Meteorology and the rhetoric of nature's cultural display

Abstract

On television (the primary source of weather information), meteorology, or the science of short‐term weather prediction, visually associates atmospheric information as relevant to social and economic issues. This is particularly true on The Weather Channel (TWC). This essay borrows and extends the work of Lessl and Messaris to examine the rhetoric of TV meteorology as it is displayed on TWC. I argue that TWC combines priestly (expertise) and bardic (visual eloquence) discourse to create “weathertainment” that predicates and encourages consumer practices.

Key words:

• weather
• bardic voices
• Burke
• priestly cycle