Tomorrow’s climate: a look back
How weathercasters
and reporters have
covered climate
since 1950
Robert Henson
UCAR Communications
bhenson@ucar.edu
AMS Short Course:
Covering Climate Change Science
21 June 2009
The ultimate “station scientist” challenge
Many weathercasters say little or nothing about climate change.
Some are vocal contrarians.
Others talk about the mainstream science and its implications.
Some factors in the mix . . .
• limited time
• perceived lack of authority
• insufficient information
• insufficient support from
station managers
• personal skepticism about
climate change
This may sound familiar . . .
“Was this past mild winter
just part of a
natural cycle?. . .
Is the warming-up
process worldwide or
merely regional?”
“Is the World
Getting Warmer?”
Saturday Evening Post
July 1, 1950
Science and weathercasting
Late 1940s and early 1950s:
Early broadcast
meteorologists call on
cartoons and other
techniques they used in
World War II flight training.
As they present tomorrow’s
forecast, they also teach
the public how weather
works.
(Courtesy Roger Turner.)
Science and weathercasting
Late 1940s and early 1950s:
Early broadcast
meteorologists call on
cartoons and other
techniques they used in
World War II flight training.
As they present tomorrow’s
forecast, they also teach
the public how weather
works.
“The visual style of TV
weather evolved from
mating wartime
educational practices
with synoptic maps . . .
under the constraints
of low-resolution TV
screens.”
Roger Turner, University of
Pennsylvania doctoral student
in history of science
Enter the entertainers
Mid-1950s: Puppets,
clowns, and
“weathergirls” threaten
the scientific aspirations
of broadcast
meteorologists.
Jan Crockett, WABC (New York), models an outfit
appropriate for Indian summer while playing the ukelele.
(Vogue Pattern Book, 1962, p. 57. Image courtesy Roger
Turner.)
The AMS responds
Mid- to late 1950s: The
AMS develops its Seal of
Approval program,
introduced in 1959.
“We think the weather should be discussed with dignity.
Dignity, not dullness. We think many TV ‘weathermen’
make a caricature of what is essentially a serious and
scientific occupation.”
Francis Davis, “Weather Is No Laughing Matter?”
TV Guide (23 July 1955), 10.
Professionalizing the field
1960s and 1970s:
The growth of the
AMS Seal helps
keep sciencebased approaches
to weathercasting
alive in the face of
“happy news”
Still, there’s little
discussion of
climate per se.
Fred Gadomski, “Weather World,” early 1980s. (Photo courtesy
Paul Knight, Penn State.)
The great global cooling scare
“Climatological
Cassandras are
becoming increasingly
apprehensive, for the
weather aberrations
they are studying may
be the harbinger of
another ice age.”
TIME magazine
June 24, 1974
There was more to the story . . .
Although the 1970s cooling got a lot of press, the bulk of climate
scientists were more concerned about warming than cooling.
“The Myth of the 1970s Global Cooling Scientific
Consensus,” Bulletin of the American
Meteorological Society 89 (September 2008),
1325–1337.
“. . . a strong case can be made that the present
cooling trend will, within a decade or so, give way to
a pronounced warming induced by carbon dioxide.”
“Climatic Change: Are We on the Brink of a Pronounced
Global Warming?” W.S. Broecker, Science 189, 460 (1975)
Technology arrives
1980s into 1990s: The advent of computerized graphics
transforms the look of TV weather—and strengthens the
role of broadcast meteorologists as sci-tech experts.
Weather Channel graphics, circa 1995.
(Photos courtesy TWC.)
1988: Firestorm
Jim Hansen testifies before Congress on June 23, 1988, with record
heat in D.C., drought along the Mississippi, and forest fires in the west:
“99% confidence” that long-term warming under way;
greenhouse gases probably to blame.
Media frenzy ensues; global warming becomes a household phrase.
