Technology and the recession are threatening the cultural hegemony—and job security—of the TV weathercaster
The economy and the Internet are conspiring to diminish the position. The National Weather Assn., an organization of professional meteorologists, has seen a downturn in membership renewals over the past few years, from approximately 3,000 in 2006 to about 2,700 in 2010, according to NWA Executive Director Stephen W. Harned. Says Harned: "Anywhere from a third to half of people who graduate with degrees in meteorology this year won't be able to find a job."
The average annual salary of a weatherman, according to the Radio Television Digital News Assn., is $62,300. And they don't come to work with their own interactive maps. "We grew revenue by 56 percent last year," says Paul Douglas, co-founded WeatherNation, which he describes as an "outsourcing weather company" expects to turn a profit in 2011 and expand his staff of eight full-time anchors. Douglas is positioning his business to cash in on what he sees as the future of the industry: personalized weather. Soon, he claims, people will want weather information "tailored for our GPS locations, lifestyles, calendars, anticipating our needs in advance"—all without ever turning on the TV.
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