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Speaking Out or Staying Quiet on Climate Change: Broadcast Meteorologists Influenced by the Need to Be Pithy, Popular and Politically Cautious

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Book cover Climate Change Adaptation in North America

Part of the book series: Climate Change Management ((CCM))

Abstract

Broadcast meteorologists are in a position to convey knowledge about climate change to the public. These media professionals make deliberate choices about what information to omit or present to their audiences. Interviews with broadcast meteorologists revealed a wide range of attitudes about conveying climate science to their viewers. Three significant concerns emerged from conversations with participants: on-air time constraints are non-negotiable, pressure to be a “popular” personality is constant, and there is an enduring apprehension about taking a position associated with a perceived controversial topic or political viewpoint. Discomfort with these constraints affects the content choices of broadcast meteorologists who might otherwise take a stand representing the scientific consensus on climate change.

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Acknowledgements

We appreciate that this research was supported by a US National Science Foundation Grant 12-22521 through the Advances in Informal STEM Education program. We also thank our Bentley University undergraduate student Kathryn Foley for assistance in multiple ways throughout our NSF-funded project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Natural and Applied Sciences, Bentley University, 175 Forest Street, Waltham, MA, 02452, USA

    Helen Meldrum, David Szymanski, Eric A. Oches & P. Thompson Davis

Authors
  1. Helen Meldrum
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  2. David Szymanski
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  3. Eric A. Oches
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  4. P. Thompson Davis
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Helen Meldrum .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Life Sciences, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

    Jesse M. Keenan

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Meldrum, H., Szymanski, D., Oches, E.A., Thompson Davis, P. (2017). Speaking Out or Staying Quiet on Climate Change: Broadcast Meteorologists Influenced by the Need to Be Pithy, Popular and Politically Cautious. In: Leal Filho, W., Keenan, J. (eds) Climate Change Adaptation in North America. Climate Change Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53742-9_16

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