# Presentation: 095807

## Air Quality in Newspapers:Is it Correct?

- Air Quality in Newspapers:Is it Correct?

- Prepared by:
- Timothy S. Dye
- Duc T. Nguyen
- Sonoma Technology, Inc.
- Petaluma, CA
- Presented to:
- U.S. EPA 2005 National Air Quality Conference
- San Francisco, CA
- February 13-16, 2005

- STI-905101.03-2689

## Outline

- Introduction
- Background
- Issues
- Examples
- What to do next

**Los Angeles Times**
**June 23, 1980**

## Introduction

- Facts and demographics about newspapers
- 1456 daily newspapers in the United States
- 55 million readers daily
- Newspapers reach more adults than primetime TV, radio, and cable
- 50% of adults read daily
- 71% of adults (65 years or older) read daily

## Introduction

- Air quality in newspapers
- Typically on weather page
- Information published
- Observations (yesterday)
- Forecasts
- AQI rule
- Must get to radio, television, or newspaper
- One or more places (media, web site, phone, fax, etc.)

## Background

- Some problems with reporting
- Incorrect
- Reporting data values that are wrong
- Reporting concentrations instead of AQI
- Inconsistent
- AQI colors and terms
- Pollutant names
- Initial actions
- Responded to requests from Columbus, Sacramento, San Francisco, Nashville
- Contacted newspaper or weather provider
- Very time consuming, but good results

## Background

**San Francisco Chronicle**

## Background

**Newspapers**
**1456**

**AQ Agencies**
**130+**

**Weather Page Producers**
**20+**

- Weather Service Providers (WSP)

**Notes:**
Reviewed weather data and maps for major episode from 1999-2001.

Found several key relationships, not surprising

-500 mb pattern
-Inversion strenght
-Surface winds
-Fog was important

-Develop both subjective and objective forecasting tools

## Background

- Timeline of newspaper production and air quality information availability

**Notes:**
Reviewed weather data and maps for major episode from 1999-2001.

Found several key relationships, not surprising

-500 mb pattern
-Inversion strenght
-Surface winds
-Fog was important

-Develop both subjective and objective forecasting tools

## Background

- Initial review
- Surveyed 61 newspapers with help from AIRNow stakeholders
- Evaluated coverage
- Presentation (colors, terms)
- Data quality

## Issues – List of Newspapers

- Correct

- Some Inconsistencies

- Many Inconsistencies

- No AQ

| No. | Newspaper Name | City | State |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | The Birmingham News | Birmingham | AL |
| 2 | Arkansas Democrat-Gazette   | Little Rock | AR |
| 3 | East Valley Tribune | Mesa | AZ |
| 4 | The Province | Vancouver | BC |
| 5 | Los Angeles Times | Los Angeles | CA |
| 6 | Marin Independent Journal  | Novato | CA |
| 7 | Oakland Tribune  | Oakland | CA |
| 8 | Sacramento Bee  | Sacramento | CA |
| 9 | North County Times | San Diego | CA |
| 10 | The San Diego Union-Tribune | San Diego | CA |
| 11 | San Francisco Chronicle | San Francisco | CA |
| 12 | San Jose Mercury News       | San Jose | CA |
| 13 | San Mateo County Times | San Mateo | CA |
| 14 | Santa Barbara  | Santa Barbara | CA |
| 15 | Santa Rosa Press Democrat  | Santa Rosa | CA |
| 16 | Ukiah Daily Journal | Ukiah | CA |
| 17 | Victorville Daily Press | Victorville | CA |
| 18 | Aurora Daily Sun  | Aurora | CO |
| 19 | Daily Camera | Boulder | CO |
| 20 | Colorado Daily | Boulder | CO |
| 21 | The Coloradoan | Fort Collins | CO |
| 22 | The Denver Post | Denver | CO |
| 23 | Rocky Mountain News | Denver | CO |
| 24 | Daily Times-Call | Longmont  | CO |
| 25 | Connecticut Post | Bridgeport | CT |
| 26 | The News-Times | Hartford | CT |
| 27 | Hartford Courant | Hartford | CT |
| 28 | Journal Inquirer | Manchester | CT |
| 29 | New Haven Register | New Haven | CT |
| 30 | Norwich Bulletin | Norwich | CT |
| 31 | The Willimantic Chronicle address | Willimantic | CT |
| 32 | Washington Times Daily | Washington | DC |
| 33 | The Washington Post | Washington | DC |
| 34 | News Journal | Wilmington | DE |

