Media and Global Climate Knowledge (eBook)

Risto Kunelius is Professor of Journalism at University of Tampere, Finland.Elisabeth Eide is Professor of Journalism at University College of Oslo and Akershus, Norway.Matthew Tegelberg is Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Science at York University, Canada.Dmitry Yagodin is Academy of Finland Research Fellow at the University of Tampere, Finland.

Foreword 5
Contents 7
Notes on the Contributors 10
List of Abbreviations 14
List of Figures 16
List of Tables 17
Chapter 1: The Problem: Climate Change, Politics and the Media 19
Scale: Width, Depth and Time 21
Complexity: Knowledge, Civic Epistemology, Institutions, Inequality 24
Political Imagination: Planning, Challenging, Deliberating 28
Climate Change, Media and Journalism 32
Global Geopolitical Reach 33
IPCC AR5 and the Dynamics of Global Media Events 33
Mainstream Print Bias and the Notion of the “Public” 35
The Space of Interpretation: Attention and Access 38
Moments in the Communication Process 45
Professional Challenges 46
Bibliography 47
Chapter 2: Scientists, Communication and the Space of Global Media Attention 51
The IPCC: Background and Challenges 54
IPCC Authors and Communication Challenges 56
Uncertainties as Obstacles? 58
Clarity and Its Limits 59
The Descriptive-Prescriptive Dilemma 60
Summaries for Policymakers: Suitable Communication? 62
Controversies 64
Climate Pragmatism: Concerning “Things People Love”? 65
The Politics of Framing 67
Conclusion: Navigating between Constraints 69
Notes 72
Bibliography 72
Chapter 3: Attention, Access and the Global Space of Interpretation: Media Dynamics of the IPCC AR5 Launch Year 76
Attention, Highlights and Voices 78
The Physical Science Base (WGI): Evidence Confirmed and Questioned 81
Impact, Adaptation and Vulnerability (WGII): Social and Other Consequences 84
Mitigation of Climate Change (WGIII): Alarm and Hope 87
The SYR: Global Concern 92
Reviewing the Broad Global Response 93
Bibliography 96
Chapter 4: Mediated Civic Epistemologies? Journalism, Domestication and the IPCC AR5 98
Domestication of International/Global News 100
Structural Constraints and Comparisons 102
Domestic Attention Politics and Access of Voices 106
Attention and Access: Local Dynamics 108
High Attention, Medium Domestication 109
Medium Attention, High Domestication 112
Low Coverage, High Domestication 114
Low Attention, Low Domestication 116
Mediated Civic Epistemologies: Four Preliminary Ideal Types 118
Bibliography 123
Chapter 5: Disaster, Risk or Opportunity? A Ten-­Country Comparison of Themes in Coverage of the IPCC AR5 126
Frames, Discourses, Themes 127
The Relative Absence of Cross-Country Studies 129
Results 134
Themes from Disaster to Opportunity 137
Conclusions 141
Bibliography 142
Chapter 6: Journalism, Climate Change, Justice and Solidarity: Editorializing the IPCC AR5 146
Theorizing Justice and Solidarity in a Globalizing World 147
Justice 147
Solidarity 151
Methodological Approach and Research Material 153
Exploring Spatial and Temporal Conceptions of Justice 154
Exploring Attitudes (Modality) Toward Justice 155
Attitudes Toward Justice in the Selected Articles 156
“The Climate Threat: A Political Problem”. Aftonbladet, Sweden 157
“In Joint Steps on Emissions, China and US Set Aside ‘You First’ Approach on Global Warming”. New York Times, USA 158
“Immediate Global Action Needed to Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions”. The Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan 159
“Dire UN Climate Change Report is a Call to Action”. Toronto Star, Canada 160
“Climate: Let’s Move from Irresponsibility to Acts!” Le Monde, France 162
Conclusions 163
Bibliography 165
Chapter 7: Emerging Economies and BRICS Climate Policy: The Justifying Role of Media 168
Non-Western Media Systems 170
Socio-Economic Factors 172
Key Interpreters of the IPCC Report and Climate Change 175
Thematic Analysis of the Media Content 177
Biofuel and Responsibilities in Brazil 178
Energy Efficiency Through Natural Gas in Russia 179
National Strategy and Global Obligations in China 181
Policy Efficiency in South Africa 182
Conclusion 184
Bibliography 185
Chapter 8: Who Captures the Voice of the Climate? Policy Networks and the Political Role of Media in Australia, France and Japan 188
Climate Change, “Wicked Problem” and the Concept of Networks 188
Climate-Energy Politics and Journalistic Cultures 191
Australia: Contentious Politics, Vocal Climate Skeptics and Heavy Reliance on Coal 192
France: Consensus Science, Market-Based Political Actions and the Established Hegemony of Nuclear 193
Japan: Authorized Science, Political Battle on Mitigation Targets and Polarized Nuclear Debate 194
Journalistic Cultures in Australia, France and Japan: Liberal, Pluralist or Corporatist Model 195
Voice Representation in the IPCC AR5 Coverage 196
Dominance of the Voices: Whose Voices were Authorized and Dominant? 199
Diversity of the Voices: How Diversified is the Voice Representation? 199
Policy Networks and the Role of Media in the Networks 200
Australia: Two Opposing Networks and Media Polarization on Carbon Price 201
France: Two Continuum Networks and the Media’s Reproduction of Elite Science Discourses 203
Japan: Two-Tiered Networks and the Media’s Polarization of Nuclear Power 204
Mediated Division of Climate Debate and the Need for New Broker-Journalism? 205
Bibliography 207
Chapter 9: Following the Tweets: What Happened to the IPCC AR5 Synthesis Report on Twitter? 210
SYR as a Communication Actor-Network 211
The Prominence of Domestic Politics and Civil Society Actors 214
Interpretive Communities in the #IPCC SYR Communication Network 216
The Critical Advocacy of NGOs 219
Mass Media Domestication 221
Multimedia Attributes of the Network 223
Conclusion 225
Bibliography 226
Chapter 10: Climate Change and Development Journalism in the Global South 229
Development Journalism 232
Why Low Coverage in the “Global South”? 235
Domesticating the IPCC AR5 239
Climate Justice and Development 244
Conclusions: Faces and Voices 246
Bibliography 247
Chapter 11: Good Practices in Climate Science Journalism 250
How to Define “Good Practices”? 251
From the Arctic and Further South 254
Among the Ice and Snow 254
Coffee: Crops, Farmers and Consumers 257
Biogas Hope in Uganda 260
Solar Hope in Texas and Micro-Loans in Bangladesh 261
The View from Just Above the Water 262
Addressing Uncertainty and Other Difficult Issues 264
Consumer Responsibility 265
The Science Perspective 266
Conclusions and Perspectives 267
Bibliography 270
Chapter 12: Key Journalists and the IPCC AR5: Toward Reflexive Professionalism? 272
Professionalism and Its Uses 273
Global Climate Journalism? 276
Communicating the IPCC AR5: A Mixed Judgment 280
The Logic of Journalism: A Reflexive Self-Criticism 282
Roles and Relationships: Boundaries of the Interpretative Community 284
Professional Exceptionalism and the Climate Beat 288
Conclusion: Resources of Reflexivity 290
Bibliography 292
Chapter 13: Conclusion: From Assessments to Solutions 296
Key Findings 298
Lessons for the IPCC 300
Lessons for Journalism 302
Lessons for (Media) Research 304
Bibliography 306
Appendix: Newspaper Articles Codebook for IPCC AR5 Stories 307
Bibliography 311
Index 315