Climate Change and Journalisms Practice : Ups and Downs

1. Climate Change and Journalisms Practice: Ups and Downs Dr. Ibrahim Saleh University of Cape Town Ibrahim.Saleh@uct.ac.za

2. The problem A huge gap remains between the science of climate change and the media realities causing difficulties in transmitting and translating scientific uncertainty into decisive media narrative that resonates with the dysfunctional aspects of the science-policy interface (Bradshaw & Borchers, 2000). A continious process of debate between scientists and journalists because scientists argue that reporting climate change should not be left to journalists and journalists accusation of scientists’ refusal to talk to media, while keeping the narrative ambigious without simplifying the content. A growing lack of explanatory approach that resulted with less informed public resulting with a diminishing ability of newsrooms to generate insightful and balanced reports, as well as limiting our understanding of how governments and industry are responding to our global environmental crisis (Saleh, 2010).

3. Research Thesis In dealing with journalism practice and climate change in the current media globalization, how the local journalisms in the global south wrestle with significant questions related to scope, objectives, genre, spatial focus, actors and emphasis.

4. Literature Review The research attempted to review some of the important studies related to the specifics of the challenges facing the global south and the diversity of media narratives in the global south. Studies suggested that we could never underestimate the role of media in shaping controversies related to climate change on the national levels. Besides, there must be a consideration of a number of media effects so as to contextualize and explain the relationship between media frames and the symbolic disputes that are carried out by different political and social actors; including scientists, and governments in the global souths with their heavy foreign-capital-dependent economies.

5. Methodology The research has drawn its empirical findings of the global south from the work of the climate change network. The comparative content analysis of the coverage of the Bali Summit (December, 2007) was based on two newspapers in each of the countries sampled(Bangladesh, China, Egypt, El Salvador, and Indonesia).

6. Table 1: Countries

7. Figure 1:Dates Figure (1) refers to the shape of coverage which is more of "S-curve" that is characterized with slow start, acceleration and flattening when ceiling is reached, but in the coverage here incomplete diffusion occurred with very rapid early acceleration, and finally slow down the acceleration As it peaked between (3/12) to (5/12) then decreased till (11/12) and peaked again till (17/12).

8. Table 3: Story Sizes

9. Table 2: Countries and voices by gender It was not surprisingly to find a huge male dominance in voices quoted. A look at how this worked across countries in Copenhagen points to a crucial discrepancy: a male-dominated field, despite the fact that on a global basis women are more vulnerable to climate change than men.

10. The Egyptian Case Table 3:

11. Limitations Due to the small number of sample and the possibility of diversity within other media, as well as the convenience in the sample collected in the present study, results would apply to the sample used and cannot represent the distribution of opinions in the media community and concerned public, in a strict sense. Despite these limitations, this study contributes to the science communication literature, especially in the global south, by exploring the shifting boundaries between climate change, media and politics and scientists’ role in the policy making process.

12. Conclusion There is an urgent need for a more informed public, especially that the global souths face the greatest climate-related risks, yet they typically receive the least information through mass media. Though findings cannot be generalized, but clearly indicate the mutual attempts of both media and political actors utilize scientific uncertainty to influence policies, as well as to intensify existing conflicts.

13. Lack of plurality in media messages concerning the main controversies of climate change can lead to significant framing effects on voters’ political deliberation, even when the media provide "balanced" and "impartial" news coverage. Though reporting climate change is generally poor, it is improving in some regions and is gradually becoming popular though the genre remains highly political decisions in many of these countries.

14. The current ups and downs of climate change coverage and local journalisms reflect a paradox of struggle that reporters face as a result of the pressure to provide constant negotiation updates and remain competitive with the multitude of news sources reporting on the very same story. Many available stories with little newsstories are mostly toned with the "classic journalism norms of drama" between negotiating countries instead of going in-depth.