Climate Change - why did it take so long for concerns to reach the public? (original) (raw)
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Ever since the publication of their first report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has described the origin of climate change as anthropogenic and, declaring it as ‘unequivocal’ in 2007. Nevertheless, societies worldwide react in different ways while the level of scepticism remains high and the scientific evidence is challenged. This research examines the ways printed newspapers have framed climate change issues across four countries: Britain, Brazil, Germany and Italy. Our ultimate aim is to investigate the role that mass media in shaping public opinion. These countries are all major emitters of greenhouse gases but their citizens reveal different attitudes and different levels of concern towards climate-change related issues (PEW 2010; EC 2011). Here, we are interested in examining the similarities and differences across these four countries regarding the debate around climate change issues within the news media. More specifically, we aim to explore the followi...
Media communication—and the coverage of mass media in particular—is an important source for people’s awareness of, and knowledge about, anthropogenic climate change. Accordingly, many scholars have analyzed the emergence, characteristics, uses and effects of mediated communication about climate change in recent years. This article reviews the respective field, presents its major findings and outlines future directions for research. in Wright, James D. (Ed.): International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2nd edition, Vol 3. Oxford: Elsevier. 853–859.
Claims and frames: How the news media cover climate change
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2006
Global climate change is the result of the natural greenhouse effect being enhanced or augmented by human activities such as industrial burning of fossil fuels and large-scale agricultural practices which have increased the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The result-the first truly globalised consequence of pollution-is arguably one of the most pressing matters facing the future of the human species. Journalists reporting on the subject have considerable responsibility to unravel the science and present it accurately and responsibly to the public, so that the latter can make informed Contents Abstract ……. iii Opsomming ……. iv Acknowledgements ……. viii Chapter 1: Climate, change and environmentalism in the age of oil 1 1.1 Introduction ……. 1 1.2 Climate Change: the ultimate cost of a hydrocarbon economy ……. 1 1.2.1 The carbon cycle interrupted-fossil fuels 1.2.2 Agriculture 1.2.3 Consequences of global climate change 1.3 The Communal Back Yard: the rise of environmentalism and the environmental reporter ……. 6 1.3.1 Growing environmental awareness 1.3.2 Climate change science and the emergence of the hydrocarbon economy: an historical summation Chapter 2: The climate change discourse ……. 11 2.1 Timelines ……. 11 2.1.1 A geological timeline The Milankovitch Cycles Other influences The systemic lag 2.1.2 News, deadlines and event-oriented reporting The news event Punishing deadlines and the "noise" of news production v 2.2 Where are all the dead bodies? ……. 2.3 Local angles to global problems ……. 2.3.1 Local versus global 2.3.2 North versus South 2.4 Consumer demand: entertainment displacing information ……. 2.4.1 The Day After Tomorrow 2.4.2 Michael Crichton's State of Fear 2.5 Jack of all trades, master of none? ……. 2.6 Risks and Agendas: who defines them and how? ……. 2.6.1 The Republican agenda 2.6.2 The "Skeptical Environmentalist" and other sceptics 2.6.3 Environmental activism Chapter 3: Conclusion-stepping into the breach ……. References ……. vi This thesis is a small part of a much greater journey of discovery into climate change science, South Africa's phenomenal natural heritage and the world of science journalism which never fails to thrill.
In this chapter, we survey how media representational practices shape 'news' on climate change around the world. Mass media stitch together formal science and policy with everyday activities in the public sphere, yet expressions vary across cultures and social, environmental, economic and political contexts. We focus on the production of climate change news and then assesses how these processes broadly influence awareness and engagement. This chapter brings attention to how power flows through shared as well as different cultures, politics, and societies. We also appraise how media representations construct knowledge, norms, and conventions about variegated dimensions of climate change. Furthermore, we consider how interactions between science, media, policy and the public have contributed to perceptions, misleading debates, priorities and understandings concerning climate change that, in turn, guide efforts seeking to enlarge rather than constrict the spectrum of possibility for responses to climate challenges at multiple scales. Such work catalyzes ongoing investigations in the wider volume on how environment and communication dynamically influence perceptions, attitudes, intentions, decision-making and management of risk in non-linear, complex ways.