What is ‘Good’ Climate Journalism? Public Perceptions of Climate Journalism in Denmark

Abstract

Climate change is at the top of the public agenda, but researchers argue that climate journalism needs to be improved. However, knowledge of the public’s perceptions of and expectations for climate journalism is limited. We asked a representative sample of the Danish public (N = 2,028) about their views on climate journalism. The results showed that most respondents regarded climate journalism as important but found it less trustworthy and of lower quality than journalism in general. While the public generally wants climate reporting to live up to the same functions as general reporting such as fact-checking and dissemination information quickly, but they also find some functions to be more relevant for climate reporting than for general reporting. The Danish case thus indicates a greater need for climate journalism to function as a provider of guidance and solutions on how to deal with climate change in everyday life and to focus less on political opinions while giving more space to experts. However, these findings were influenced by demographic factors, especially political affiliation and age.