He
became
the
television
news
producer
in
his
first
years
at
WANE‐TV,
eventually
becoming
assistant
news
director,
until
finally
holding
the
position
he
does
now.
Jackson’s
job
requires
that
he
oversee
the
content
on
wane.com
and
its
mobile
platform
that
can
be
accessed
through
smart
phones.
Less
important
aspects
include
managing
the
station’s
Facebook
page
and
Twitter
account.
According
to
Jackson,
because
his
background
is
in
news,
he
concentrates
on
having
timely
updates,
“The
Internet
can
be
compared
to
a
living
and
breathing
thing
as
opposed
to
a
newspaper,
which
is
dated
the
moment
it’s
printed.”
Even
though
WANE‐TV
has
the
most
extensive
Fort
Wayne
news
station
social
media
presence,
Jackson
describes
their
social
media
strategy
as
a
secondary
concern.
He
adds,
61
“We
don’t
want
to
bombard
fans
with
constant
updates,
just
ones
that
are
critically
important,
weather,
for
example,
or
ones
that
fans
will
find
interesting.
You
want
to
stay
away
from
controversial
topics
as
the
discussion
threads
can
turn
ugly.”
Even
with
the
relaxed
nature
of
the
social
media
strategy
at
WANE‐TV,
Jackson
does
not
underestimate
its
importance,
admitting,
“
They
(Facebook
and
Twitter)
are
definitely
growing
in
importance
and
as
far
as
the
job
goes,
you
can’t
ignore
either
one
and
expect
to
keep
your
job.”
Indeed,
this
chapter
will
argue
that
weathercasters
can’t
ignore
either
one
and
expect
to
keep
their
job.
But
to
understand
where
mid‐level
market
stations
succeed
and
where
there
remains
room
for
improvement,
we
must
examine
the
online
presence
of
one
station.
5.2
Case
Study:
WANE­TV’s
online
presence
As
described
earlier,
Fort
Wayne’s
CBS
affiliate
WANE‐TV
leads
in
television
ratings
and
has
the
most
comprehensive
online
presence
of
any
of
the
Fort
Wayne
stations.
Because
of
this,
they
were
selected
as
the
best
station
to
examine,
knowing
that
all
other
stations
in
the
market
would
show
even
more
weaknesses
in
their
online
campaign
than
WANE‐TV.
As
described
by
Joel
Jackson,
WANE‐TV’s
Internet
content
manager,
the
Internet
department’s
primary
concern
is
the
content
on
the
station’s
website,
62
wane.com,
and
the
mobile
platform
of
that
website
for
smartphones.
This
website
is
well
maintained
and
updated
frequently.
A
screen
shot
of
the
top
of
the
page
shown
in
figure
5.1,
then
zoomed
in
on,
shows
a
number
of
links
and
options
to
guide
users
throughout
the
website,
but
not
among
these
are
any
indications
of
their
social
media
presence.
Figure
5.1­
View
of
Wane.com
links
along
the
top
of
their
homepage.
Links
along
the
top
of
the
page
lead
to
important
content.
Note
the
absence
of
links
to
social
media
sites.
63
To
find
WANE‐TV’s
social
media
links
on
the
main
page,
users
scroll
midway
down
the
page,
and,
on
the
right
side,
a
box
of
tools
and
links
are
displayed.
(see
figure
5.2)
Figure
5.2­
WANE­TV
Site
Tools:
Found
on
the
right
side
bar
midway
down
wane.com’s
homepage
a
site
tools
bar
offers
several
options
allowing
users
to
follow
Wane­TV
online
and
on
their
cell­phones.
64
The
tools
include
(figure
5.2)
‐RSS
Feeds
button,
which
stands
for
“Really
Simple
Syndication”
and
allows
users
to
subscribe
to
timely
updates
in
brief
summaries
that
provide
a
link
back
to
the
original
article
if
the
user
wishes
to
read
more
in
depth.
‐
Mobile
button,
which
allows
users
with
smart‐phones
to
view
the
webpage
in
a
version
that
compliments
their
phone
better
than
the
traditional
computer‐viewed
site.
‐Twitter
button,
links
users
to
WANE‐TV’s
twitter
profile
where
users
can
decide
to
follow
WANE‐TV.
‐SMS/Text
Alerts
button,
allows
users
to
subscribe
to
the
station
cell
phone
text
messaging
service.
‐Weather
Alerts,
allows
users
to
subscribe
to
receive
weather
alerts.
‐Newsletters,
allows
users
to
subscribe
to
emailed
newsletters.
‐Facebook
button,
takes
users
to
WANE‐TV’s
Facebook
fan
page,
where
users
can
like
WANE‐TV
to
receive
updates
in
their
news
feeds.
