Felly sgrifennodd Keith Dancey :
Maybe the Met Office needs to be more aware that journalists will always look
to take the most extreme meaning from any statement, and place strict bounds
on such forecasts, along with their probabilities - something I have argued
for from the outset.

Absolutely not. That's not their job. Their job is to forecast to the best of
their ability, given the data available to them. If the media misinterpret it,
that's their (the media's) problem, not the Met Office's. Otherwise we'll all
have to start reading between the lines.

I wonder: if someone were to act upon the winter forecast as portrayed by
one of the tabloid newspapers, and thus lose a lot of money, maybe they could
sue that paper for damages. It might make them think again next time. Of
course, such action would be boud to fail, as all the media seem to be doing
it, and proving the source would be difficult. Hmm, maybe a law is needed,
or an OfMedia or whatever.

Adrian


--
Adrian Shaw ais@
Adran Cyfrifiadureg, Prifysgol Cymru, aber.
Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Cymru ac.
http://users.aber.ac.uk/ais uk