Within many countries, national press networks are the primary means of delivery to newspapers, radio and television. At regional and global levels, major wire services disseminate to the media. Generally, the information is relayed as received or with a minimum of editing. The print media Catering to the needs of the print media is an important task for the NMS because they contribute to the public weather services by publishing NMS products and educating the public on meteorological topics, risks associated with severe weather and how to mitigate adverse impacts. Many newspapers are now on-line and provide a wider range of products.
Periodicals tend to carry past weather information or medium to long-range forecasts and outlooks.
Newspapers show a major interest in weather information and some weather pages display considerable innovation in design, use of colour and other attention-grabbing techniques to attract the reader. Radio Radio continues to be one of the most common and important means of dissemination of weather information and not infrequently, is the only effectively functioning mass medium in the aftermath of severe weather disasters. Many radio stations include weather forecasts in their news programmes and some even schedule comprehensive, complete weather segments. The public image of the NMS could be significantly improved by live radio broadcasts featuring competent NMS staff, especially during times of unusual weather. Television Television is very popular in most countries as a dissemination medium for public weather products because of its extensive graphics capabilities, powerful visual impact and the fact that it enables viewers to directly assess the severity of an impending event.