Weather Stories In The Press - Your Views

[Paul]

I'd be interested to know your views of weather articles in the written press, what you think of them, how much you read in to them, how much notice you take of them etc, so please discuss in this thread and if you could also fill in the poll that'd be great too..

Thanks

Paul

[Summer Sun]

Added my vote

0, No, Yes, every time, No

I can see many been the same tbh the UK media is getting worse in over hyping normal weather, not one paper said a hot was coming for the start of September weeks before (Only 5 days before i think even then they said 32c when it only got to 29.9c) yet as soon as it turns cold bang it weeks in advance from certain forecasters December Jan and Feb are going to see this and this. One week at a time is hard enough to get right sometimes let alone 3 month!

[J10]

I rated 1 in terms of trusting the media, and my faith has diminished considerably .It depends though who the media organisation is making the claims and generally i have by far the most trust in comments made by the Met Office, as theses generally tend to be not sensationalized. I certainly would not buy a paper just because it has a weather story though.

[Terminal Moraine]

I'd certainly place rather more trust in the weather related story being factually correct if it was in The Times or Independent than if it was in the Express, Mail or any of the red tops. In fact if it was in any of the latter I'd have no faith in it whatsoever and would expect only sensationalist rubbish expressed mainly in words of one syllable.

I might buy a copy of a broadsheet if it had a weather related story but only if it appeared to be something I knew little about, or if it was written by someone as respected as Philip Eden.

In my opinion, if it's factually accurate weather related stories you're after, you'd do just as well buying a copy of 'Chat', 'Heat' or 'Hello' magazines as purchasing a copy of the Mail, Express, Mirror etc.

[jimbo36]

newspapers weather articles are saved for extremes, always over hyped and often wrong in detail. I'm sticking to my pine cone and seaweed

[Benvironment]

They make me laugh most of the time.....but Joe Public does take them seriously. I've been TOLD by countless people in the last couple of weeks that it will be snowing in Glenrothes before the month is out. And the other week when people were being interviewed on Brighton Beach about the unseasonal October heatwave, a family remarked 'well we had to come and make the best of it now because it's going to be snowing in October'. People do take notice.

[Polar Bear]

When katia as an ex tropical was approaching I did find some small interesting piece in one of the major tabloids. That was prrobably the only time. I am so fed up to the back teeth of any mention of the weather being linked to climate change. Any chance it can be linked it is. Makes me sad as the complete beauty, charm, complexity, strength and unpredictability is never really given a chance to be respected and appreciated and is tainted.

[Aaron]

Well, they need to make a living too!

[J10]

I'd certainly place rather more trust in the weather related story being factually correct if it was in The Times or Independent than if it was in the Express, Mail or any of the red tops. In fact if it was in any of the latter I'd have no faith in it whatsoever and would expect only sensationalist rubbish expressed mainly in words of one syllable.

I might buy a copy of a broadsheet if it had a weather related story but only if it appeared to be something I knew little about, or if it was written by someone as respected as Philip Eden.

In my opinion, if it's factually accurate weather related stories you're after, you'd do just as well buying a copy of 'Chat', 'Heat' or 'Hello' magazines as purchasing a copy of the Mail, Express, Mirror etc.

To be honest I think the Times has deteriorated so much in recent years to be as bad or worse than any of the red tops.

They make me laugh most of the time.....but Joe Public does take them seriously. I've been TOLD by countless people in the last couple of weeks that it will be snowing in Glenrothes before the month is out. And the other week when people were being interviewed on Brighton Beach about the unseasonal October heatwave, a family remarked 'well we had to come and make the best of it now because it's going to be snowing in October'. People do take notice.

It does happen, people are always saying stuff in the papers even though it is rubbish.

[syed2878]

Of course people trust it because it's in the papers. I brodcast on a comunity radio station in brum and on my last sunday's program the phones and texts were red hot talking about the mini ice age.

[Wynn D Woo]

Weather stories in the papers seem to be getting more and more overhyped, misleading or out and out rubbish, whereby the aim seems to be creating a scare or over excitement for the more gullible to lap up and spread about. Occasionally a well written piece appears but that it very much the exception and even some of the more serious articles seem to contain a political bias to it.