‐Download
ipulse
button,
allows
users
to
download
WANE‐TV’s
desktop
widget
which
is
a
small
application
that
would
be
placed
on
a
user’s
desktop
screen
and
receive
updates
from
WANE‐TV.
65
This
“Tool
Bar”
box
can
be
found
on
any
page
of
the
website,
even
on
pages
with
news
stories,
but
a
new
tool‐box
also
appears
on
these
secondary
pages
This
new
tool‐box
offers
ways
to
use
and
share
the
article
itself.
In
order
from
left
to
right
the
buttons
are
Figure
5.3­
wane.com’s
tool
bar
can
be
found
on
any
page
of
the
website
‐Bookmark
This
and
Star
Icon,
allows
users
to
save
the
page
in
their
Internet
browser
to
return
to
at
a
later
time.
‐Digg
Icon
is
a
popular
website
that
users
can
“Digg”
websites
they
enjoy.
Websites
that
receive
this
vote
often
get
higher
traffic
as
more
Digg
users
are
sent
to
it.
‐Stumble
Upon
is
a
popular
site
similar
to
Digg,
from
which
users
are
directed
to
highly
“liked”
websites
based
on
their
tastes.
“Liking”
that
site
will
bring
more
Stumble
Upon
users
to
it.
‐Yahoo
Icon
takes
users
to
Yahoo
email
so
they
can
share
the
story.
66
‐Delicious
is
a
less
known
site
like
Digg
and
Stumbleupon
where
users
vote
on
top
sites.
‐Google
Icon
takes
users
to
Google’s
Gmail
to
share
the
story.
‐Redd.It
is
a
site
like
Digg
and
Stumbleupon,
much
less‐used
and
known.
‐Windows
Icon
connects
to
Windows
Email
to
send
story.
‐Email
This
button
uses
wane.com
email
to
share
story.
*Notice
that
there
is
not
an
easy
Facebook
share
or
Twitter
share
button
included
on
wane.com’s
tool‐box
which
is
common
on
many
websites.
Once
on
WANE‐TV’s
Facebook
fan
page
(see
figure
5.4),
one
sees
the
most
well‐maintained
fan
page
of
any
of
the
Fort
Wayne
television
stations.
The
other
stations’
facebook
pages
average
only
3‐4
updates
each
day.
WANE‐TV’s
page
averages
over
10
updates
each
day,
many
of
which
include
video
that
links
Facebook
users
back
to
wane.com
to
watch
the
story
and
read
more
information
about
the
topic.
Other
posts
include
questions
posted
by
users,
which
appear
to
be
well
attended
to
by
WANE‐TV
with
answers
being
posted
within
a
couple
hours.
Questions
are
not
always
responded
to
quickly
though;
one
interview
subject
complained
that
she
notices
questions
that
go
unanswered.
She
asked
a
question
after
severe
storms
moved
through
the
area,
wondering
why
a
certain
tornado
siren
went
off
when
tornadoes
were
not
close
to
her
location.
Her
question
went
67
unanswered
and
made
her
doubt
if
she
would
interact
with
WANE‐TV
again
via
Facebook.
This
is
a
major
sin
for
any
organization
attempting
to
have
a
successful
social
media
campaign.
If
interacting
with
stations
has
allowed
consumers
to
build
loyalty,
neglecting
that
interaction
will
surely
disenfranchise
consumers
to
that
same
station.
Figure
5.4­
WANE­TV’S
Facebook
Fan
Page:
In
this
screen
shot
we
see
the
most
recent
post,
posted
1­
hour
earlier.
Also,
4­hours
earlier
a
question
was
posted
on
their
wall,
which
was
answered
2­hours
later.
68
Figure
5.5­
WFFT
Fox’s
Facebook
Fan
Page:
In
this
screen
shot
we
see
two
posts
in
the
last
6
hours.
Notice
the
low
level
of
user
feedback.
Also,
a
much
smaller
amount
of
“likes.”
From
WANE‐TV’s
fan
page,
one
can
easily
link
to
WANE‐TV’s
home
webpage
and
their
Twitter
account.
While
WANE‐TV
has
a
larger
following
on
Facebook
than
any
other
station,
they
are
behind
Indiana
News
Center
(ABC’s
21
Alive
and
NBC33)
in
the
number
following
them
on
Twitter.
At
WANE‐TV,
Twitter
is
given
much
less
attention
than
the
Facebook
page,
as
updates
are
much
more
infrequent.
There
is
not
the
same
consistency
in
updates
as
there
is
on
the
Facebook
page.
On
some
days
WANE
tweets
10
times,
while
other
times
there
are
three
and
four
day
gaps
69
between
tweets.
So
while
they
make
use
of
the
features
Facebook
offers,
they
are
neglecting
Twitter’s
ability
to
share
information
quickly
(figure
5.5),
even
if
all
WANE‐TV
wanted
was
to
link
back
to
their
Facebook
page.
