Customizing Climate Information for Broadcast Meteorologists via Climate.Gov

We present a coherent strategy to meet the unique needs of broadcast meteorologists for using climate products from the www.climate.gov portal. Viewers in local and national markets want to understand the climate-driven causes of extreme weather phenomena, likely future conditions from season to season, and why recent weeks and months included weather they find unusual or puzzling. Until recently, broadcast meteorologists have not had television-ready graphics and text-based synopses that facilitate on-air reporting.

The team producing content for www.climate.gov is focused on the unique needs of broadcasters. We have launched a video series, in newscast format, to gain expertise and experience producing content in the style that broadcasters need and want. We interpret global observations of weather and climate conditions using recent satellite images sequenced together in time series that are readily transferable to television. In addition to our video broadcast stream, we supply written text that explains static and motion graphics that illustrate the behavior of the climate system. The video program stream, raw graphics, text, and image treatments are available for download and re-use.

We are in direct communication with broadcasters who request climate content for on-air use. We document and learn from these exchanges in order to better understand the unique needs of individuals as well as the community as a whole. Feedback to date has clarified that broadcasters require production-ready graphics and visualizations for one-day turnaround on their programs. Those we have worked with do not want complete media packages. While producing complete packages for our own audience, we provide the raw assets needed for branded distribution through local markets. Different markets have differing capacity to handle layered graphics and rendered media, so our strategy is to provide content in the most flexible way possible, i.e., in multiple formats.

Science literacy, and climate literacy more specifically, is generally very poor among the American public. Because NOAA is a trusted source of information about the climate system, our strategy is to focus on climate-driven weather events in order to help people understand the climate system. Our “Media Watch” tool allows us to examine the frequency of reporting around an event as well as the context in which it is reported. Analyzing these data in retrospect allows us to evaluate the extent to which peer-reviewed, well-vetted climate concepts are being represented in various media outlets.

By understanding production capacity requirements among broadcasters and translating our climate products to suit broadcasters' requirements, we are broadening the reach of climate services. By soliciting your use and feedback about those products, we are evolving our collective capacity to deliver those services. By continually tracking climate issues in the marketplace, we are committed to evaluating our efficacy in reaching the American public with relevant messages about the climate system.