Hearst TV Stations Air Severe Weather Special in Prime

Forecasting Our Future, a Hearst TV initiative
(Image credit: Hearst Television)

Hearst Television takes on weather issues and climate change when its stations air a primetime special, part of the group’s Forecasting Our Future initiative, beginning April 21. 

Forecasting Our Future addresses “issues Americans face in navigating changing weather patterns and their impact on local communities and economies,” according to Hearst TV. The group’s national investigative and consumer reporting units take part in it, as do more than 100 meteorologists and weather experts from around the country. 

The special also streams on the Very Local app.

“Our viewers in every region are experiencing the shifting frequency and intensity of severe weather and climate events,” said Barbara Maushard, Hearst Television senior VP, news.  “Whether it’s storms, hurricanes and tornadoes, or growing anomalies with wildfires, droughts and unseasonal temperatures, our local experts are on the front lines to see and report the impact firsthand. In this program, we present data that underscores weather shifts impacting our communities and explore homegrown solutions to lessen risk of damage and impact on people and property.”

For the inaugural primetime special, Hearst Television chief national investigative correspondent Mark Albert talks to researchers at both the U.S. Forest Service and a little-known laboratory on the study of tree rings, as they analyze and predict drought conditions and the impact on forests. Experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) address analyses that “Tornado Alley” may be shifting. 

Hearst Television chief national consumer correspondent Jeff Rossen informs viewers about three sustainable products they can use around the home in place of commonly used products that add to unhealthy emissions and plastics disposal.

Hearst TV stations include WCVB Boston, WDSU New Orleans and WBAL Baltimore. ■

Michael Malone

Michael Malone is content director at B+C and Multichannel News. He joined B+C in 2005 and has covered network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television, including writing the "Local News Close-Up" market profiles. He also hosted the podcasts "Busted Pilot" and "Series Business." His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Boston Globe and New York magazine.