TV Meteorologist Resigns: Cites Threats Due to Climate Change Reporting

It happened. I was worried about this when Chris Gloninger first told me about the unexpectedly vicious blowback when he started including climate context in his weather reports at KCCI in Des Moines.

Washington Post:

When Iowa meteorologist Chris Gloninger got an email notification last June, it read: “Getting sick and tired of your liberal conspiracy on the weather.”

“What’s your address,” another asked Gloninger a few days later. “We conservative Iowans would like to give you an Iowan welcome you will never forget.”

The emails arrived relentlessly in Gloninger’s inbox for another month, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported. The sender accused the award-winning meteorologist, who spoke frequently about the effects of climate change, of being a conspiracy theorist and a “worthless Biden puppet.” Another told Gloninger to “go east and drown from the ice cap melting.”

Gloninger, the chief meteorologist at Des Moines news station KCCI, shared some of the messages on social media in July and said they had taken a toll on him.

“I’m trying to put it behind me,” Gloninger told The Washington Post. “But at the same point, I think it brings awareness to what journalists face day-to-day bringing the news.”

The episode ultimately led the meteorologist to a career-altering decision. Gloninger is departing KCCI and his career in TV news in July, he announced Wednesday, citing family health issues and post-traumatic stress he suffered after receiving the threats.

KCCI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

My #climate coverage has garnered negative feedback. But last month I received the first threat, followed by a flow of harassing emails. Police are investigating. It’s mentally exhausting & at times I have NOT been ok. If you’re facing this & need someone to talk to, I’m here. 1/ pic.twitter.com/SGbZfEr1uT

— Chris Gloninger, CCM, CBM (@ChrisGloninger) July 16, 2022

I interviewed Chris some years ago, along with other TV meteorologists, who talked about the blowback. Chris’ segment starts about 6:10, below.

Washington Post continued:

Pushback on programming related to climate change was constant, particularly after Gloninger moved to Iowa and became KCCI’s chief meteorologist in 2021. Gloninger said he developed a thick skin and focused his broadcasts on trying to demonstrate the practical ways climate change could affect his viewers.

“It’s great to see that ‘aha’ moment,” Gloninger said. “So I’ve always been wanting to try to educate but to also have a conversation.”

In that spirit, he replied with a conciliatory message to the first harassing email he received on June 21, 2022. It didn’t lead to a dialogue. Gloninger was at a barber shop when the second, more threatening, email appeared in his inbox. His stomach sank. He thought about his wife alone at home, so he rushed back and called the police.

The email that asked Gloninger for his address and promised an “Iowan welcome” from conservatives also mentioned Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, appearing to reference the armed man who was charged with attempted murder that month after being arrested near Kavanaugh’s home. To Gloninger, it felt more menacing than past messages he had received.

The emails kept coming, which further alarmed Gloninger. He shared screenshots of them in a July tweet.

“I don’t want to be the news,” Gloninger said he recalled thinking. “I wanted to bring awareness to the fact that it’s not just me, it’s other climate scientists, scientists, journalists.”

When messages from the same sender continued, he worried the sender was obsessing over him. He said he saw a therapist for PTSD and lost focus at work.

“I was not sleeping,” Gloninger said. “I had bags under my eyes.”

Police identified a 63-year-old man in Lenox, Iowa, who admitted in August to sending the emails, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported. The man was sentenced to pay a fine, but Gloninger said he still struggled to reengage fully in his job. His difficulties were compounded by health issues within his family.

The decision to step down wasn’t easy, Gloninger said, but he added he was grateful for an 18-year career in news and the support of his station.

“Having a dream since you were in second grade of being a TV meteorologist?” Gloninger said. “Yeah. I’m going to miss it. I just hope that this is even more fulfilling than the last 18 years, my next chapter.”

Gloninger shared the news of his departure on air Wednesday evening, wearing a tie with bands of light blue stripes — a nod to “warming stripe” graphics that illustrate rising average temperatures across the globe.

Gloninger did not share his new position, but he said he’s “dedicated to helping solve the climate crisis.”

“I take immense pride in having educated the public about the impacts of climate change during my career,” Gloninger wrote on Twitter. “Now, I will devote my full-time efforts to finding sustainable solutions and fostering positive change.”

Iowa Capital Dispatch:

An Iowa man has been fined $150 for sending a string of harassing emails to a television meteorologist concerning climate change.

Police and court records indicate that on June 21, Danny H. Hancock, 63, of Lenox, began sending emails to Chris Gloninger, the chief meteorologist for KCCI, Channel 8 News, in Des Moines.

At 5:35 p.m. that day, Hancock wrote to Gloninger, “Getting sick and tired of your liberal conspiracy theory on the weather, climate changes every day, always has, always will, your pushing nothing but a Biden hoax, go back to where you came from.”

A few days later, Hancock wrote to Gloninger: “You are worthless Biden puppet, a liar, a conspiracy theorist, and an idiot!!! You give Iowa a bad name, GO HOME B—-.”

A few hours after that message was sent, Hancock sent another email in which he referenced Brett Kavanaugh, an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court: “What’s your address, we conservative Iowans would like to give you an Iowan welcome you will never forget, kinda like the l—— gave JUDGE KAVANAUGH!!!!!!!”

On June 28, Hancock wrote to Gloninger and included a reference to departing KCCI meteorologist Metinka Slater: “Evidently Metinka could see through your lies and conspiracy theory on climate change, evidently she knew you are full of did  s— cause it didn’t take her long to leave when your lieing a– got there, pack your liberal conspiracy and go home!!!!!”

On July 12, Hancock wrote again, stating: “I don’t watch your worthless weather forecast because your an idiot but someone else texted me and said you are still an idiot, go the hell back where you came from DOUCHEBAG!!!”

On July 15, Hancock wrote again, this time referencing Anthony Fauci, the immunologist and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who has helped lead the fight against COVID-19, and told Gloninger to “go east and drown from the ice cap melting you dumbf—!!!!!!!”

On July 16, Gloninger wrote on his Twitter account that he had been threatened and harassed over his on-air comments. “Police are investigating,” he wrote. “It’s mentally exhausting & at times I have NOT been ok.”

On Aug. 12, a West Des Moines Police detective contacted Hancock who, according to police, admitted to sending the emails. Hancock was then charged with third-degree harassment. He recently pleaded guilty to the charge and was fined $105. He was also ordered to pay $76 in court costs and surcharges.

Below, Chris counterpart in Phoenix, Amber Mullins, talks about how conservative Arizona is coming to grips with climate change.