Marked differences between countries in reporting of climate change, says study

15 November 2010

A new study of international media has analysed the marked differences between countries in the coverage given to the UN’s Copenhagen summit on climate change in 2009. It finds that of the 12 countries studied, Brazil and India provided the most coverage, followed by Australia and the UK. Meanwhile, Nigeria, Russia and Egypt gave the summit the least space in its newspapers, according to the study published by Oxford University’s Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ).

The researchers analysed more than 400 articles published in the print media in 12 countries from the developed and developing world. They found that the media in all the countries tended to ‘under-report’ climate science during the summit. Articles written principally about the science of climate change represented less than a tenth of all the coverage surveyed. Nearly 80 per cent of the articles mentioned the science in less than 10 per cent of their column space.

The views of climate change sceptics were quoted in the Western press but not by media in the developing world. The study suggests this is because coverage of the hacked emails at the University of East Anglia or ‘Climategate’ was largely concentrated in developed countries, primarily the UK and the US. Quotes from climate sceptics tended to be linked to ‘Climategate’.

The study is thought to be the first detailed assessment of who attended Copenhagen.  Using official UN figures, it found that 4,000 journalists from 119 countries were at the summit. More than eight out of every ten journalists (85 per cent) came from the developed world, but nearly 600 were from the main negotiating bloc representing the interests of the developing world (G-77 plus China). China and Brazil were best represented, with more than 100 journalists each.

Brazil had the largest official delegation, followed by Denmark, China, the USA and the UK. The international environmental activist network, Greenpeace, had a larger number of representatives than the whole of the official UK delegation. Around 2,000 members of delegations from 250 universities were present at Copenhagen, including 280 professors. But scientists from universities represented only 12 per cent of those quoted on the science, says the study.

The study also surveyed over 50 environmental journalists and scientists across the 12 target countries post-Copenhagen asking them how climate change science might be best communicated. The recommendations include:
 

  • More (re-)engagement by climate scientists with journalists to explain where there is scientific consensus and where there is not
  • More dedicated climate change press officers at universities and research centres
  • More media personnel at the IPCC
  • More imaginative use of new media
  • Less adversarial coverage of climate science, but more frontline reporting on what people are experiencing and what they are doing about it.

The study was carried out with the close collaboration and assistance of the British Council’s Climate Change programme and written by James Painter, a researcher at the RISJ.

Mr Painter commented: "The science of climate change was under-reported when the opportunity was self-evident. Getting the science into the media will remain even more of a challenge at a time when audiences and editors in many countries are suffering from climate fatigue.

"We need more discussion between scientists, journalists and policy-makers on how to keep highly significant, slow-burn issues like climate change interesting and engaging to different audiences around the world."

Dr Rebecca Nadin, Director of the British Council’s Climate and Sustainability project who contributed research to the study, said: "Journalists and other key communicators often lack the knowledge base, skills and online and offline resources to cut thought the confusion and accurately report on the complex science of climate change and this can be especially true in developing countries.

"Since the media play a pivotal role in educating the public about the impact of climate change it is essential to build climate change reporting skills and capacity and foster cross cultural media networks that promote best practices for reporting."

For the full report or to interview the report author James Painter, please contact the University of Oxford Press Office on 01865 280534 or press.office@admin.ox.ac.uk  Alternatively, you can contact James Painter on mobile 07711-706053

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Notes for Editors:
 

  • The countries and media included in the study were Australia (Sydney Morning Herald, The Daily Telegraph), Brazil (Folha de Sao Paulo, Super Noticia), China (People’s Daily, Beijing Evening News), Egypt (al-Akhbar, al-Masri al-Youm), India (Times of India, Dainik Baskar), Italy (Corriere della Sera, Il Giorno), Mexico (Reforma, Uno Más Uno), Nigeria (Guardian, Sun), Russia (Kommersant, Komsomolskaya Pravda), United Kingdom (Guardian, Daily Mail), USA (New York Times, New York Post), Vietnam (VietnamNet, Zing). The period monitored was the first and last three days of the summit.
  • James Painter is Head of the Journalism Fellowship Programme at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. He worked for several years at the BBC World Service in various capacities including Americas Executive editor, head of the Spanish American Service and head of the BBC Miami office. He has written extensively on climate change, the media and Latin America for several organisations and publications, including the BBC, the UNDP, Oxfam and Oxford Analytica.
  • The study is to be published as part of a Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism series called ‘Challenges’, which present findings, analysis and recommendations on media issues.

Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism

The Thomson Reuters Foundation is the core funder of the (RISJ) Institute, based in the Department of Politics and International Relations. The Institute was launched in November 2006 and developed from the Reuters Fellowship Programme, established at Oxford 25 years ago. The Institute, an international research centre in the comparative study of journalism, aims to be global in its perspective and provides a leading forum for scholars from a wide range of disciplines to engage with journalists from around the world. For more information, go to http://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/

Comments on the study (from leading academics, media analysts and journalists):

‘This study of how the media reported the Copenhagen climate summit has many lessons for journalists and scientists. It is particularly valuable for its detailed analysis of reporting from around the world, and for the thoughtful discussion of the role of scientists, media and NGOs play in the international negotiations and in communicating climate science. Many of us are now rethinking the way we inform the public about the science - this report contributes important insights to this reassessment.’ (Professor Diana Liverman, University of Arizona)

‘Copenhagen was an extraordinary event, and the way in which it was covered in the media is of interest not just to environmental activists, policymakers and students of journalism, but to anyone who cares about the modern world. This is a very valuable, well-researched study of a hugely significant summit.’ (Fiona Harvey, Environment Correspondent, Financial Times)

‘James Painter clearly offers an insightful and practical guide to improving communications between climate scientists, journalists and the public citizenry. Through detailed analysis of reporting from Copenhagen COP15, he carefully maps how mass media can more effectively depict ongoing climate science and policy. I recommend this book to anyone seeking to understand how mass media have portrayed this unfolding high-stakes issue, and what this might mean for our shared future.’ (Max Boykoff, Assistant Professor, University of Colorado-Boulder)

‘This important and revealing report is one of the very few studies of climate change in the media to highlight the often neglected area of media relations. COP15 and the crisis that surrounded it exposed the shocking shortage of press officers exclusively dedicated to supporting climate researchers. This report should be a wakeup call to the climate science community to invest more in press officers who can both communicate the best available research to journalists and defend researchers whose work is unfairly attacked.’ (Fiona Fox, Science Media Centre)

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