According to Ereaut and Segnit (2006), climate change is one of the greatest challenges during this century. Its consequences concern the global population. It stands to reason that newspapers regularly cover it. In the United Kingdom, there is now more coverage of climate science and governance than ever before (Ereaut & Segnit, 2006, p.7). But there have always been considerable fluctuations in the coverage of climate change in the newspapers that lead to peaks and troughs. Ungar argues, that the public relies on the media for information about scientific issues (Ungar, 2010). That shows the high importance of media coverage on certain topics. This essay attempts to give some explanations why there are peaks and troughs in the coverage and tries to investigate the factors that cause this volatility.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Journalistic Norms Influencing Coverage
3. Editorial Stances and Newspaper Ideologies
4. Influential Actors and Corporate Interests
5. Wider Social, Political, and Economic Factors
6. Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
The primary objective of this paper is to identify and analyze the underlying factors that cause significant fluctuations, characterized by peaks and troughs, in newspaper coverage of climate change. The research explores how internal journalistic practices, institutional structures, and external political or economic influences shape the visibility of climate science in public media.
- Analysis of journalistic norms such as personalization, dramatization, and balanced reporting.
- Examination of how newspaper ideologies and editorial stances dictate content selection.
- Investigation of the role of powerful actors, including NGOs and corporations, in media discourse.
- Evaluation of broader socio-economic and political drivers, such as budget constraints and policy-related events.
Excerpt from the Book
The first norm `personalization´ describes a tendency to downplay big social, economic or political pictures and to focus on the human trials tragedies. Micro-level issues, for instance competitions between personalities, have priority over macro-scale issues. Boykoff (2011, p.101) argues, that in the case of climate change, this extremely personalized news sometimes prevents media consumers from a more textured analysis of climate science and governance. The second norm `dramatization´ is described “as a process that accentuates crisis over continuity, the present over the past or future conflicts” (Bennett, 2002). As a result, current and spectacular issues have the priority over more enduring and chronic issues (Boykoff, 2011, p.104). Events, studies and developments that show lack of controversy and provocation are sometimes seen as not worth publishing it. This can lead to troughs in the media coverage of climate change. The third norm `novelty´ interacts with the above-mentioned norms. Journalists favour novel and fresh issues when reporting about climate science and governance and try to avoid repetition. This penchant is pervasive across-the-board, starting with the individual journalist through to the editorial staff. This norm or value can lead to peaks and troughs, depending on the novelty of the issue. Stories about environmental topics are in competition about space and airtime with football, crime, war and terrorism. To keep the topic alive, it needs a constant stream of new and interesting developments (Boykoff, 2011, p.104 et seq.).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces the high relevance of media coverage for public understanding of climate change and outlines the central problem of volatility in press reporting.
2. Journalistic Norms Influencing Coverage: This section details how professional practices like dramatization and the demand for novelty dictate which stories receive attention and which do not.
3. Editorial Stances and Newspaper Ideologies: This chapter examines how the specific political leaning and ideological framework of different newspapers influence the framing and frequency of climate-related reporting.
4. Influential Actors and Corporate Interests: This section explores how lobbyists, NGOs, and corporations exert pressure on media outlets to shape the climate change narrative for their own interests.
5. Wider Social, Political, and Economic Factors: This chapter contextualizes media production within institutional and economic constraints, such as shrinking budgets and international political events.
6. Conclusion: This final section synthesizes the findings, noting that media coverage is a complex result of interacting factors rather than a single political or societal cause.
Keywords
Climate Change, Media Coverage, Journalistic Norms, Newspaper Ideology, Public Perception, Environmental Politics, Corporate Influence, Newsroom Constraints, Climate Governance, Media Discourse, Peak and Trough, Climate Science, Institutional Factors, Narrative Framing, Public Agenda
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the central focus of this research paper?
The paper investigates the factors contributing to the volatility in newspaper coverage of climate change, specifically examining why media attention fluctuates between high-intensity periods and lulls.
What are the primary thematic areas explored?
The study focuses on the intersection of journalistic professional norms, editorial ideologies, corporate influence, and broader socio-economic pressures that affect news production.
What is the core research question addressed?
The research asks which specific factors, ranging from journalistic standards to political and economic environments, lead to the observed peaks and troughs in the media reporting of climate science.
Which methodology is applied in this study?
The study utilizes a review of critical discourse and communication literature, analyzing existing empirical studies and theoretical models, such as journalistic norms and editorial stance impact, to explain media behavior.
What does the main body cover?
The main body systematically breaks down how internal newsroom pressures (norms), institutional bias (ideology), and external stakeholders (actors/corporations) influence the frequency and nature of climate narratives.
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key terms include climate change, media coverage, journalistic norms, editorial ideology, corporate influence, and public perception.
How do journalistic norms like 'dramatization' impact climate news?
Dramatization prioritizes immediate crises and spectacular events over chronic, long-term environmental trends, which often causes the media to ignore subtle but important developments in climate science.
What role do editorial stances play in climate coverage?
Newspapers often filter information through their specific political ideology, which determines how much space is given to climate issues and how these stories are framed for their target readership.
How does corporate interest influence media output?
Corporations with vested interests in fossil fuels may leverage financial support or institutional pressure to undermine public trust in climate science or to promote specific agendas within the media.
Why is the UK media landscape particularly relevant here?
The UK serves as a primary context for this study because it features a wide spectrum of media ideologies—ranging from conservative to social-democratic—which allows for a clear comparison of how different newspapers approach climate reporting.
- Arbeit zitieren
- B.A. Stefan Groitl (Autor:in), 2012, What are the factors that lead to peaks and troughs in newspapers´ coverage of climate change?, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/192985
