Climate change; explaining the differences in reporting

CLIMATE CHANGEExplaining the differences in reporting

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Case Study group 3:

Annika van Berkel, Mark Boukes, Judith Fennis,

Yasemin Smit and Peter Vossen

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Content

Differences in focus between US and NL

Statement

Influencing factors

Ideology and culture

Journalistic role conceptions

Sources and lobbying

Contributions of professionals

Conclusion

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Differences in focus

United States

• Focus on scientific uncertainty

• Focus on anthropogenic climate change

• Focus on consequences and domestic politics

The Netherlands

• Focus mainly on consequences

• Followed by policy, solution and problems

• Little focus on the cause

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(Brossard, Shanahan & McComas, 2004; Dirikx & Gelders, 2008; Rowlands, 2000; Van der Sluijs, Van Est & Riphagen, 2010)

Statement

Reporting on climate change is different between countries.

Causes of these differences are based on the following three

influencing factors:

Ideology and culture of media institutions

Role conception of journalist

Use of sources and lobbying to journalists

In this presentations we give some examples of the differences

of those factor between the US and the Netherlands

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Ideology and culture

Media ideology influences interpretation of facts, selection of experts and

counter-experts

Tensions between national media logic and transnational responsibility of

climate change

Interplay between politics, media and public opinion (e.g. Kyoto protocol)

‘You can put the debate on a scale with climate sceptics on the one end and

positivists on the other. If you solely let the critical sceptics speak and these

opposed against alarming positivists, there will not be any room left for the

big, nuancing space in between where most of the scientists are working’

(Paul Luttikhuis, about the controverce debate on climate change citation

on his blog on www.nrc.nl)

6(Carvalho, 2006, 2007; Olausson, 2009)

Media institutionsIdeology and culture

7(Van der Sluijs et al., 2010)

No real difference between Dutch newspapers

Visible differences between opinion magazines: Elsevier more skeptical compared to Vrij Nederland

CountriesIdeology and culture

Kyoto protocol: established in 1997 as a supplement on the Climate

Treaty. Regulates the reduction of the emission of greenhouse gases.

The US did not ratify the Treaty – Fear of damage to the American

economy.

Scientific uncertainty and the nation’s political system widens the gap

Vested interest of petrochemical industries

The EU (and with that the Netherlands) has ratified the Treaty in 2002

European governments are less reticent than US

8(Archibald, 1999; Ward, 2009)

Journalists biased in their reportingJournalist role conceptions

Lack of confidence in scientific information is

influential

Power struggle among different sectors of

society that battle for control

Practice of ‘false balance’

Consequences: Biased coverage and created

political space for the US government9(Archibald, 1999; Ward, 2009; Boykoff & Boykoff, 2004)

Norms of journalists are collectively formed

Journalist role conceptions

Norms are formed collectively as part of professional training

Norms of professional journalism lead to mass media that adversely

affects interaction between science, policy and public

News production on global warming: many tacit facets and

unarticulated assumptions

Example: an analysis of US prestige press coverage in 1988/2002.

6% of the articles showed dominant scepticism

10(Boykoff & Boykoff, 2004, 2007)

Differences in use of toneJournalist role conceptions

The American press

uses a more neutral

of tone than

European countries

The tone in Dutch

articles is not similar

to the US press

11(Dirikx & Gelders, 2008; Van der Sluijs et al., 2010)

Lobbying to journalistsLobbying

No evidence for active lobbyism of neither

companies nor non-governmental

environment organization

Greenpeace campaigns: indirect media

attention

Oil companies: try to influence journalists

indirectly by green image marketing12(Gueterbock, 2004)

Lobbying in politicsLobbying

Oil companies in the US invest in contacts and support of politicians

Politicians form a large group in the sources that are used in the press

Oil companies can have an indirect influence on coverage

Political lobbying is more accepted in the US compared to NL

US companies more resisting policies on climate change

European companies are more willing to cooperate

Corporate culture reflects attitudes of its home countries inhabitants

13(Rowlands, 2000; US PIRG Education Fund, 2004)

‘People interpret the climate change debate,

based on what they want to see. Anti capitalists

demand the end of an unrestrained economic

growth, using the ‘climate problem’ as argument,

whereas ecologist want the forests to be

preserved better.’

Science journalist Marcel Crok in his book ‘De staat

van het klimaat’

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Lobbying

The use of sources

US: politicians and special interest groups most cited29% of citations in articles: business and interest groups

NL: more use of scientific sources

Used sources of 4 Dutch Newspapers (NRC Handelsblad, AD, Telegraaf and de Volkskrant)

15(Brossard et al.,2004; Trumbo, 1996; Van der Sluijs et al., 2010)

Total sources(%) International sources (%) National sources (%)

Science 42 36 49

Policy and politics 24 36 8

Interest groups 11 5 20

Remaining and unknown

23 23 23

If we look at the three influencing factorsConclusions

Differences in culture between countries has

influenced the way the climate debate is framed

The culture differences have also influenced the

role of journalists, because the norms are

formed collectively

Lobbying in the US is more accepted and open

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Reporting on climate change is different between the US and NL, but the common goal is the same:

“Nations have shown they can work together under a common

roof, to reach consensus on a common cause. They have shown that

consensus in a transparent and inclusive process can create

opportunity for all”

(Christine Figueres, UN secretary for environmental issues)

“The fight against climate change is one of the biggest battles

in history. To win this fight we all need to do our share: governments,

business, NGOs and the public. It must be a collective effort”

(Hugo von Meijenfeldt, Dutch Climate Ambassador)

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QUESTIONS

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