Still,
even
with
an
infrequency
of
updates
and
a
smaller
following,
WANE‐TV
still
tweets
more
often
than
Indiana’s
News
Center
(figure
5.6)
Figure
5.6­
WANE­TV
Twitter
Account:
A
screen
shot
shows
the
most
recent
tweet
taking
place
an
hour
earlier.
Prior
to
that
the
station
posted
2
tweets
four
hours
earlier.
70
Figure
5.7­
Indiana’s
News
Center
Twitter
Account:
A
screen
shot
shows
the
most
recent
tweet
taking
place
the
previous
day
March
1st.
The
station
tweeted
twice
on
March
1st,
prior
to
that
they
tweeted
February
24th.
As
described
in
section
4.1
and
highlighted
in
this
section,
WANE‐TV
is
superior
to
the
other
stations
in
Fort
Wayne
at
presenting
itself
through
social
media,
yet
it
still
leaves
some
room
for
improvements
that
could
have
major
effects
on
the
parasocial
relationship
between
its
viewers
and
its
anchors,
reporters,
and
weathercasters.
With
weaknesses
existing
at
the
top
station
in
Fort
Wayne,
it
is
fair
to
assume
that
the
majority
of
mid‐level
market
stations
across
the
country
have
room
for
improvement
on
this
very
important
front.
5.3
Discussion
of
findings
71
Just
as
television
uses
TV
camera
tricks,
print
ads,
and
community
involvement
to
promote
parasocial
relationships
with
the
audience
for
the
purpose
of
building
brand
loyalty
and
trust,
so
could
news
stations
with
social
media.
This
aspect
of
social
media
goes
overlooked
by
both
stations
and
talent
alike.
Joel
Jackson
says
of
social
media:
“Social
media
has
allowed
consumers
to
interact
with
us
which
is
something
they
really
couldn’t
do
before.
It’s
a
way
to
build
loyalty
to
your
on‐air
product
and
your
web
site”
The
growing
importance
of
social
media
is
not
what
is
lost
on
the
news
industry,
but
how
to
use
it
to
build
the
parasocial
relationship
is
being
overlooked.
As
media
blogger,
Mitch
Manning
says:
“Individual
TV
personalities
attain
cachet
by
having
Facebook
and
Twitter
account,
although
most
TV
types
remain
aloof.”
Most
markets
do
not
require
social
media
profiles
of
their
talent.
Markets
that
do
not
require
their
talent
to
have
social
media
profiles
are
either
more
concerned
with
their
station’s
social
media
accounts,
or
they
remain
ignorant
of
the
power
of
social
media
entirely.
While
some
individual
anchors
and
weathercasters
choose
to
maintain
social
media
profiles
on
their
own,
it
is
infrequent
in
the
business.
This
also
can
be
attributed
to
ignorance
on
the
part
of
the
weathercaster
about
the
positive
impacts
social
media
use
can
have
in
his
or
her
careers.
5.3.1
TV
talent
need
online
presence
72
Interviews
and
literature
suggest
that
the
audience
would
rather
connect
to
individuals
along
with,
or
even
opposed
to,
friending
stations
as
a
whole.
Companies
such
as
Dell
and
Microsoft
said
of
social
media
in
a
2004
Businessweek
article,
“Done
well,
(it)
can
humanize
faceless
behemoths.”
Interview
subjects
were
asked
if
they
were
mostly
happy
with
the
content
offered
to
them
on
Facebook
and
Twitter
from
news
organizations;
participants
overwhelming
agreed
that
they
were.
Still,
when
asked
if
they
preferred
getting
information
by
following
that
organization
or
by
following
an
admired
“television
personality”
representing
that
company,
nearly
all
respondents
choose
an
individual
person
over
the
business
as
a
whole.
Once
stations
begin
to
push
and
promote
the
broadcast
personalities’
social
media
presence
along
with
or
even
instead
of
their
own,
they
also
must
determine
how
to
get
larger
numbers
of
viewers
to
become
involved
in
their
social
media
campaigns.
When
participants
were
asked
if
Fort
Wayne
television
stations
were
doing
a
good
job
at
reaching
out
to
the
social
media
population,
100%
said
improvements
still
need
to
be
made.
There
are
differences
among
how
individuals
think
stations
can
better
reach
out
to
the
social
media
population.
As
defined
in
section
4.3,
many
of
the
“power
users”
are
already
getting
updates
in
their
Facebook
news
feeds
from
a
local
news
station
because
they
have
taken
the
initiative
to
find
them.
None
of
these
users
interviewed
follow
any
of
the
individual
personalities;
yet,
when
asked,
most
showed
an
interest
in
doing
so,
some
73
even
planed
after
the
interview
to
look
to
see
whom
they
could
follow.
