WHY WEATHER MATTERS: SUNNY OR STORMY FOR LOCAL NEWS?

Weather forecasting has been around since the 1700s, when the nation rsquo;s livelihood literally depended on the weather. Benjamin Franklin published his own weather reports, as did Robert B. Thomas, whose Farmer rsquo;s Almanac is still published to this day. As technology supported new media like radio, television, and the Internet, weather was always a staple of any news broadcast mdash;though today rsquo;s audiences are more concerned about school closings and an icy rush hour than they are about crops. The weather itself has taken on a blended role of news story and entertainment.