Key Points
- The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a media alert advising outlets it does not want the acronym BOM to be used.
- The alert prompted a series of memes and jokes, along with criticism over the timing.
As heavy rain continues to drench Australia's southern states, The Bureau of Meteorology has been met with criticism and jokes after announcing it does not want to be known by the acronym BoM.
The forecaster asked the media to use the full name at first mention and "The Bureau" after that.
"With an ever-increasing number of severe weather events, it is more crucial than ever that the Bureau of Meteorology's insights, wisdom, data and information are shared, understood, and acted upon," the media alert said.
"To support this need, the Bureau of Meteorology asks that media outlets update editorial style to ensure references to the organisation are by its full name, the Bureau of Meteorology or the Bureau for short, and not BOM or the Weather Bureau. This aligns with the Meteorology Act 1955."
The contract for the Bureau's rebranding was awarded to The C Word Communications Agency and signed in September of 2021 for $69,300.
Federal Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek said: "The rebrand commenced under the previous government for reasons I don't quite understand."
In the media alert, the Bureau also shared the handles it planned to use for its national account and state accounts, which currently use the BOM acronym.
The Bureau had not yet secured the Twitter handles before sharing them publicly.
Some of the accounts were already taken by individuals or organisations, while those available were quickly snapped up by others almost immediately after the announcement.
AFL club Carlton FC joined in on the action with a reference to one of their players Tom De Koning.
"We no longer want Tom De Koning to be called "TDK" ... Please refer to him either as "Koning" or "The Tom". Thanks in advance," the club said on Twitter.
Satirical comedy group the Chaser also weighed in.
"We used to beg media to call us The Chaser rather than their preferred names of The Chasers, The Chaser Boys, The Chaser Team, or worst of all Those Cheeky Chaps from The Chaser," they tweeted.
While many made light of the situation, others criticised the timing of the media alert.
It came as NSW, Victoria and Tasmania continue to experience heavy rain and flooding.