These
people
would
be
easily
transitioned
from
station
fans
to
also
fans
of
personalities
if
the
opportunity
to
do
so
was
posted
on
the
stations
Facebook
page
or
advertised
during
the
newscast.
These
users
were
also
commonly
shown
to
have
a
secondary
social
media
account,
usually
Twitter,
outside
Facebook.
These
users
spend
less
time
on
Twitter,
but
show
interest
in
following
weathercasters
if
access
is
made
available
to
them.
One
“power
user”
said
she
would
rather
watch
a
weathercaster
on
TV
that
tweets
than
one
that
does
not,
saying,
“I
like
reading
tweets,
so
I’d
like
the
one
(weathercaster)
that
tweets.
It’s
like
I
know
them
better.”
5.3.2
Stations
need
to
promote
social­media
presence
The
knowledge
of
talents’
online
profiles
could
easily
be
made
available,
through
(1)
improved
in‐program
marketing
and
(2)
viral
marketing.
Currently,
stations
place
the
talent’s
name
under
that
person
when
he
is
introduced
to
the
newscast.
Technology
and
entertainment
based
cable
channels
have
been
including
Twitter
account
names
along
with
the
talents’
names
to
promote
their
social
media
presence.
The
evidence
gathered
and
discussed
in
the
previous
chapter
about
the
pervasiveness
of
social
media
throughout
all
age
groups
would
lend
to
the
conclusion
that
local
media
stations
could
also
exploit
this
tactic.
Such
in‐programming
tactics
would
be
useful
to
gain
the
attention
of
all
groups;
specifically
“power
users”
and
“social
users”
would
benefit.
A
majority
of
the
74
“social
users”
interviewed
commented
that
they
had
noticed
stations
mentioning
Facebook
and
Twitter
as
they
signed
off,
but
the
stations
did
not
provide
enough
emphasis
for
users
to
remember
to
seek
them
out
the
next
time
they
were
online.
They
thought
stations
mentioning
their
social
media
accounts
at
the
top
of
the
broadcast
and
during
commercials
would
be
helpful
in
getting
audiences
to
remember
them
the
next
time
they
were
online.
The
strategy
would
likely
catch
the
attention
of
the
“new
users”
also.
“New
users”
often
said
they
did
not
know
they
could
follow
stations
on
Facebook.
Reminding
them
with
graphics
during
programming
is
one
way
of
doing
so.
Unfortunately,
interviews
suggest
there
will
be
a
small
number
of
“social
users”
and
a
larger
number
of
“new
users”
that
are
interested
in
following
local
news
online,
but
will
not
remember
to
sit
down
at
the
computer
and
hunt
them
out.
These
users
will
need
to
be
sought
out
while
on
the
computer.
Interviews,
specifically
with
“new
users,”
showed
that
while
interested
in
following
local
news
online,
they
were
not
likely
to
go
to
the
computer
just
to
search
stations
out.
For
these
users,
the
best
way
to
target
them
is
with
viral
marketing
while
they
are
sitting
at
their
computers.
Viral
marketing
typically
targets
pre‐existing
social
network
sites
to
create
brand
awareness.
Its
aim
is
a
word‐of‐mouth
type
delivery
of
information,
delivered
or
enhanced
by
the
social
network
effects
of
the
Internet.
One
interview
subject
asked
if
news
stations
advertised
along
the
sidebar,
because
if
they
did,
he
thought
he
would
have
remembered
that
and
certainly
would
have
clicked
on
it.
Stations
in
Fort
Wayne
have
not
used
this
tactic,
and
with
Facebook’s
75
advertising,
it
is
possible
to
be
very
selective
of
who
exactly
sees
the
side
banners.
Just
Facebookers
living
in
Fort
Wayne’s
television
market
could
be
easily
targeted.
Creative
marketing
could
get
users
to
post
links
to
the
stations
Facebook
page
on
their
own
walls,
creating
this
viral
campaign.
From
this
point,
users
recruit
other
users
almost
unknowingly.
Such
practices
will
be
key
in
gathering
“new
users”
and
“social
users.”
5.4
Conclusion
One
interviewee
said
that
she
enjoys
watching
her
favorite
weathercaster
on
TV
more
because,
after
following
him
on
Facebook
she,
feels
as
if
she
knows
him:
“It’s
fun
to
know
that
you
personally
know
someone
who
is
regularly
on
TV.”
Yet,
the
majority
of
weathercasters
are
missing
out
on
the
opportunity
to
build
this
relationship.
Another
interviewee
had
this
to
say
about
following
her
favorite
weathercaster
on
Twitter:
“If
he
would
say
he
would
tweet
about
the
weather
then
I
would
follow
him,
because
I
trust
him
and
I
like
him,
and
I
feel
like
I
would
be
in
the
know
before
other
people
possibly
could.”
