In the 20 years or so since its inception, social media has produced a mixed bag of results for meteorologists. On the plus side, social media makes it easy for people who specialize in forecast communication to interact with their audience, sharing information quickly without the need for a TV timeslot. It also gives weather professionals access to real-time information from viewers, such as photos and snowfall amounts, during high-impact weather events. On the flip side, social media provides those same tools to bad actors, untrained or inexperienced forecasters, and even trolls. Today, every big weather event is forecasted and reported in a seemingly endless sea of websites, blogs, and apps- and unfortunately, some of the information is complete junk. But how can you know which sites to click, and which are just clickbait?
On Monday, the American Meteorological Society officially launched a program that aims to help credentialed meteorologists stand out in the digital space. It's called the Certified Digital Meteorologist Seal, and as the name implies, it was designed for meteorologists who are not on television and work primarily in digital media. When the CDM logo appears next to an article byline or a social media handle, it means that person attained a 4-year degree in atmospheric science, and that they passed a rigorous exam to assess their knowledge of meteorology and earth science. CDMs also submit a broad scope of work samples for review by a panel of experts in digital meteorology, appointed by the AMS.
I worked with staff and volunteers for the American Meteorological Society to develop this new Seal. Here was the process:
1. It started by talking to meteorologists working in the digital space- forecasters for newspaper websites (aka "digital dailies"), meteorologists for independent forecasting and consulting services, professional stormchasers, and the like. These folks gave me advice and feedback for the framework I would need for the next step.
2. Once I felt confident that we had a workable idea, I submitted a proposal for a new Seal (anyone can do this). The Professional Affairs Commission approved the proposal and recommended the formation of an Ad Hoc Committee to work out the details.
3. Some of the folks from Step 1 served on the Ad Hoc Committee, and I reached out to other AMS Sealholders, both from the Broadcast Meteorology program and the Certified Consulting Meteorologist program, to provide additional support. About a third of the meteorologists who served on this Committee are bilingual. All Committee members are listed at the end of this post.
4. Over the next year, the Ad Hoc Committee worked with AMS Staff to determine the eligibility requirements for prospective Sealholders, including the type and quantity of work samples that would be required for assessment.
5. Then, the Committee developed a grading rubric and scoring guidance to reduce ambiguity and increase consistency in scoring.
6. Finally, the Ad Hoc was dissolved and replaced with the AMS Board of Digital Meteorologists. Many of these inaugural Board members also served on the Ad Hoc. AMS Staff also drafted organizational procedures for this new Board.
If you'd like to apply for the CDM, find more details about the eligibility requirements and acceptable work samples here. To prep for this process, make sure you request a copy of your college transcript, start studying for the multiple choice exam, and save some of your best work samples published within 60 days before and/or after your application is received. Here's the application link: https://apply.ametsoc.org/prog/certified_digital_meteorologist_cdm_program/
Members of the CDM Ad Hoc:
Amy Aaronson, WBFF (Fox Baltimore)
Vanessa Alonso, Local Now/The Weather Channel
Steve DiMartino, NYNJPA Weather
Emily Gracey, The National Weather Desk/Sinclair
Joe Martucci, The Press of Atlantic City
Matt Lanza, Space City Weather
Jason Samenow, Capital Weather Gang/The Washington Post
Sean Sublette, Richmond Times-Dispatch
Mike Ventrice, PhD, DRW Holdings
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