Attention weather people! (And I do not mean former members of the Weather Underground a/k/a Weathermen, who derived their name from a Bob Dylan lyric: "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.")

   On February 15, Civil Discourse Now will launch a new format and expand its function to provide information to listeners---and, eventually, viewers once again---on matters beyond the topic or topics of a given week and in the informal format of panel discussion to which we have adhered for the past two years.

   One person whom we need is a meteorologist. Please continue to read. This is serious.

   People like to know the weather conditions and the forecast. People also like to know these things without the hype of a moment-to-moment crisis center from which news anchors talk with people who cling to sign posts at remotes next to I-65 in Boone County. (Why do the remotes almost seem always to be at spots on I-65 in Boone County?) CDN's approach to weather will be more rational and truncated.

   I tried to figure at what a person who majors in meteorology would aim as a goal of her or his studies. The first would be self-edification. That is a noble goal, but inconsistent with the practical aims so dominant in our culture. People go to college to obtain degrees that lead to jobs in the subject area in question. Student loan debt, not dischargeable in bankruptcy, mounts as a student climbs academic the ladder to a bachelor's degree.

   A second reason a person could seek a degree in meteorology would be to seek employment by the government. There are government agencies, most notably the United States National Weather Service (NWS), a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), itself under the Department of Commerce. Jobs are limited, however, as only some 4,000 people are employed by NWS.

   A third reason for a person to seek a degree in meteorology would be to work in the private sector. Those jobs consist, primarily, of local weather people. Competition exists for jobs in media weather. Competition must be fierce for jobs, even in small markets. People have abandoned terrestrial television and radio. One would think competition for the positions still available would be fierce. People with perfect four-point GPAs probably lead the pack as it heads into the first turn on the initial lap of the race of professional life.  Another advantage an applicant might have is prior experience in such a position.

   In the 1970s, David Letterman filled in occasionally as Channel 13's weather person. One can see how far Mr. Letterman has made it in media after his stint at Channel 13. CDN cannot pay anyone for this position. Our weather person will do two short segments, one each for our two hours of broadcast on Saturdays. 

   Since we cannot pay anything at this time, or in the near future, I would encourage anyone who is a major in meteorology and would like this gig or who has graduated with a bachelor's degree in meteorology and whose job at CVS or Starbuck's is not as fulfilling as work in the field of one's study to contact me. David Letterman graduated from Ball State with a little over a two-point GPA. If a person has a similarly-low GPA, I would encourage that person to e-mail me at marksmall2001 at yahoo dot com. 

   This is a serious reach out to someone who would like to get her or his foot in the door of being a weather person. Perhaps this will be the first step on the way for that person to be a late-night talk show host.