Not even two years out of college, Ohio University’s first broadcast meteorology graduate is working in Cincinnati

Former WOUB Lead Weather Forecaster Erin Ashley, the first graduate of Ohio University’s broadcast meteorology program, only graduated in May of 2023, but she’s already back home starting a new job at a TV station Cincinnati.

“I’m thrilled to be going home,” said Ashley. “I’m honestly a little shocked an opportunity like this in a large TV market like Cincinnati came up so soon. But I’m grateful that it did. I feel like it was almost a sign.”

Since graduation in May of 2023, Ashley has been working as a weekend morning meteorologist at WTVG in Toledo, Ohio. On February 24, she joined WXIX Fox 19's First Alert Weather team as the weekend evening meteorologist. She’ll also continue her nationally syndicated series Project Planet, a segment on "stories about environmental issues and innovations" that she started in Toledo.

“Project Planet was something I began in October 2023, a little less than six months after I started working in Toledo,” said Ashley. “I knew I wanted to find some sort of niche in my reporting, and I am inclined to tell the stories of environmental innovations at the local level. I wanted to highlight what people are doing and could be doing better in Toledo. Management asked me to share the reports with other Gray television stations across the country. Since Fox19 in Cincinnati is also a Gray TV station, I made it a point to say I want to bring this with me because it’s something that needs to be done.”

Ashley attended high school near Cincinnati in Goshen, Ohio, and initially attended Ohio State University studying nursing. It wasn’t until she took a geography course that she discovered her interest in meteorology. Ashley then decided to transfer to Ohio University to pursue it, and it just worked out that Ohio University’s broadcast meteorology degree was starting at the time.

The broadcast meteorology major pairs the coursework and training of a traditional meteorology degree with the most robust and broad journalism curriculum. Students are required to take all the physical science and mathematics courses required for the American Meteorological Society approved Certified Broadcast Meteorology Program, as well as the traditional meteorology major requirements, while also completing a comprehensive series of journalism, broadcast, and communications courses. Broadcast meteorology majors can receive forecasting and broadcast experience in association with WOUB and are prepared to become strong science reporters, broadening the scope of careers for which they will be well-qualified.

“I couldn’t have been better prepared for the media industry because they are looking for meteorologists who are science communicators through and through,” said Ashley. “The broadcast element was such a strong part of the degree I earned. I was able to pitch stories, produce stories and then turn those stories around for several different media platforms while in college. Not a lot of broadcast meteorologists bring that to the table.”

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