Concern is bipartisan
“Those who think we are
powerless to do anything
about the greenhouse
effect forget about the
‘White House effect.’ ”
George H.W. Bush, on the
campaign trail
August 1988
Concern is bipartisan
“. . . We have unwittingly
begun a massive
experiment with the
system of the planet
itself. ”
Margaret Thatcher,
British prime minister,
speaking to UK Royal Society
September 27, 1988
Too hot to handle?
During the 1990s, TV weathercasters are
largely silent about climate change.
“It will be interesting to see what television does
as weather loses its innocence. . . .
The happy atmosphere of the weather report will
be difficult to maintain, for the weather can no
longer serve as a haven from [human] history.”
Jay Rosen, “Don’t Need a Weatherman?”
Harper’s Magazine (April 1989), 35.
1990s: “Dueling scientists” take over the
climate-change dialogue. Why?
• Journalism’s roots in political reporting
• Industry lobbying
• Weather coverage that pushes a single cause and
effect (“yes, it is” vs. “no, it isn’t”)
The White House summit
October 1997: More than 100 weathercasters trek to
the White House to meet with Bill Clinton and Al
Gore and get briefed on climate change.
Many weathercasters
address the topic on air
for the first time—
but not everyone takes
an identical message to
viewers.
“ ‘I don't ask for you to advocate or
do anything outside of whatever
your own convictions are,’’ Mr.
Clinton said this afternoon, as the
skies cleared and the East Room
brightened.”
“Clinton Nudges TV Weather Forecasters on Warming,”
New York Times, 2 October 1997
The White House summit
October 1997: More than 100 weathercasters trek to
the White House to meet with Bill Clinton and Al
Gore and get briefed on climate change.
Many weathercasters
address the topic on air
for the first time—
but not everyone takes
an identical message to
viewers.
“Some were careful to distance
themselves from the White House's
arguments. Global warming is ‘a
theory that is widely accepted, but
it's still under debate in the
scientific community,’ Cecily Tynan
told viewers of WPVI in
Philadelphia.”
“Clinton Nudges TV Weather Forecasters on Warming,”
New York Times, 2 October 1997
Early 2000s: Yesterday’s news?
• National concerns shift after 9/11 attacks, Mideast wars
• Energy remains relatively cheap
• No immediate climate catastrophe
Four years, four big events
2003: the Euro
heat wave
Europeans newly
motivated to
address climate
change
2004: The
Day after
Tomorrow
Public interest
spikes—but will
it last?
2005: Katrina
Along with fresh
research, it
brought climatechange risks
home to many
2006: An
Inconvenient
Truth
Gore’s landmark
film and book puts
global warming in
a new spotlight
2005–06: a major shift
in US media
The Weather Channel
takes some big steps
TWC’s “100 Biggest Weather Moments” series
(April 2007):
“global warming” ranks #1
The evolution of TWC’s position
statements on climate change
August 2001: “. . . it is likely that at least some of the
current warming is a result of human activities.”
December 2003: there is “strong evidence that a
significant portion of the current warming is a
result of human activities.”
December 2005 and today: there is “strong
evidence that the majority of the warming over
the past century is a result of human activities.”
Local weathercasters and climate change:
what’s new?
Growth of AMS Station Scientist program
(including workshops like this one!)
Local weathercasters and climate change:
what’s new?
Blogs and other online resources
A tremendous
way to deliver
enhanced
climate-change
background to
viewers while
adding a personal
touch
Local weathercasters and climate change:
what’s new?
Online tools for continuing education
The COMET/NEEF
distance learning course
“Climate Change: Fitting
the Pieces Together,”
designed for broadcast
mets, debuted in May.
See:
meted.ucar.edu
Also from NEEF:
www.earthgauge.net
Enjoy the conference!
For a wide variety of resources, see
UCAR’s website for broadcast meteorologists:
www.ucar.edu/news/journalists/AMSsurvey08.jsp
Enjoy the conference!
For a wide variety of resources, see
UCAR’s website for broadcast meteorologists:
www.ucar.edu/news/journalists/AMSsurvey08.jsp