Disaster, sceptics and uncertainty crowd out opportunity in Australian press reports of climate change
Australian media regularly overlooks the opportunities to be gained by taking action on climate change, according to an international study coordinated by the University of Oxford and including the University of Tasmania.
Instead of tempering themes around possible disaster with information about the benefits of taking action, the Australian press has often provided 'balance' by giving space to sceptics, or reported uncertainty without providing sufficient context for that uncertainty.
Australia had the most articles, and the highest percentage of articles, with sceptics in them, ahead of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Norway and India.
Along with reports from India, Australian articles were also least likely to pair uncertainty with references to increasing certainty. In Australia the figure was 26 per cent, compared to 62 per cent in France and 76 per cent in the UK.
Australian researchers Professor Libby Lester (pictured) and Dr Lyn McGaurr, of the University of Tasmania’s School of Social Sciences, analysed coverage of climate change in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian and the Herald Sun as part of the comparative study coordinated by James Painter, of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University.
"The Australian data showed a very strong presence of the disaster and uncertainty frames," Professor Lester said.
"The bad news story is attractive compared to the more positive story of opportunity; it is the dominant narrative for readers.
"Yet in their more extreme forms, these types of stories do not enhance public understanding or engagement, or encourage us to change our behaviour."
Lead author James Painter, said: "There is plenty of evidence showing that in many countries, the general public finds scientific uncertainty difficult to understand and confuse it with ignorance. We also know that disaster messages can be a turnoff, so for some people risk may be a more helpful language to use in this debate.
"Journalists are generally attracted to gloom and doom stories, but they are going to become more exposed to the language and concept of risks in covering climate science in coming years. The language used by scientists about 'explicit risk' will be more about numbers and probabilities as climate models become more powerful and sophisticated. For policy makers, this should shift the debate away from what would count as conclusive proof towards a more helpful analysis of the comparative costs and risks of following different policy options."
The study forms the basis of a book by Painter called Climate change in the media – reporting risk or uncertainty, which was launched in London on 18 September. The book says politicians, scientists, and policymakers are increasingly using the concept and language of risk in a context of uncertainty to frame the debate about climate change and this is likely to be reflected more in the media messages.