Beyond Linguistic Translations: Old and New Roles of Bilingual Broadcast Meteorologists in the US

As frontline communicators of extreme weather hazards information, broadcast meteorologists (BMets) understand the scientific nature of weather threats and the local demographics and contexts of their market audiences. Thus, they are well-positioned to tailor risk information and offer more frequent and personalized communication with their audiences. One significant challenge that has emerged in the last decade is the development of linguistically and culturally diverse risk information for various audiences, predominantly Spanish-speaking populations who may receive English-only messaging. This presentation describes and discusses ongoing research findings of a NOAA-funded project, which aims to understand how BMets communicate compound hazards during landfalling tropical cyclones. Focusing on the responses collected from interviews with bilingual (SPA-ENG) BMets working for English-only and Latino TV stations in the US, we will introduce the challenges of translating risk messaging to a more linguistically diverse population, their social media and language strategies to reach local audiences, and the stressors of their work, their changing role as a representative of often marginalized populations, and their ethical responsibilities for vulnerable communities living in their markets.