As weathercasters and broadcast meteorologists,
you have long enjoyed an unofficial status as the "science
experts" of the newsroom. This is natural, considering
your science backgrounds and the fact that you routinely
convey complex scientific information about the earth and
atmosphere to your viewers.
A logical extension of this role can be
seen in the current industry trend for the weathercaster/broadcast
met role to evolve into that of "station scientist." In many markets, weathercasts now include reporting on other
environmental topics that are relevant to people's daily
lives. These topics may vary from local to global issues
and give you the unique opportunity to go beyond the forecast.
The AMS's new Certified Broadcast Meteorologist
(CBM) Program is one means of acknowledging this new, broader
role, and heightened levels of expectations. The following
links provide more informaiton about this program and the
new station scientist roles we're starting to see on stations
across the country.
In the highly competitive and ever-evolving
world of broadcast journalism, one fact remains constant:
the weather segment is the most-watched part of the local
news and the main reason a large percentage of viewers tune
in. This
prominence has led many broadcast meteorologists to participate
in seal and certification programs as a means of sharpening
their competitive edge. MetEd's online training & education
materials can help fulfill and document your continuing
education requirements for both NWA and AMS programs. The
following external links provide further information on
these programs:
The MetEd
Website was established to provide education and training
resources to meteorololgy professionals and universities.
MetEd is populated and maintained by the the University
Corporation for Atmospheric Research's (UCAR's) COMET Program.
MetEd offers hundreds of hours of freely
available online training and professional development materials. The Featured Training Materials on this site will be expecially useful to weathercasters and broadcast
meteorologists, and all help fulfill the continuing education requirements for both the NWA Broadcaster's Seal Program and the AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Program (see below).
Additional Weather Education Resources
Many other excellent sources of weather education resources exist from other organizations. The links below are just a few suggestions for prominent US sources.
