Climate Change Lesson 14 : Climate Change in the News
The science and social-economic impacts of climate are complex issues for the public to understand. Newspaper articles offer a unique tool for students to learn about how climate change is represented in public discourse and critically evaluate how the mass media influences public opinion and decision-making. Studies have identified the mass media as the key communicator on science and policy discourse and influence on public opinion. Specifically, newspapers offer a unique learning tool to develop critical thinking skills around how science is discussed as well as how different perspectives are represented relating to the causes and consequences of climate change.
Science offers one lens in which to evaluate newspaper articles. Most individuals gain their understanding of science and necessary policy responses to scientific problems through the news, both in print and televised. Key themes found relating directly to scientific findings include the skepticism of climate studies, precipitation and flooding projections relating to climate change, and health impact studies relating to climate change.
Newspapers serve different demographics and often cover different points of view relating to the science and impacts of climate change. Small town weekly papers tend to focus on issues closer to home, while papers with larger circulation focus on local as well as state, national, and international news. Additionally, liberal or conservative leaning newspapers also highlight different perspectives on the policy responses to climate change. Understanding that each news media source carries with it its own bias and serves different audiences is the key to critically evaluating stories.
Finally, newspapers offer a glimpse at the overall importance of climate change within the whole of public discourse by the amount of coverage dedicated to the issue. While climate change does not often make the front page of a newspaper, for example, certain aspects of climate change receive more prominent coverage. The type of coverage illuminates what newspapers think will be most interesting to readers as the perceived overall importance climate change carries for the public.