Fresh analyses daily: Which countries report most on climate change?

12 April 2017, by CEN Universität Hamburg

Photo: UHH/CEN/OMM

Global climate news map: On April 10th 2017 three percent of the US online news considered, dealt with climate change.

The first-ever database that quantifies and visualizes trends in the global online news coverage of climate change was recently launched. The Online Media Monitor

The first-ever database that quantifies and visualizes trends in the global online news coverage of climate change was recently launched. The Online Media Monitor (OMM) displays the percentage of climate change articles for 23 countries on five continents, updated daily, and follows the ongoing climate debate on Twitter. Professor Michael Brüggemann and the Integrated Climate Data Center jointly developed the new tool at Universität Hamburg’s Cluster of Excellence for climate research (CliSAP), which is now freely available online.

Do people talk more about climate change in Indonesia than in Sweden? And why do the Polish media sources surveyed devote so little coverage to the issue? The OMM displays the percentage of total news coverage that focuses on climate change, and allows different countries on the same continent to be compared. In addition, it features a world map showing the intensity of climate change coverage from the previous day. If we consider the data gathered since January, the rate in Indonesia (1.3 percent) is nearly twice as high as in Sweden (0.7 percent).

As a rule, for each country the OMM analyzes two leading media sources that publish national news online, and counts the number of articles on climate change on a daily basis. At the same time, it calculates the percentage of climate-related articles in the respective newspaper’s total output; past research efforts often recorded only the total number of articles in print newspapers. According to Brüggemann: “To do so, many relied on commercial databases, which don’t include, for example, articles from news agencies. The OMM supplements previous analyses by providing a more representative view of the online debates in journalistic sources and on Twitter.”

How do countries differ - and why?

The OMM Team has been analyzing Twitter communications on climate change since early 2016. The results show e.g. the most-shared Tweet of the day and the most popular links on climate change. The annual review reveals how the presidential elections in the US and President Trump’s term so far have produced major spikes in coverage.

In addition to analyzing the frequency of climate change reporting, Brüggemann and his team will compare the online debates internationally. “We know that global climate conferences attract media attention in the short term. But do journalists continue to keep tabs on their governments when it comes to reducing carbon dioxide emissions and transitioning their energy sector?” Brüggemann explains, adding, “From a longer-term perspective, I’m more interested in the day-to-day media coverage. How do countries differ in this regard – and why?”

The Online Media Monitor (OMM):

Press coverage online
Twitter analysis
Annual review of the Twitter analysis

Contact:

Prof. Michael Brüggemann
Communication Sciences, Environmental and Science Communication
Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences; CEN
michael.brueggemann"AT"uni-hamburg.de

Integrated Climate Data Center (ICDC), CEN
Remon Sadikni
remon.sadikni"AT"uni-hamburg.de