Climate Matters: A Growing Climate Science Resource for Broadcast Meteorologists

In 2012, Climate Central launched Climate Matters - a program that partners with broadcast meteorologists to provide scientifically sound information about climate science, tailored to each meteorologist's market. A team of climate scientists, data analysts, meteorologists, and graphic artists analyze and prepare the content so that it may be readily included in the constraints of a broadcast weather segment, on-line video, or social media post. The program started as an NSF pilot project in 2010 with Jim Gandy at WLTX in Columbia, SC, has continued to expand - now reaching over 200 meteorologists in more than 90 markets across the United States, including Spanish TV stations.

Surveys developed by Maibach, et al. (2010, 2011) have shown that more than half of broadcast meteorologists would like to include climate change information as part of their offerings to viewers. A more recent survey, scheduled for completion in 2015, expands on the changing needs from the broadcast meteorology community in relaying climate science to viewers. As broadcast meteorologists are among the most trusted members of a media landscape, they have a unique opportunity to reach the public with climate science information. We will discuss where growth has been strongest in the program, where new opportunities exist to access fresh climate science content, and explore the changes in the demands of broadcast meteorologists with regard to presenting climate science.