Severe Weather and Media Coverage

The weather, as you may or may not already know is very fickle. The way that the media produces a story, or hypes public opinion up, changes the way in which we perceive weather. Through my reading of the section: Social Media and Severe Weather: Do Tweets Provide a Valid Indicator of Public Attention to Severe Weather Risk Communication? it becomes clear that in our society of today social media plays a huge factor in weather communication. This helps to reason that the media around us today affects the way in which society views the weather as an important topic as it relates to climate change.

In the section it discusses the technical facts that help state the claim. The authors state that, “In 2011 alone, 1691 confirmed tornadoes in the continental United States were responsible for 550 fatalities, approximately 5400 injuries, and more than $10 billion of property and crop damage (NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center 2012).” This statement of fact is cited with a hyperlink source online that states another element of credibility. They use this fact and transition into the discussion that the social media website and app Twitter can actually be a beneficent factor in awareness of natural disasters. This is then back up with another piece of evidence, “This communication is effective if the target population 1) is exposed to the information, 2) pays attention to it, and 3) understands it. It is ineffective if the target population does not receive, attend to, or comprehend the information being conveyed (Lindell and Perry 2012). In other words, the difference between effective and ineffective communication hinges upon exposure, attention, and comprehension, all three of which are preconditions for protective action behavior (Lindell and Perry 2012).”

Taking all of this information into account may be overwhelming, trust me, you didn’t have to write about it. All joking aside, what does all of this mean about the way in which media coverage of weather affects the population’s view of climate change? The fact that was from Lindell and Perry really explained it better. The only way in which people understand things is when there is exposure to information. When I log on to Twitter on my phone at least 48% of my timeline is full of people being what I call “wanna be meteorologists”. That exposure to the information about today’s weather or this week’s weather makes me have some knowledge about it.

In the excerpt from the book has the appeal of all the rhetorical moves. It thoroughly cites all of the sources, as well as in text citations. It also helps to give another angle to the way in which we perceive the information that is on social media. Weather staying in the public’s focus is a good thing because it will help people to start seeing first-hand the effects of climate change.

            References

Ripberger, Joseph T., et al. "Social Media And Severe Weather: Do Tweets Provide A Valid Indicator Of Public Attention To Severe Weather Risk Communication?." Weather, Climate & Society 6.4 (2014): 520-530. Environment Complete. Web. 1 Apr. 2015.