In a time when only a handful of TV news stations employ a
dedicated science reporter, TV weathercasters may seem like the
logical people to fill that role, and in many cases they do. In
the largest and most representative survey of television
weathercasters to date, George Mason University's Center for
Climate Change Communication shows that two-thirds of
weathercasters are interested in reporting on climate change,
and many say they are already filling a role as an informal
science educator. "Our surveys of the public have shown that
many Americans are looking to their local TV weathercaster for
information about global warming," says Edward Maibach, director
of the Center for Climate Change Communication. "The findings of
this latest survey show that TV weathercasters play—or can
play—an important role as informal climate change educators."
According to the survey, climate change is already one of the
most common science topics TV weathercasters discuss—most
commonly at speaking events, but also at the beg