With
this,
we
see
the
desire
of
the
audience
to
connect
with
the
weathercaster
exists,
but
TV
stations
and
weathercasters
have
been
slow
to
either
notice
the
demand
or
react
to
it.
76
Joel
Jackson
is
Internet
Content
Manager
at
the
most
well‐developed
Internet
department
in
all
of
Fort
Wayne
TV
news.
He
knows
the
importance
of
the
Internet
first
hand.
He
has
also
seen
how
the
growth
and
pervasiveness
of
social
media
have
changed
how
he
does
his
job
in
the
last
several
years
saying,
“Particularly
with
Facebook,
social
media
has
allowed
consumers
to
interact
with
us,
which
is
something
they
really
couldn’t
do
before.
It’s
a
way
to
build
loyalty
to
your
on‐air
product
and
your
web
site.
“
Even
with
apparent
appreciation
of
the
power
of
social
media,
Jackson
describes
the
strategy
as,
“a
loose
one.”
The
opportunity
to
develop
long
sought‐after
parasocial
relationships
through
social
media
is
being
neglected.
Stations
are
catching
on,
but
it
has
been
a
slow
learning
curve.
As
with
most
new
technologies,
they
can
often
take
awhile
to
implement.
It
is
not
that
doing
so
is
too
difficult
or
too
time
consuming,
it
is
that
its
advantages
are
still
underrated
or
misunderstood
by
many
in
the
industry.
But
this
is
changing;
some
stations
are
beginning
to
make
the
most
of
social
networks,
and
much
like
in
Darwin’s
Origin
of
Species,
those
stations
that
do
not
adapt
to
this
changing
environment
could
themselves
become
extinct.
Currently
inFort
Wayne,
Indiana’s
CBS
affiliate
WANE‐TV
is
not
making
their
talent
maintain
their
own
online
profiles.
As
explained
by
Jackson,
“Talent
aren’t
mandated
to
have
Facebook
profiles;
however,
they
do
have
to
have
a
bio
that
appears
in
the
“about
us”
section
of
wane.com.”
77
The
fact
remains;
there
is
an
opportunity
not
only
metaphorically
to
dip
one’s
toe
in
the
water,
but
to
dive
right
into
social
media
and
make
it
really
work
for
the
station,
ultimately
producing
stronger
parasocial
relationships,
which
will
result
in
higher
ratings
and
greater
trust
in
weathercasters.
Then,
after
implementing
tactics
to
increase
the
number
following
the
weathercasters,
warnings
will
be
relayed
faster
than
ever.
The
trust
will
already
be
there
so
that
people
are
not
only
informed,
but
will
take
necessary
measures.
78
Chapter
6:
Conclusion
Years
of
watching
Sandy
Thompson
on
WANE‐TV
in
Fort
Wayne,
Indiana,
allowed
Jessica
Kristy
to
unknowingly
build
a
textbook
parasocial
relationship.
To
Kristy,
Sandy
was
“real,”
and
Kristy
was
comfortable
enough
with
Sandy
to
compare
her
to
an
aunt,
a
member
of
the
family.
With
Sandy
Thompson’s
departure,
Jessica
Kristy
turned
to
“channel
surfing,”
trying
to
find
a
new
favorite
and
trusted
weathercaster.
According
to
Kristy,
the
person
who
replaced
Sandy
seems
“fake,”
and
she
cannot
identify
with
him.
While
Jessica
Kristy
is
a
“power
user”
who
actively
sought
out
and
followed
WANE‐TV
on
Facebook,
she
never
went
to
that
next
level
to
search
out
any
of
her
favorite
newscasters.
She
said
she
had
never
thought
about
looking
up
individual
weathercasters
on
her
own,
something
that
could
be
a
quick
fix
for
a
“power
user.”
By
simply
knowing
the
information
or
personal
connection
is
out
there,
Kristy
and
users
like
her
will
seek
out
that
contact
on
their
own.
6.1
Summary
of
Findings
The
primary
argument
of
this
research
is
that
the
emergence
and
popularity
of
mobile
and
social
media
has
transformed
the
nature
of
the
parasocial
relationship
between
the
weathercaster
and
the
audience,
thus
increasing
the
weather
forecaster’s
influence
while
allowing
him
or
her
to
quickly
provide
severe
weather
warnings
with
increased
likelihood
of
action.
This
argument
is
based
on
four
findings.
First,
I
have
demonstrated
social
media’s
popularity
among
diverse
age
groups
and
that
user
demographics
did
not
indicate
any
level
of
social
media
literacy.
Social
media
websites
have
grown
beyond
allowing
users
a
simple
connection
to
friends
and
have
evolved
into
an
information
hub
of
gathering
and
sharing.
