I personally do not have a general problem with the MSU Broadcast meteorology certificate program. I believe that it offers an important educational opportunity for people who decide to pursue television meteorology as a career, and come by that decision a little later in life than the rest of us. Unfortunately, just like with everything else in the world, there are those who will abuse it. If I do have a complaint against the program itself, I guess it would be with how easy it seems for someone to do just that.
I have seen a couple of cases that illustrate my point. Both of these people have been under my supervision as chief meteorologist. The first pursued a Journalism degree in college and began a career in news. Circumstances led him into Weathercasting, and he soon became a weather fanatic like the rest of us. With a family to consider it was very impractical for him to go back to school full-time (which would have been in another state), so the MSU program filled a need. He applied a great deal of effort to the coursework, and gained a great deal of meteorological knowledge. I am proud to share the title of Meteorologist with him, since I am certain that he will continue to upgrade his weather knowledge and skills.
The second case somehow got through the program without anything useful sinking in, and anything more technical than clockwise circulation around a high is beyond comprehension.
I have worked with others who fall somewhere inbetween these two examples. The point...the program is what you make of it! I will also admit there are some with 4 year degrees that can't forecast their way out of a paper sack.
As for how important it is to managers to have a weather cupboard stocked full of meteorologists, that depends on the person in charge. I have worked for news directors and GM'S that have wanted all AMS Sealholders, and others that could not have cared less. A word of warning to folks with the MSU certificate: I have even worked for a news director that wouldn't even look at your tape if you had an MSU on your resume This ND had probably been burned by an MSU certificate holder in the past. There are probably others like this out there. As has been mentioned by previous contributors to this forum, it is all a matter of what the manager thinks will win the game.
Let's face it. Television is a business, and business is all about making money, not employing meteorologists holding 4 year degrees. The best way for those of us with degrees to maintain, and increase our presence in TV newsrooms is to do exemplary work, using our knowledge to inform, educate, and yes, even entertain our audience. If all we do is produce a forecast and present it on the air while regurgitating a few satellite loops and a couple of temperatures, why wouldn't somebody rather watch the better looking "weatherface" over on the other channel that just rips and reads the NWS forecast? The satellite look and temperatures that they throw up are probably just as good as ours. We should strive to use what we know to do what our uninformed competitors cannot. A little personality doesn't hurt either. I don't recall having to pledge never to smile or be friendly when I graduated from the University of Wisconsin many long years ago.
Why don't we concentrate our energy on doing the best job that we can, while welcoming into our fraternity those who have entered through the MSU door, and are dedicated to the Science of Meteorology.
The audience decided who's product that they will buy. All that we can do is try to make ours the best, watch for blatant cheating, and let the chips, or Nielson meters, fall where they may.
Brian Albrecht
WJXX-TV
Jacksonville, FL
WXB@AOL.COM