"The Weatherman Who Tried to Bring Climate Science to a Red State"

"Chris Gloninger said he was hired to talk about global warming in his forecasts. That’s when things heated up."

"In 2021, Chris Gloninger, a television weatherman in Boston with a passion for climate science, was approached with an intriguing prospect. Would he consider a job as chief meteorologist at a television station in Des Moines?

It was a smaller market, and talk of global warming would be challenging in a politically conservative state. But research from 2020 showed that most Iowans were interested in news about climate change, and the state was a leader in wind energy. Mr. Gloninger’s weather forecasts could be a breakthrough.

An interview with the station’s news director, Allison Smith, clinched it. The station, KCCI, wanted to amp up climate coverage, Mr. Gloninger said he was told, not least because agriculture was so important in the state."

Cara Buckley reports for the New York Times June 20, 2024.

Source: NYTimes, 06/24/2024