Local TV News Viewer Reactions to Weathercasters Reporting the Local Impacts of Climate Change
Local TV News Viewer Reactions to Weathercasters Reporting the Local Impacts of Climate Change
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DOI：
10.1175/wcas-d-18-0066.1
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发表时间：
2019-02
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Allison Engblom;K. Timm;Raphael Mazzone;D. Perkins;Teresa A. Myers;E. Maibach
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Allison Engblom;K. Timm;Raphael Mazzone;D. Perkins;Teresa A. Myers;E. Maibach
大多数美国人将气候变化误解为遥远的风险；电视天气预报员可以通过报道当前气候变化对当地的影响来帮助纠正这种误解。然而，一些天气预报员担心，这样的报道可能会疏远持怀疑态度的观众。这项研究的目的是更好地了解观众对天气预报员提供的气候变化信息的反应。采访了弗吉尼亚州的30名当地电视新闻观众，他们对气候变化有不同的看法，被归类为参与、不参与和不相信。在采访中，向参与者展示了关于气候变化对当地影响的两个图形和两个视频。所有小组的大多数与会者[21/30(70%)]表示有兴趣从天气预报员那里了解气候变化，特别是地方和国家的影响。所有三组中的大多数参与者都理解要点，并对图形和视频都做出了积极的回应。一些不信服的与会者(6/10)对查看天气部分的气候变化信息不感兴趣，但他们并不反对；他们认为天气部分太短，无法充分解释信息。这些初步发现表明，在这项研究中接受采访的大多数当地电视新闻观众--即使是那些不相信人类造成的气候变化正在发生的人--作为当地气候教育者，对电视天气预报员的反应是积极的。这些发现与电视天气预报员的报道一致，后者表示，当他们报道气候变化时，他们从观众那里收到的积极反馈远远多于负面反馈。
Most Americans misperceive climate change as distant risk; TV weathercasters can help correct this misperception by reporting on the current local impacts of climate change. Some weathercasters, however, are concerned that such reporting may alienate skeptical viewers. The goal of this study was to develop a better understanding of how viewers respond to climate change information delivered by weathercasters. Interviews were conducted with 30 local TV news viewers in Virginia with divergent views about climate change, categorized as engaged, disengaged, and unconvinced. During the interview, participants were shown two graphics and two videos about the local impacts of climate change. Most participants in all groups [21/30 (70%)] expressed interest in learning about climate change from weathercasters, particularly local and national impacts. Most participants in all three groups understood the key points and responded positively to both the graphics and the videos. Several unconvinced participants (6/10) were disinterested in seeing climate change information in the weather segment, but they were not opposed to it; they felt the weather segment was too short to adequately explain the information. These preliminary findings suggest that most of the local TV news viewers interviewed in this study—even those unconvinced that human-caused climate change is happening—respond positively to TV weathercasters as local climate educators. These findings are consistent with the reports of TV weathercasters who say that when they report on climate change, they receive far more positive than negative feedback from viewers.