seal of approval program for radio and television THE PROGRAM AS OF 19971 I. APPLICATIONS The goal of the Seal of Approval program is to continu- A. Upon request from any individual, the Secretary-Trea- ously upgrade radio and television weather programs. Since surer of the Society will furnish an application form. the weathercaster is the primary representative of the me- Applications will be accepted only from full Members teorological profession to the public, we, as meteorologists, of the AMS or those non-Members who meet all quali- have a responsibility to help recognize those who are com- fications for full Member as defined in the Constitu- petent. The Board of Broadcast Meteorology was formed tion of the Society (see also Section VI.E). by the Council in 1957 to establish criteria for the evalua- Members admitted under Article III, Section 4.B of tion of weathercasters and to conduct the evaluation pro- the Constitution will also need at least 12 semester cedure. The growth of television and radio has been accom- hours of study in the atmospheric, oceanic, or related panied by an increasing impact on the public; therefore, the hydrologic sciences from an accredited institution of need for professional weathercasting and its recognition by higher learning. At least 8 of the 12 semester hours, the AMS has been quite apparent. Evaluation procedures with a minimum of two credits in each of three of the were established and the first television kinescope record- following five areas, is required: ing and radio tapes were evaluated by the Board in late 1959. The first Seals of Approval, other than for Board 1) atmospheric or oceanographic dynamics; members, were granted in January 1960. Seals have been 2) atmospheric or oceanographic thermodynamics; awarded to weathercasters with widely varied approaches 3) physical meteorology or oceanography; to presenting the weather on television. To date, over 900 4) synoptic meteorology (or weather systems) or syn- Television and over 150 Radio Seals of Approval have optic oceanography; been awarded. It has always been the goal of the Seal of 5) hydrology. Approval program to foster high standards of profession- alism among broadcast meteorologists. Recently, however, The core courses must include basic processes relevant the courts have attacked the use of the term "professional- to atmospheric or oceanic systems. (A memorandum ism" as being overbroad and capable of misuse. Indeed, this concerning the above requirements was published as standard has many different meanings to different individu- an AMS Notice in the June 1991 issue of the Bulletin.) als. We have produced a more specific definition. Hence- forth, the stated goals of the program will be to ensure that B. The application form must be completed and returned meteorologists who hold the Seal of Approval exhibit sci- to the Secretary-Treasurer along with the appropriate entific competence and effective communication skills in application fee. The fee for television is $275 for their weather forecasts. Members and $600 for non-Members, which includes a subscription to the Bulletin. The fee for radio is $225 for Members and $500 for non-Members, which in- cludes a subscription to the Bulletin. C. The Secretary-Treasurer then forwards the application ! The Board is currently made up of Bryan Busby, KMBC-TV, to the Chairperson of the Board of Broadcast Meteo- Kansas City, MO, chairperson; Vincent D. Condella, WITI-TV, rology. Milwaukee, WI; Frederick J. Gadomski, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA; Tammy A. Garrison, WDRB- TV, Louisville, KY; Michael H. Graham, WAFB-TV, Baton Rouge, LA; Roy L. Leep, WTVT-TV, Tampa, FL; Tim B. II. SELECTION OF EVALUATING COMMITTEE McGill, Chicagoland TV, Oak Brook, IL; David M. Miller, WFRV-TV, Green Bay, WI; and Donald J. Paul, WIVB-TV, A. The Board Chairperson will select five members of the Buffalo, NY. Board, who will constitute the reviewing panel for that Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 1749 Unauthenticated | Downloaded 10/09/21 03:38 AM UTC applicant. Each member of the panel shall certify to 2. Informational value the Chairperson that he or she is aware of no conflict This category will be used to evaluate whether the of interest in accepting the appointment to review any candidate has given the audience sufficient infor- particular applicant. The applicant will be notified in mation about recent, current, and anticipated weather writing of the names and occupations of the members conditions locally and nationally. selected and will be given an opportunity to object to any of the Board members selected. An applicant shall 3. Explanatory value be required to state in writing the reasons for any ob- Reviewers are asked to determine whether or not the jection to any member of the panel. The Chairperson candidate has given sufficient explanation of the may either accept the objection