The National Weather Service issues two or more weather forecasts daily. These forecasts can be accessed for free by the public via the Internet, NOAA weather radio, and/or other media sources. Sometimes, meteorologists or forecasters on television or the radio will actually use these forecasts as their own and do not even mention that they actually came from the NWS (note – many "degreed" meteorologists do prepare their own forecasts – but I know some persons that do not make their own forecasts). Since the NWS forecasts are free for use, do you think that this is an acceptable thing to do?Why?

Well I don't think that it's really the acceptable thing to do since most TV stations do have the equiptment to make their own predictions. But I guess they think that using the forcast from the NWS is probably more accurate and saves them from making some type of error or mistake in the event of a sever storm or tornado. It may be helpful if they do from time to time mention that most of their forcast did indeed come from the NWS just to be sure that they are not in any type of violation of some law.

Here's the deal: The NWS is a non-profit government organization. They do collect forecasts at least twice a day, sometimes more if there is a cause for concern. Anyway, they post the forecast's to a public forum, in which some people will collect the information then sell it to private sources such as ABC, NBC, CBS, Radio, Websites, etc. Therefore, the companies have no obligation to cite their references, but personally, I believe it is somewhat immoral.
Hope that answers your question.