Chris Gloninger appears regularly on MSNBC to talk about climate change. Photo: Courtesy of Chris Gloninger
Former KCCI chief meteorologist says he was repeatedly told by the Des Moines-based news station not to talk about climate change, due to reader pushback, according to the New York Times.
Flashback: After suffering PTSD due to threats for his climate change coverage in Des Moines, Gloninger left the state in July 2023 after only living here for two years.
He received hostile messages from viewers, which resulted in the arrest of a rural Iowa man who was charged with third-degree harassment in August 2022 following emails threatening to give Gloninger an "Iowan welcome you will never forget."
Driving the news: In a profile published yesterday, Gloninger told the Times that KCCI was supportive of him at first and hired a security guard to stand outside the station.
But in June 2022, KCCI news director Allison Smith took him out to lunch and told him viewers did not want the "science behind weather."
In September 2022, Gloninger recorded a meeting between him, Smith and Brian Sather, the station's president. The recording revealed he was reprimanded by Sather for being "preachy" and that KCCI purposefully avoided the phrase "climate change" to avoid alienating viewers, the Times reported.
What they're saying: KCCI did not respond to Axios' request for comment.
