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KLIMAFORSK-Stort program klima

TV-meteorologen som klimaformidler

Awarded: NOK 0.50 mill.

Climate communication and the TV meteorologist as climate communicators The Norwegian Meteorological Institute (MET Norway) wants to make it easier for people to understand climate change and how it relates to local weather. Our meteorologists on TV and radio are skilled science communicators that have a well established audience and a high degree of trust. With that in mind we initiated the project ?TV meteorologists as climate communicators? in 2019. What do you know about our climate research? One of the key questions we needed to ask was: How do we ensure that people know our climate research and how weather relates to climate change? The annual survey Ipsos conducts on behalf of MET Norway shows that few people know our climate research. In 2017 only 37 percent said they knew about our climate research and in 2018, 41 percent said the same. Our trust as a source of knowledge on climate issues is high, with 82 percent in 2017 and 2018, and 79 percent in 2019. We also have the best reputation among governmental agencies in Norway. TV meteorologists as climate communicators When this project launched, things happened quickly. We had our first TV-appearance already before the project period officially started. The last two years, our TV meteorologists have had 40 TV-appearances focusing on different local climate issues on the NRK Evening news. The TV meteorologists have received extended training in climate issues from our researchers, in communication and in presenting news on the NRK Evening news. MET Norway has developed visual products for both TV and social media. These products have improved radically during the project period and the goal is to integrate research-based, localized climate content in the weather presentation, to inform and engage the public about climate change. This project is a good example of what we can achieve when scientists, meteorologists, designers and communication advisors work closely together. We design messages and graphics, used in social media and in press releases as well as in the Evening news. This has resulted in great coverage of the climate issues we have put on the agenda. Increased trust in TV meteorologists as climate communicators The Norwegian Meteorological Institute has strategic goals on climate research and how we inform and engage the public about climate change. Our annual survey results from Ipsos (2020) show that 44 percent know that we conduct climate research. This is on a par with 2019. As many as 85 percent trusts us as a source of knowledge on climate issues, and that is an increase of six percent from the previous year. 82 percent trusts the TV meteorologists as a source of knowledge in climate issues, an increase of five percent from 2019. These numbers show that we have done a good job on the climate issues presented, and that we connect with the audience in a good way. The question now is how can we reach out to a broader audience? We put down a lot of work, but it's rewarding to get the message out there. Hopefully the audience understands more about how daily weather relates to the climate and climate change. This interdisciplinary project brought colleagues closer together and was fun to work with, says Mai-Linn Finstad Svehagen, who worked with this project from the beginning. In December 2020 we conducted an internal survey, where 80 percent of TV meteorologists say that the educational aspect of the project has been very useful. 40 percent completely agree that they are more comfortable communicating climate issues in the media now than when we started this project. Forecasting the future The way we work with science communication and outreach at MET has changed in recent years. The communication team works more closely with our researchers and especially climate researchers than before. Our market position is good, we have skilled and profiled meteorologists on TV and the Radio, but we do not take that position for granted. We continue to work specifically on strengthening the cooperation between the researchers and TV meteorologists, and support them in their work. We continue working interdisciplinary as an editorial team, preparing messages and graphics together. Also we need to mention NRK as a good associate in this project, accepting our initiative in a great way and raising the issues we have proposed. The Norwegian Meteorological Institute continues to work on how to make it easier for people to understand climate change and how it relates to local weather. At MET Norway the use of TV meteorologists as climate communicators will continue as an operational service, building on the experiences and strategies earned throughout the project period. We believe it is important for society that the general public know more about how climate changes. Our contribution to this is neutral climate science presented in a trustworthy way by our TV meteorologists.

Siden prosjektet startet har TV-meteorologene på MET fått klimaopplæring som en fast del av deres månedlige fagmøte, og de har hatt jevnlige øvelser med ulike oppgaver innenfor klimaformidling. Målet var å gjøre klimaendringene til en naturlig del av værvarsling på TV, radio og i sosiale medier. I en spørreundersøkelse sier 80 prosent av TV-meteorologene at undervisningen har vært svært nyttig. 40 prosent av de spurte sier de er helt enig i at de føler seg mer komfortable med å formidle klimastoff nå enn ved prosjektstart. Som følge av prosjektet har MET utviklet en rekke grafikkmaler som kan brukes på TV og i sosiale medier. Det har gjort at vi nå har på plass en god verktøykasse for effektivt å lage grafikk som understøtter våre budskap. Hvert år gjennomfører Ipsos en omdømmeundersøkelse på vegne av MET. Den viste i fjor at 82 prosent har meget eller ganske stor tillit til NRK-meteorologene som kilde til kunnskap om klima, en økning på 5 prosentpoeng fra i fjor.

Prosjektet skal bidra til å opplyse og engasjere, styrke innsikt og skape engasjement for å motvirke menneskeskapte klimaendringer. Meteorologisk institutts TV-meteorologer skal gis opplæring i klimakunnskap og klimakommunikasjon for å integrere forskningsbasert klimakunnskap i sendinger på TV og radio. Det skal utvikles gode, visuelle produkter som bidrar til å gjøre budskapet mer tilgjengelig for mottakerne. Med utgangspunkt i METs klimaforskning vil dette bidra til at forskningsbasert kunnskap tas i bruk i samfunnet. Ikke minst er koblingen mellom vær og klima en viktig syntetisering og sammenstilling av kunnskap. TV-meteorologene er kjente fjes med stor troverdighet i befolkningen. De er flinke til å formidle vitenskap på en folkelig måte, og ikke minst har de allerede et stort publikum, i motsetning til klimaforskere flest. Ifølge NRKs årsrapport benytter 53% av befolkningen over 12 år NRKs TV-kanaler daglig, mens 37% av befolkningen daglig benytter NRKs radiokanaler. NRK og MET har samarbeidet tett i en årrekke. Det er samtidig et mål for prosjektet at meteorologenes klimaformidling skal nå målgrupper på andre plattformer enn radio og TV, som nett, podkast og sosiale medier.

Funding scheme:

KLIMAFORSK-Stort program klima