Constructing Climate Change in the Americas: An Analysis of News Coverage in U.S. and South American Newspapers

1. Constructing
Climate Change in
the Americas: An
Analysis of News
Coverage in U.S. and
South American
Newspapers
Abstract 4
Kaitlyn Rieper

2. Intro
– Existing research shows that the majority of adults and journalists get their info
on climate change from mass media
– Climate change coverage has been studied previously but not comparatively
– Most previous studies were U.S. or European
– South America particularly subject to climate change, biodiversity hotspot, large
population and growing economy

3. Research Questions
1. Do significant differences exist in the way the different U.S. and South
American newspapers framed the issue of climate change?
2. Do significant differences exist in the tone undertaken by the different U.S.
and South American newspapers in covering the issue of climate change?
3. Do significant differences exist in the scope and origin of coverage present in
the different U.S. and South American newspapers?
4. Do significant differences exist in the classes of sources consulted by the
different U.S. and South American media?

4. Method
– Chose four elite newspapers that had discourse on a national level from U.S.,
Brazil, Argentina and Columbia
– New York Times, Folha de Sao Paulo, La Nacion and El Tiempo
– Used ProQuest to find news stories with these terms in English, Spanish, and
Portuguese: global warming, climate change, and greenhouse effect
– Time frame: Dec. 31, 2008 – Jan. 1, 2010
– Copenhagen Summit on climate change
– Climategate

5. Method cont.
– Coding schemes pulled from previous literature
– Two primary coders both fluent in all three languages
– Coded for:
– Frame - 8 science-related frames
– Importance of frame – frequency it occurred
– Sources – academic, citizen, government, industry, etc.
– Tone - alarmist, optimistic, pragmatic, other/unclear & no judgment
– Scope - individual, local, regional, national, international or unclear
– Origin – original or wire

6. Frames used
– Conflict and strategy: “A game among elites, such as
who is winning or losing the battle; or a battle of
personalities or groups (usually a journalist-driven
interpretation).”
– Economic development and competitiveness: “An
economic investment; market benefit or risk; or a
point of local, national, or global competitiveness.”
– Middle way/alternative path: “A third way between
conflicting or polarized views or options.”
– Morality and ethics: “A matter of right or wrong; or
of respect or disrespect for limits, thresholds, or
boundaries.”
– Social progress: “A means of improving quality of life
or solving problems; alternative interpretation as a
way to be in harmony with nature instead of
mastering it.”
– Pandora’s box/Frankenstein’s monster/runaway
science: “A need for precaution or action in face of
possible catastrophe and out-of-control
consequences; or alternatively as fatalism, where
there is no way to avoid the consequences or chosen
path.”
– Public accountability and governance: “Research or
policy either in the public interest or serving special
interests emphasizing issues of control, transparency,
participation, responsiveness, or ownership; or
debate over proper use of science and expertise in
decision making (‘politicization’).”
– Scientific and technical uncertainty: “A matter of
expert understanding or consensus; a debate over
what is known versus unknown; or peer-reviewed,
confirmed knowledge versus hype or alarmism.”

7. Results
– Total of 457 articles analyzed
– Brazilian & U.S. newspapers with most
– Most common frame overall was accountability and governance
– El Tiempo and La Nacion much more likely to use an alarmist tone
– Government sources most common overall
– Times disproportionately used industry sources

8. Results cont.

9. Discussion
– Differences between newspapers internationally
– South American papers place more emphasis on immediacy rather than policy
– Sources – industry vs environmental groups
– El Tiempo had disproportionate amount of wire stories
– Would be nice to look at more than just one newspaper from each country
– El Tiempo and La Nacion had significantly less stories analyzed than the other two.
– Time frame was well chosen as there was a peak in stories during the
Copenhagen Summit