|
|
|
|
Functions of the National PWSP |
The three branches of the national PWSP are (1) The Print Media (2) The
Electronic media (3) Marketing and Public relations.
The Print Media
The print media consists of the documentation and newspaper units, both of
which are responsible for the public information and education. This is
done through the production of brochures and leaflets that target specific
groups and focus on particular aspects of weather. These brochures have
proved very useful and are issued to visitors to the Department, at the
International Agricultural society of Kenya shows and during major events
such as World Meteorological Day. Some of the brochures have been
translated to the national language (Kiswahili) . The unit is currently
working on other educational information targeting primary and secondary
schools in particular and encourages organized visits to the NMC.
A joint effort between the Print and Electronic Media units is the
Proposal for a Public education campaign titled "Know your Weather" which
is intend to go on both the print and electronic media.. The comprehensive
proposal has now been finalized . Its main objective is to enhance public
awareness on meteorology and weather forecasting by use of televised
documentaries. The project will consist of weekly episodes to be aired on
National Television each episode highlighting a particular aspect of
weather. We note that a number of such documentaries are already available
in other member countries of WMO. However, having been produced mainly in
developed countries, the local audience find them hard to relate with.
They easily get carried away by the assumption that the weather aspect
being televised occurs only in the foreign country depicted. It is for
this reason that we decided to have the documentaries shot locally, the
viewers will then find the information relevant and easy to identify with
as some of the scenes will be known to them. They will therefore pay more
attention and appreciate the information being presented.
A daily quiz, which will also run both on the print media and television,
will consist of frequently asked questions (FAQs) about weather. The quiz
is intended to give the viewer or reader a chance to think about the
weather seriously for a few moments everyday and this in the long run will
improve the knowledge and understanding of the weather information.
The documentation unit works closely with the NMC ,which has traditionally
issued weather forecasts, with the aim of customizing daily weather
forecasts on formats that are suitable for the news papers. KMD has
achieved much success in this area with the major newspapers competing for
the services of this unit.
The Electronic Media
The electronic media has two major components the Radio
and TV production units both of which have, as top priority, the
information of the public and dissemination of meteorological forecasts .
However, as of now, KMD does not have its own studio for the production of
radio weather forecasts. The print media unit together is therefore
charged with the responsibility of writing radio scripts which are then
read at the various broadcasting houses. The National radio service gives
the forecast twice a day, in the morning at 7 am and at 9 p.m. usually
after the news. However, because of their interactive nature of
broadcasting , the FM stations receive three hourly updates of weather
through the Internet, which is then passed to the public.
|