Second,
this
research
has
also
shown
that
individuals
trust
their
local
weather
forecasters.
Just
as
the
literature
suggests,
during
times
of
severe
weather
people
engage
in
information
seeking
behavior.
However,
this
study
also
found
that
in
addition
to
turning
to
television,
people
are
going
online
to
gather
secondary
information.
As
a
result,
viewers
are
forgoing
standard
safety
practices
by
choosing
not
to
react
to
storm
warnings
until
the
information
they
have
collected
pinpoints
their
exact
location
as
a
hazardous
area.
Third,
this
research
supports
the
argument
of
the
transformation
of
parasocial
relationships.
Social
media
has
begun
to
allow
a
give
and
take
that
has
changed
how
consumers
interact
with
local
television
news
and
in
return
how
local
news
informs
the
consumer.
Fourth,
this
study
suggests
that
stations
should
promote
the
television
personalities’
online
social
profiles
instead
of
corporate
social
profiles.
Users
have
shown
a
desire
to
make
a
personal
connection,
yet
few
personalities
maintain
social
media
profiles.
Finally,
this
research
has
offered
suggestions
that
will
allow
stations
to
fully
take
advantage
of
the
power
of
new
media.
The
argument
was
supported
by
a
foundation
of
literature
discussing
the
growth
and
popularity
of
mobile
and
social
media,
literature
focusing
on
the
history
of
the
parasocial
relationship,
and
literature
examining
population’s
reactions
to
severe
weather
warnings.
Further
support
for
this
argument
was
generated
using
qualitative
interviews
with
experts
in
the
Fort
Wayne,
Indiana
television
market,
80
including
a
prominent
media
critic
and
blogger
as
well
as
an
Internet
content
manager
from
one
station.
The
argument
is
further
supported
by
qualitative
interviews
of
“normal”
Fort
Wayne
media
consumers.
From
these
qualitative
interviews,
several
types
of
social
media
users
based
on
frequency
and
type
of
social
use
revealed
themselves.
These
groups
were
labeled
“power
users,”
“social
users,”
and
“new
users.”
6.2
Implications
and
recommendations
Interviews
suggest
that
better
on‐air
advertising
would
likely
encourage
a
larger
number
of
“power
users,”
like
Kristy,
to
start
following
individual
weather
forecasters.
The
pervasiveness
of
social
media
throughout
all
age
groups
provides
an
opportunity
for
weathercasters
the
potential
to
communicate
with
a
large
following
during
severe
weather.
Not
only
will
these
followers
be
able
to
be
contacted
more
quickly
through
social
media
than
through
traditional
media,
this
research
has
shown
that
these
followers
will
have
higher
trust
in
their
weathercaster
and
pass
on
the
warning
to
friends
and
family
more
quickly
through
social
and
mobile
media.
For
this
to
happen,
television
stations
must
take
the
necessary
steps
to
promote
their
broadcast
personalities
by
creating
online
profiles.
We
saw
that
WANE‐TV
has
biographies
on
its
homepage
for
all
of
their
talent,
but
that
does
not
provide
the
symbiotic
relationship
viewers
are
requesting.
In
other
words,
the
webpage
allows
Internet
users
to
briefly
read
about
the
broadcast
personality,
but
81
itdoes
not
allow
the
weathercaster
to
share
his
or
her
own
thoughts
or
allow
the
Internet
users
to
communicate
directly
with
the
weathercaster.
Interviews
showed
that
viewers
want
to
be
able
to
communicate
directly
with
anchors,
reporters,
and
weathercasters.
For
some,
specifically
“new
users,”
a
viral
campaign
is
the
most
appropriate
way
to
get
their
attention.
Research
also
found
that
placing
graphics
with
Twitter
or
Facebook
under
TV
personality
names
would
be
enough
to
get
the
attention
of
most
“power
users”
and
some
“social
users.”
Additionally,
most
“social
users”
said
that
more
of
this
type
of
in‐program
marketing
of
Facebook
and
Twitter
would
get
them
to
follow
a
station,
or
an
individual,
if
it
were
offered.
Getting
“power
users”
to
follow
individual
talent
is
even
easier
yet.
Research
shows
that
“power
users”
are
almost
all
following
a
local
news
organization;
they
just
need
to
know
that
they
can
follow
a
“personality”
from
that
station.
Finally,
I
recommend
social
media
training
for
all
future
broadcast
meteorologists.
Just
as
broadcast
news
training
classes
have
implemented
social
media
into
their
curriculum
so
should
classes
for
broadcast
meteorologists.
Having
social
media
skills
will
be
crucial
for
job
stability
in
the
future
of
this
rapidly
changing
industry.
Academically,
there
has
been
a
rich
history
of
research
surrounding
weather
warnings.