from the applicant or processes that produce the recent, current, and an- refer the question to the Chairperson of the Commis- ticipated weather conditions. sion on Professional Affairs for final decision; the Commissioner shall act on the preponderance of the 4. Communication skills evidence. All applicants shall be notified that unless This criterion is intended to measure the effective- objection is received within 15 days, the Chairperson ness of the means chosen by the candidate to com- will assume that the selected Board members are sat- municate information and explanations. Since this isfactory to the applicant and will proceed to the next is a highly subjective area, only a candidate's clear step. failure to communicate the information will be judged as grounds for failure. Subjective judgments concerning appearance, sets, lead-ins, props, map III. SUBMISSION OF EVALUATION MATERIALS symbols, and voice quality will not be used unless cumulatively the negative effect of a poor perfor- The Chairperson will then request that the applicant sub- mance in any of these areas compels the conclusion mit three video- or audiotape examples of his or her work. that the candidate has completely failed to commu- These examples must be of broadcasts made on three con- nicate his or her message. secutive appearance days. In the case of individuals cur- rently employed "on-air," the tapes shall be of actual on- B. Grades will be awarded in each of the four categories air performances, including lead-ins and throwbacks to on a scale of 4.0, as follows: other on-air talent. All commercial messages shall be ed- ited out of the tape. No minimum time of each segment will 1.0: unacceptable be required. Those not currently employed are allowed to 2.0: substandard submit equivalent simulated tapes. Performances on tapes 2.5: satisfactory (passing) submitted must be less than six months old as of the date 3.0: good of the application.Applicants must also certify that 3.5: excellent weathercasts submitted are substantially the result of their 4.0: outstanding own work. Each reviewer will submit a grade in each category. The grades given by all members will be averaged by IV. GRADING PROCESS the Chairperson. A candidate must score at least a 2.5 average in each category in order to succeed on the A. The applicant sends a copy of his or her tapes directly examination. to each member of the reviewing panel. The Board will review the tapes based on four criteria: V. NOTIFICATION 1. Technical competence This is a two-step evaluation. First, all candidates A. Successful applicants will be notified by letter. In ad- must meet the requirements outlined above in Sec- dition, they will be sent a press release from Society tion I.A or, if not a Member of the Society, demon- headquarters for possible use. strate sufficient educational and professional background to meet these standards for Seal of B. Unsuccessful applicants will be notified by letter from Approval applicants. The second step is an evalua- the Secretary-Treasurer of the Society. The letter shall tion of the submitted tapes to determine whether the contain a statement from the Chairperson of the Com- information contained therein is scientifically and mission, explaining the failure and suggesting ways of technically valid. improving the performance based upon the informa- tion received from Board members. Unsuccessful ap- 1750 Vol. 78, No. 8, August 1997 Unauthenticated | Downloaded 10/09/21 03:38 AM UTC plicants may reapply after a period of three months B. Any complaint that may be grounds for suspension or from the date of the negative notification. The reappli- revocation of the Seal under Paragraph A shall be sent cation fee is $100. After a second unsuccessful applica- to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Society. The Secre- tion, there will be a one-year waiting period before a third tary-Treasurer may summarily dismiss a frivolous application can be submitted. However, if more than two complaint with notice and a statement of reasons to the (2) years have passed from the date of the negative noti- complainant. Otherwise, the Secretary-Treasurer shall fication on the applicant's initial application, then the send a copy of the complaint to the Chairperson of the second application shall be deemed a new application. Commission on Professional Affairs, the Chairperson of the Board of Broadcast Meteorology, and the sealholder. VI. MISCELLANEOUS C. The Chairperson of the Board of Broadcast Meteorol- A. Successful candidates may move their Seal of Approval ogy may resolve any complaint by any appropriate in- from station to station without further application to formal means, which may include contacting the the Society. Relocation from a national (for example, sealholder in question in an effort to resolve by mu- CNN or The Weather Channel) to a local appearance, tual agreement the subject of the complaint.