| No. | Newspaper Name | City | State |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 35 | Sun-Sentinel | Delray Beach | FL |
| 36 | Tampa Tribune | Tampa | FL |
| 37 | Chicago Tribune | Chicago | IL |
| 38 | The Indianapolis Star | Indianapolis | IN |
| 39 | Lexington Herald Leader | Lexington | KY |
| 40 | The Advocate | Baton Rouge | LA |
| 41 | Shreveport Times | Shreveport | LA |
| 42 | Baltimore Sun | Baltimore | MD |
| 43 | Detroit News | Detroit | MI |
| 44 | St. Paul Pioneer Press | St. Paul | MN |
| 45 | Kansas City Star | Kansas City | MO |
| 46 | Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | NC |
| 47 | Herald Sun | Durham | NC |
| 48 | The News & Observer | Raleigh | NC |
| 49 | The Winston-Salem Journal | Winston-Salem | NC |
| 50 | Nashua Telegraph | Nashua | NH |
| 51 | Las Vegas Review Journal | Las Vegas | NV |
| 52 | The Times Union | Albany | NY |
| 53 | New York Post | New York | NY |
| 54 | The Daily Gazette | Schenectady | NY |
| 55 | The Columbus Dispatch | Columbus | OH |
| 56 | Dayton Daily News | Dayton | OH |
| 57 | Youngstown Vindicator | Youngstown | OH |
| 58 | The Register Guard | Eugene | OR |
| 59 | The Philadelphia Inquirer | Philadelphia | PA |
| 60 | The Tennessean | Nashville | TN |
| 61 | Nashville Today | Nashville | TN |
| 62 | Austin Chronicle | Austin | TX |
| 63 | Houston Chronicle | Houston | TX |
| 64 | The Daily Progress  | Charlottesville | VA |
| 65 | Newport News | Newport | VA |
| 66 | Richmond Times Dispatch | Richmond | VA |
| 67 | Everett Herald | Everett | WA |
| 68 | Seattle Post-Intelligencer    | Seattle | WA |
| 69 | Seattle Times | Seattle | WA |

## Issues

- Presentation
- Non Air Quality Index terms
- Unhealthful
- Moderately unhealthy
- Poor
- Predominately particulates

- Different color schemes
- Blue

- Uses the PSI

- Incorrect source
- National Allergy Bureau

## Issues

- Data Values
- Incorrect values
- Incorrect time periods

- Winston-Salem Journal

- Nashville Today

- The Indianapolis Star

- North County Times
- San Diego, CA

## Issues

- Local programs (AQI and burning)

- The Register Guard Eugene, OR

- Daily Times-Call
- Denver, CO

## Some Examples

- Houston, TX
- Las Vegas, NV
- Los Angeles, CA
- Santa Barbara, CA
- Seattle, WA
- Richmond, VA
- Ukiah, CA

## Example – Houston, TX

## Example – Las Vegas, NV

## Example – Los Angeles, CA

## Example – Santa Barbara, CA

## Example – Seattle, WA

## Example – Richmond, VA

## Example – Ukiah, CA

- Ukiah Daily Journal

## What to Do Next

- Develop guidelines for reporting AQ
- Pollutants
- Names
- Definitions
- AQI
- Category descriptors
- Colors
- Numbers
- Time periods
- Yesterday
- Forecast
- Source of information
- Local
- AIRNow
- Other

## What to Do Next

- Solicit your input for guidelines
- Next steps:
- Create draft “Guideline for reporting of Daily Air Quality Index (AQI)”
- Seek input from several organizations
- AIRNow Stakeholders
- Existing AIRNow Weather Service Providers
- Newspaper editor association
- Others?
- Produce and distribute final Guidelines
- Educate and exhibit at relevant forums