Scholars
have
conducted
interviews
after
disasters
to
discover
at
what
rate
populations
receive
severe
weather
warning
information
and
at
what
rate
they
react
to
those
weather
warnings.
In
doing
so,
researchers
have
long
hoped
to
understand
why
individuals
take
cover,
so
that
future
warnings
can
reach
populations
more
effectively.
While
sending
severe
weather
warnings
through
82
mobile
and
social
media
is
already
being
practiced,
this
is
the
first
study
to
advocate
that
the
parasocial
relationship
between
weathercasters
and
audience
via
social
media
leads
to
the
weather
forecaster
having
an
increased
influence
over
the
audience's
decision‐making
during
severe
weather.
6.3
Limitations
and
further
research
This
study
focused
on
the
Fort
Wayne,
Indiana
television
market
by
gathering
information
from
two
expert
witnesses
and
nine
media
consumers
living
within
the
viewing
area
of
that
market.
Fort
Wayne
is
the
72nd
largest
city
in
the
country
and
the
107th
largest
media
market.
While
the
results
from
this
study
could
likely
be
recreated
in
many
other
markets,
they
may
not
be
accurate
in
every
market,
presumably
becoming
less
accurate
in
the
nation’s
largest
markets
where
station
have
more
quickly
adopted
social
media.
This
study
was
also
limited
by
a
small
sample
size.
There
may
also
be
a
bias
in
the
sample
population
as
the
first
two
subjects
were
found
and
contacted
through
Facebook.
These
subjects
obviously
already
have
an
appreciation
of
social
media,
which
certainly
affects
their
response
to
my
questions.
From
there,
previous
subjects
recruited
new
subjects.
Subjects
that
agreed
to
take
part
in
the
study
likely
had
some
interest
and
knowledge
of
social
media
or
television
weather.
As
Babbie
(2008)
discusses,
this
type
of
snowball
sample
is
appropriate
to
identify
populations
that
are
otherwise
“difficult
to
locate”
(pg.
205).
The
sampling
strategy
used
in
this
83
study
worked
to
grow
the
subject
pool
by
drawing
upon
the
existing
social
networks
of
those
already
contacted
by
the
study.
Repeating
this
study
using
focus
groups
to
collect
data
could
be
beneficial.
A
lack
of
time
and
difficulty
locating
subjects
made
using
this
technique
impossible
for
this
study,
but
doing
so
would
have
made
it
possible
to
speak
to
several
groups
equal
to
this
study’s
entire
sample
size.
Focus
groups
offer
shared
perceptions
of
everyday
life,
but
problems
arise
when
attempting
to
indentify
the
individual’s
view
from
the
group’s
view.
Still,
this
study
was
suited
for
obtaining
several
perspectives
about
the
same
topic,
which
focus
groups
allow.
The
results
and
questions
from
this
study
could
benefit
those
in
creating
focus
groups
for
future
research.
Further
research
should
more
closely
examine
the
strength
of
the
parasocial
relationship
that
is
developed
by
means
of
social
media.
While
this
study
set
out
to
better
understand
why
and
how
this
evolving
relationship
is
affecting
weather
forecasting,
a
quantitative
study
using
an
adaptation
of
Rubin,
Perse,
and
Powell’s
Parasocial
Interaction
Scale
could
numerically
identify
how
strong
this
new
form
of
the
parasocial
relationship
is.
This
would
allow
the
parasocial
relationship
built
via
social
media
to
be
compared
to
the
PSI
scores
that
have
been
shown
to
exist
across
many
other
forms
of
media.
6.4
Epilogue:
Overly
tan
and
perfect
teeth,
but
now
“interesting”
84
For
Kristy,
it
was
that
simple
because,
while
she
has
followed
WANE‐TV,
she
has
never
thought
to
follow
an
individual
weathercaster
until
she
was
asked
in
an
interview
about
doing
so.
“I
have
never
thought
of
a
weathercaster
seeking
me
out.
I
usually
friend
the
network
or
store
or
whatever.
I
have
never
thought
of
friending
an
individual
weathercaster,
DJ,
or
something
like
that;
which
is
a
‘duh’
for
me.”
Kristy
continued:
“I
will
now
be
friending
both
(DJs
and
weathercasters)
in
the
future
to
maybe
get
to
know
more
about
the
individuals
that
make
up
the
weathercast
teams.
I
may
have
done
this
had
they
mentioned
it
at
the
end
of
their
weathercast
or
during
the
show
or
in
a
commercial.
You
always
hear
them
telling
you
to
follow
the
show
and
network
on
Twitter
and
such,
but
I
either
haven’t
noticed
it
or
they
don’t
do
it
as
individuals.”
With
that,
the
interview,
taking
place
via
Google’s
chat
feature,
shifted
to
a
focus
on
weather
warnings.
