Constructing climate scepticism in the Media: How multifarious media frames hinder public belief in and action on climate change
Abstract
In contemporary society we rely on experts to investigate, analyse, and report on critical issues. Anthropogenic global warming is no different, though it is a wicked problem to cover. Scientists have long been working to provide empirical proof as to why the climate is warming and who or what is responsible. These endeavours provide scientifically complex outcomes which are difficult to comprehend, especially for lay audiences. Journalists are elite communicators and critical disseminators of information, and we rely on them interpret and translate aspects of climate science into digestible narratives for our comprehension. This relationship is seemingly straight forward: information is found, given, and received, a linear process model unfolds.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is perhaps the most authoritative international body to provide information on climate change, and they have become increasingly certain over the last twenty-five years of the causes, effects, and possible solutions to global warming. One would expect this certainty to be reflected in public discourse, but awkwardly, this is not the case as pointed out by Whitmarsh (2011). I, like many others, suggest something is being lost or confused in interfaces between the scientific core, the mass media, and the public realm. In pursuit of a new answer I apply Framing theory and Critical Discourse Analysis to language surrounding the narrative representation of climate stories sprouting for International climate events. In doing so I unearth several trends which help explain some critical aspects of how public perceptions remain sceptical in the face of certainty.
Meet the researcher - Matt Trull
Qualifications:
Bachelor of Communications (Creative writing) UTS
Bachelor of Communications (Honours – First Class) UTS
Matthew Trull is a PHD student at the University of Technology Sydney. Matt arrived in Tasmania a few years after he was born in France. Having been fortunate enough to attend several different schools in various countries during his childhood and teenage years, he reflects that he has always been interested and immersed in language and culture.
Matt completed his Bachelor of Communications (creative writing) in 2016 and which guided his interest towards social sciences and media studies. His Honours Thesis was a dynamic investigation into problematic use of language and cultural beliefs in the representation of anthropogenic climate change within Australian Newspapers. Matt hopes to build on this research during his candidature with a goal of fostering more positive and productive language in the discussion surrounding climate change.
Matt's favourite quote:
The law of entropy operates in the realm of belief
- Linda Martin Alcoff