[Radiating Dendrite]

Most of the stuff written in the papers is rubbish. We all know the usual suspects to look for (JM, PC).

The amount of times people in work quote this garbage as if it is true! I really feel like screaming. I have to bite my tongue to avoid looking like a smart abcdefg, as well as to stop myself calling people stupid!

[Terminal Moraine]

To be honest I think the Times has deteriorated so much in recent years to be as bad or worse than any of the red tops.

You could well be right, I haven't actually read a copy of The Times in about three years.

[Backtrack]

I have no trust in the media.

Any respect I had for them disintegrated today when they twisted what Paul said to the Daily Express.

[Guest]

Well, they need to make a living too!

Yes but they are supposed to be an information service and inaccurate, exaggerated articles are not information.

I have no trust in the media.

Any respect I had for them disintegrated today when they twisted what Paul said to the Daily Express.

I do like the crossword though - not too difficult so that a low brow like myself can usually solve them

[knocker]

Most of the stuff written in the papers is rubbish. We all know the usual suspects to look for (JM, PC).

I suspect the same could be said for internet forums.

Edited October 15, 2011 by weather ship

[Backtrack]

Yes but they are supposed to be an information service and inaccurate, exaggerated articles are not information.

I do like the crossword though - not too difficult so that a low brow like myself can usually solve them

LOL!!!!

[knocker]

To be honest I think the Times has deteriorated so much in recent years to be as bad or worse than any of the red tops.

Obviously you buy it every day as I do but I disagree completely. I think it's a pretty good newspaper.

[Styx]

I'd be interested to know your views of weather articles in the written press, what you think of them, how much you read in to them, how much notice you take of them etc, so please discuss in this thread and if you could also fill in the poll that'd be great too..

Thanks

Paul

I didn't fill out the poll because I am not ( yet ) a UK resident. But I am happy to answer some of the points based on a local perspective.

Firstly, I am astounded that these sorts of stories are making front page news in your press. I cannot see that happening here, especially based on possible future events which would actually be improbable, with little factual evidence to back up the dramatic headlines.

Interesting to observe so many cowboy weather organisations getting a foothold in regards to public attention via media outlets: Exacta weather, Positive Solutions and possibly others. It is disappointing that the Met Service has not become the fallback authority figure to respond to some of these outlandish claims in those same articles. They appear to have been subjecated by private companies whose mode operandi is to speculate the loudest in order to get attention. Perhaps the Met Service created the problem in the first place with their confident seasonal forecast projections, many of which were fails. I think they have now been abandoned ( ? ).

Personally, I don't buy newspapers but on the rare incidences I do, I would probably be more inclined to buy a copy with a sensational weather headline ( purely for entertainment value ). But it is difficult to compare here and there as I've never seen anything quite like it.

I think its important to remember though that most people are weather illiterate in a technical sense. They don't need guts or complete accuracy in a story to take on board what is said. The same goes for the average tabloid journalist, inaccuracies are not even recognised, because they are starting from a base with no real knowledge.

[Coast]

Some one once told me to believe nothing you hear and only half of what you see!

[johnholmes]

Some one once told me to believe nothing you hear and only half of what you see!

that is probably pretty accurate and I tend to agree with that idea

[Guest]

that is probably pretty accurate and I tend to agree with that idea

It depends on the source

LOL!!!!

Thought it might bring a chuckle

[summer blizzard]

I trust weather articles in the tabloids very little so i gave them a score a 1-2. The articles are often non factual, sensationalist and often people are misquoted.

The specific publication definitely influences my level of trust as for the past 2 years i have refused to read any article published in the Daily Mail, sadly i have had to extend that to the Express this year. If i were to trust an article, it would likely be in the Guardian or Times.

I do not specifically check against the article, but being clued up i can generally compare the realistic effects against the newspaper.

I do occasionally buy the Financial Times however in general i refuse to pay for information which is freely available online (i also read the Metro which is free anyway).

[Norway Nut]

Newspapers are the same here in Norway as the UK ones - always saying the weather is going to be such and such. I usually trust yr.no articles though.

[Methuselah]

Like many, I have absolutely aero confidence in what the papers say...

PS: Paul was quoted on LBC, Saturday night. Was he conflated with PWS?