Media Weathercasting

As mentioned earlier, jobs in the media span a huge spectrum from high visibility network and cable television employment to behind-the-scenes support at private weather services. As previously discussed, small-market television stations probably offer the most viable opportunities for breaking into the world of television weathercasting.

Easily the largest of the media operations, and perhaps the one with the highest profile, is that of the Weather Channel in Atlanta, Georgia. CNN and CNN International, also in Atlanta, have professional meteorologists on staff. The major television broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, UPN, and the Spanish networks Univision and Telemundo) have from time to time hired professional meteorologists as on-air weathercasters, but that currently is not in vogue. What is happening at the major networks, via such programs as Good Morning America, Today, and This Morning, is that they employ "weathertainers," folks who are entertaining communicators, but have little, if any, formal meteorological education.

A majority of degreed meteorologists at television stations that are network affiliates have the AMS Broadcast Seal of Approval, but there is also a trend beginning for television meteorologists to go through the process of becoming Certified Consulting Meteorologists (CCMs) of the AMS. This may enhance the weathercaster's value to the television station.

If you're more interested in radio work, private weather firms, which serve a variety of market sizes, often are open to hiring talent directly out of college.

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