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The Media and C limate Change

The Media and C limate Change . James Painter, Reuters Institute, Oxford University j ames.painter@politics.ox.ac.uk Oxford, 8 February 2014. Focus of Talk. The changing media context for climate change communication The media’s main narratives around climate change

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The Media and C limate Change

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  1. The Media and Climate Change James Painter, Reuters Institute, Oxford University james.painter@politics.ox.ac.uk Oxford, 8 February 2014

  2. Focus of Talk • The changing media context for climate change communication • The media’s main narratives around climate change • The presence of sceptics in the media • Cross-country differences

  3. Digital revolution IP-enabled Devices 1.2 billion devices connected by 2014 Video ~ 70% of internet traffic by 2014 Smartphones 2.5 billion connections by 2015 Mobile Internet 70% of mobile traffic by 2014

  4. Consumption of news in UK • UK television remains the most important and frequently-used mode of news consumption by some margin compared to newspapers, radio or new media. • In 2013, nearly eight in ten (78%) adults said they used the television to access news, compared to four in ten saying they used newspapers; and the internet, either on a computer or mobile, by just under one-third (32%). • 16-24s still prefer TV over online • UK viewers also rated television highly for accuracy, reliability and trust particularly compared to other sources (although broadsheet readers also rated their newspapers highly). Source: Ofcom 2013

  5. Source: Digital News Report, Reuters Institute, 2013

  6. Who do people trust on climate science (UK)?

  7. Four Frames: • Disaster/implicit risk: mention of adverse impacts such as sea level rise • Uncertainty: ranges of projections, the presence of sceptical voices or duelling experts, and the inclusion of words like ‘may’, or ‘possible’ • Opportunity: move to low carbon economy, new shipping routes • Explicit risk: use of the word ‘risk’, where the odds, or probabilities of something adverse happening were given, or where everyday concepts or language relating to insurance, betting, or the precautionary principle

  8. Presence, Salience and Dominance of Different Frames

  9. Dominant Discourses in the UK quality print media, 1997-2007 H. Doulton, K. Brown / Global Environmental Change 19 (2009) 191–202

  10. Some issues to think about: Disaster ‘While there may be a role in climate change communication campaigns for fear messaging, most studies highlight the importance of positive, motivational messaging. Researchers stress the need for caution in using fear to communicate risk without a clear action strategy to reduce risk.’ ‘Whitmarsh, L., O'Neill, S. & Lorenzoni, I. (2013). Public engagement with climate change: What do we know and where do we go from here? International Journal of Media and Cultural Studies 9, 7-25.

  11. Some issues to think about: Uncertainty • Over 50% of the articles included a quote from a scientist or the report mentioning some aspect of uncertainty • Public understanding: ‘Research science’ versus ‘school science’: uncertainty does not mean ignorance • Nearly a third of all articles had sceptical voices within them • Australia (33%) had the most sceptical voices, followed by USA (24%), UK (20%)

  12. Thank you. james.painter@politics.ox.ac.uk

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