Panel Discussion 6 Lessons Learned from Health Communication: Considering the Weather Communication Implications of Conflicting Information and the Future of Message Consistency in the Weather Enterprise

Wednesday, 15 January 2020: 8:30 AM-10:00 AM
151B (Boston Convention and Exhibition Center)
Host: 15th Symposium on Societal Applications: Policy, Research and Practice
Cochairs:
Castle Adam Williams, Univ. of Georgia, Department of Geography, Athens, GA and Kimberly E. Klockow-McClain, CIMMS, Norman, OK
Panelists:
Joshua D. Eachus, WBRZ, Broadcast Media, Baton Rouge, LA; Caroline MacDonald, Mississippi State Univ., Geosciences, Mississippi State, MS; Corey Pieper, NWS, Office of Communications, Fort Worth, TX; Joseph E. Trujillo-Falcón and Elizabeth Petrun Sayers, CIMMS, Societal Impacts Group, Norman, OK

With the advent of the Internet, social media platforms, and mobile-based devices, members of the public can find weather forecast and warning information from a variety of public, private, and academic weather sources. As a result, meteorologists have concerns that weather messages expressed to members of the public are inconsistent, and in turn, may have a negative effect on public risk perception. Over the past four years, the weather community has organized conference sessions, panels, webinars, and workshops in hopes of overcoming these operational concerns and identifying best practices for communicating a consistent message. However, without an established definition of ‘message consistency,’ panelists and participants found it difficult to discuss operational best practices, ground rules, and recommendations for approaching ‘consistency’ in the Weather Enterprise. During the 2019 AMS Annual Meeting, health communication scholars, who similarly struggle with communicating a consistent message, offered the meteorological community a working definition and a body of research outlining the negative effects of conflicting or inconsistent information. Drawing on this new-found knowledge, this panel will (1) reflect on the lessons learned from previous efforts over the past four years, (2) consider the weather communication implications of conflicting information that was brought to bear this year by health communication scholars, and (3) contemplate best practices, recommendations, and the future of ‘message consistency’ in the Weather Enterprise.

Papers:
8:30 AM
Introductory Remarks

9:00 AM
Panel Discussion

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