http://www.cnr.it/ontology/cnr/individuo/prodotto/ID292272

Mass-media coverage of climate change (Abstract/Poster in atti di convegno)

Type

Abstract/Poster in atti di convegno (Classe)
Prodotto della ricerca (Classe)

Label

Mass-media coverage of climate change (Abstract/Poster in atti di convegno) (literal)

Anno

2014-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 (literal)

Alternative label

Pierpaolo Duce (2014)
Mass-media coverage of climate change
in One Planet - One Humanity: Communications For and Against, Lisle, May 29-31, 2014
(literal)

Http://www.cnr.it/ontology/cnr/pubblicazioni.owl#autori

Pierpaolo Duce (literal)

Pagina inizio

1 (literal)

Pagina fine

2 (literal)

Http://www.cnr.it/ontology/cnr/pubblicazioni.owl#titoloVolume

Proceedings of the International Conference \"One Planet - One Humanity: Communications For and Against\" (literal)

Http://www.cnr.it/ontology/cnr/pubblicazioni.owl#pagineTotali

2 (literal)

Note

Abstract (literal)

Http://www.cnr.it/ontology/cnr/pubblicazioni.owl#affiliazioni

Institute of Biometeorology, National Research Council - CNR-IBIMET, Sassari, Italy (literal)

Titolo

Mass-media coverage of climate change (literal)

Http://www.cnr.it/ontology/cnr/pubblicazioni.owl#curatoriVolume

Luigi Manca, Jean-Marie Kauth (literal)

Abstract

How the mass media cover scientific subjects matters in many ways, whether scientists like it or not. Stem cells, genetically modified organisms, cloning, the environmental or health implications of chemicals or climate change: whatever the subject, media coverage has helped to shape public perception and, through it, affected how science is translated into policy, most notably in regard to the environment, new technologies and risks. Conversely, political, economic and other interests have long tried to influence media coverage of particular topics to affect the public's understanding and perception, and scientists are now becoming more aware of the power of the media. Consequently, the intersection of mass media, science and policy is a particularly dynamic arena of communication, in which all sides have high stakes. The integral role played by the media is not surprising, as it is still the main source of information and opinion for millions of readers and viewers - and voters - through newspapers, magazines, television, radio and the internet. As people gain most of their political, economic or other news from the media, so they do with scientific stories. Various studies have shown that the public gathers much of its knowledge about science from the mass media, with television and daily newspapers being the primary sources of information. Given their wide reach, it is therefore important to investigate the media's coverage of scientific topics and how it influences both science and policy. In this viewpoint, the media's portrayal of climate science and man-made climate change - 'global warming' or anthropogenic climate change - and its coverage in the USA and Europe has to be surveyed as an important example of how science, politics and the media intersect and interact. More specifically, it is essential to explore how external influences and internal factors shape and define media coverage of climate science. Research into anthropogenic effects on climate change can be traced back as far as the eighteenth century, when researchers investigated the relationship between deforestation and precipitation, the link between variations in brightness of the sun or sunspots and temperature changes on Earth, and how specific gases in the atmosphere influence the temperature on Earth. By the late nineteenth century, researchers began to look more specifically into the role of humans in climate change. The three spheres of media, science and policy intersected prominently at the end of '80 when several factors contributed to a rise in media coverage both in the USA and Europe. Among them was UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's emphatic statement to the Royal Society of London that it was possible that with climate change, \"we have unwittingly begun a massive experiment with the system of the planet itself\". Across the Atlantic, NASA scientist James Hansen testified to US Congress that he was 99% certain \"that warmer temperatures were caused by the burning of fossil fuels and not solely a result of natural variation\". These statements generated substantial media coverage, and thus signified public concern for anthropogenic climate change. At the same time, multinational media corporations underwent further consolidation through mergers and acquisitions, which led to globalized media conglomerates characterized by increased corporate concentration and hypercommercialism. This paper briefly discusses the mass-media coverage of climate change and related environmental issues, illustrating also the possible effects on individual mitigation actions, behavioral intentions, concern about climate change and knowledge of climate change. (literal)

Editore