We
started
to
discuss
where
Kristy
first
gets
her
severe
weather
warnings
and
what
kind
of
action
she
takes
once
having
that
initial
information.
But
Kristy,
being
the
definition
of
a
“power
user,”
was
also
on
Facebook
seeking
out
the
information
that
was
important
to
her
life.
“I
have
to
interrupt
you
with
a
thank‐you
for
piquing
my
curiosity
about
the
new
weather
guy
(Sandy
Thompson’s
replacement).
I
just
read
his
profile
and
it’s
interesting.”
85
Ten
minutes
earlier
the
new
weathercaster
at
WANE‐TV
was
“fake,”
overly
tan
with
perfect
teeth.
To
Kristy,
he
was
someone
that
she
could
never
see
being
on
television
while
sick.
But,
Kristy
is
a
“power
user,”
and
the
new
weathercaster
has
a
Facebook
profile,
“Turns
out
he
is
a
storm
chaser
and
spent
some
time
in
Oklahoma
chasing
storms.
I
am
a
fan
of
Storm
Chasers
on
discovery
channel.”
Can
ten
minutes
of
time
on
Facebook
reading
a
profile
change
the
new
weathercaster
from
“fake”
into
a
source
Kristy
will
seek
out
to
have
a
parasocial
relationship
with,
increasing
her
trust
in
him
and
ultimately
his
influence
over
how
quickly
and
seriously
she
takes
storm
warnings?
According
to
Kristy:
“Yes,
his
profile
is
changing
my
opinion
a
little.
Lol.”
86
Appendix
1
Who am I and what am I doing here?
My name is Adam Klotz and I am a graduate student with the Department of Geography at Ball State University. This
study aims to understand the role of the weathercaster can play in social media and how that can be used to warn the
audience of severe weather.
What is your role in this study?
I am interested in learning how you use social media, gather your weather information, and how you react during times of
severe weather.
What about privacy?
Some people may feel that providing information for research is an invasion of privacy. For the purposes of this project
only, I will take notes during our interview. All field notes will be destroyed at the end of the study. You may remain
anonymous if you desire.
How can you contact me about this study?
If you would like to talk to me more about this study, please feel free to email me at amklotz@bsu.edu. You may also
contact my faculty sponsor Dr. David Call at dacall@bsu.edu.
Study Purpose and Rationale
This study aims to understand the relationship between the weathercaster and the viewer as it has shifted from the
traditional television-based relationship to a more interactive social media driven-relationship. I will also attempt to better
understand what has driven this shift from television to online, and how this shift has changed where consumers go to
gather information during severe weather. Having a better understanding of the nature of the relationship between
weathercaster and audience will help weathercasters better tailor weather warnings for maximum effectiveness.
Inclusion Criteria
To be included in the study, subjects must be willing to talk about their social media use, their attitudes towards their local
weathercaster, and their reactions during severe weather.
Participation Procedures and Duration
Interviews will be conducted at a location agreed upon by interviewer and subject. Conversations will last approximately 45
minutes.
Risks
This research involves very minimal risk. Interviewees may perceive loss of confidentiality as a risk, but I will eliminate
names and identifiers from the study as per request.
Benefits
During the last decade social media, along with other emerging media has become a part of Americans daily life. It is known
that the local television weathercaster becomes trusted through a viewers daily television consumption of that
weathercaster. This study can provide insight into the trust gained through following weathercasters using social media.
This ultimately can lead to a higher reaction rate during severe weather warnings and to a way of delivering severe weather
warnings to a new generation of tech savvy media consumers.
Voluntary Participation
Your participation in this study is completely voluntary and you are free to withdraw your permission at anytime for any
reason without penalty or prejudice from the investigator. Please feel free to ask any questions of the investigator at any
time during the study.
IRB Contact Information
For more on your rights as a research subject: Research Compliance, Sponsored
Programs Office, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306, 765-285-5070, irb@bsu.edu.
Appendix
2
Questions Outline:
How much time do you spend on social networking sites each day?
‐
Where are you, and how do you access social media websites throughout
the day?
‐
How has the emergence of social media changed the way you connect to
other people?
‐
If you have news to share with others, what medium do you use to do so?
Do you have a weathercaster you like watching most?
‐
How often do you watch that particular weathercaster each week?
‐
Do you currently connect, or would you be interested in connecting with
him or her through social networking websites?
‐
Do you follow your weathercaster online? How has following him or her
online changed how you relate to your weathercaster?
How do you typically first hear about approaching severe weather?
‐
What do you do first when you hear about severe weather?
‐
Does the source of the information change how you react to it?
‐
If available, would you want to receive messages to your phone warning of
severe weather? (e.g. tweets, Facebook messages, SMS, ect.)
88
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