Constructing climate change: claims and frames in US news coverage of an environmental issue

TLDR

The study examines climate change coverage through social problems theory and Downs' issue‑attention cycle, noting its three phases linked to sources and frames. The paper conducts an empirical content analysis of ten years of U.S. national newspaper coverage of climate change. The authors analyze content from five national newspapers over a decade, applying social problems theory and the issue‑attention cycle to assess claims and frames.

Abstract

An empirical content analysis of a decade of coverage of climate change in five national newspapers in the US is presented. The analysis is based on the perspective, drawn from social problems theory, that the content of news discourse can be understood in terms of claims-making and framing. Climate change is also discussed in terms of Downs' issue-attention cycle, a five-stage model describing the rise and fall of social attention to important issues. Climate change, as a news story, is described as exhibiting three phases that are related to the sources quoted and the frames presented in the news coverage. Results of the analysis show that scientists tend to be associated with frames emphasizing problems and causes, while politicians and special interests tend to be associated with frames emphasizing judgments and remedies. Results also show how scientists declined as news sources as the issue became increasingly politicized.