Reframing Climate Change Communication in the Norwegian West Coast Media
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Reframing climate change communication in the Norwegian west coast media What are the framing patterns in the “oil rich” west coast, how do they affect the readers, and what can we learn from the journalists Anja Marken Master thesis in Culture, Environment and Sustainability Centre for Development and Environment UNIVERSITY OF OSLO 24.11.2017 1 2 © Anja Marken 2017 Reframing climate change communication in the Norwegian west coast media – What are the framing patterns in the “oil rich” west coast, how do they affect the readers, and what can we learn from the journalists http://www.duo.uio.no/ Print: Reprosentralen, University of Oslo 3 Abstract Climate change has been framed in terms of disaster, cost, uncertainty, and sacrifice for decades. Many researchers have argued that we have to talk about climate change in a different way. My aim in this thesis has been to look into how the media in the west coast of Norway framed climate change in the period between 01.06.15 – 01.06.16. There are relatively few thorough studies of the discussion of the climate shift in the media that have their basis in the oil-rich Norwegian west coast. My questions were: What are the main characteristics of the Norwegian west coast media coverage of climate shift? How does their coverage of climate problems differ from national or international framing? I identified the existing framing patterns in Bergens Tidende, Sysla and Energi og Klima, and found that there was an overwhelming focus on the green shift and technological solutions. In order to understand how the regional and specialist framing patterns influenced the public’s perceptions of climate change, I interviewed some of the readers of my chosen media. Just as the west coast media, my informants defined climate change as a crisis happening in other countries or affecting future generations. My informants repeated many of the arguments put forward by Bergens Tidende, Sysla and Energi og Klima. However, other aspects of their life such as their personal beliefs and workplace also influenced their perceptions of climate change. Another objective in my thesis was to explore ways to better frame climate change. I therefore interviewed journalists working in my chosen media. The journalists from Bergens Tidende and Sysla were concerned with journalistic norms such as being objective, while the journalists from Energi og Klima had an agenda they wished to convey, and actively worked on reframing the debate. Even though I conclude that the reframing of the climate change debate has started in the west coast media, their framing patterns are still very provincial. In the studied period, climate change was portrayed as a catastrophe happening outside Norway. The fact that Norway might be affected by international affairs, such as wars and migration, was not included in the discussion of climate change. Nor was there any visionary framing showing what a climate friendly future looks like. Instead, the existing framing patterns - focusing on technology and the green shift – did little to mobilize Norwegian readers to participate in the solutions to the climate crisis. 4 5 Acknowledgements Writing a master thesis is a strenuous process, and I could not have done it without help. First of all, thanks to my informants who participated in this study. Talking to you was the most exciting part of this study, and you all inspired me in some way. To Nina Witoszek, my supervisor, I am forever grateful for your advice and guidance through this process. You have shown me the way of research, and gone out of your way to help me. I am proud to be your student. Thank you, Jake, for proofreading my thesis, and thereby lifting it to a higher standard. I give my thanks to both the University of Oslo Library and Samnanger Public Library for helping me collect data. Thank you, Anne-Line and Gudrun for all your support. You have been our lighthouses in troublesome water. To mum, dad and Billy. Thank you for your moral support. You never stopped believing in me, and have stood by my side in times of joy and distress. I dedicate this thesis to my dad. Watching you fight for your life this last year has truly reminded me of what is important in life. Anja Marken Samnanger November 2017 6 7 8 Table of contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Thesis objectives ................................................................................................. 1 1.1.1. Research questions ...................................................................................... 4 1.1.2. Outline of chapter 1 ..................................................................................... 4 1.2 General Background Information About the Media Under Scrutiny ................. 5 1.2.1. The role of mass media in Norway today.................................................... 5 1.2.2. The transition from paper to digital and on to the new media .................... 7 1.2.3. Media discourses about climate change ...................................................... 9 1.3 Theory ............................................................................................................... 11 1.3.1. Bruner’s narrative construction of reality ................................................. 11 1.3.2. Dryzek’s environmental discourse ............................................................ 13 1.3.3. Agenda Setting theory ............................................................................... 15 1.3.4. Framing ..................................................................................................... 17 1.4 Methodology ..................................................................................................... 20 1.4.1. Sources ...................................................................................................... 20 1.4.2. Newspaper analysis ................................................................................... 21 1.4.3. Qualitative interviews ............................................................................... 23 1.4.4. Limitations ................................................................................................ 24 1.4.5. Outline of the thesis ................................................................................... 25 2. Framing Patterns in Communicating Climate Change in the Norwegian West Coast Media ............................................................................................................................... 26 2.1 Literature review ............................................................................................... 27 2.2 Newspaper Analysis ......................................................................................... 30 2.2.1. Bergens Tidende ........................................................................................ 31 2.2.2. Sysla .......................................................................................................... 37 2.2.3. Energi og Klima ........................................................................................ 44 2.2.4. Comparison of Bergens Tidende, Sysla and Energi og Klima .................. 49 2.2.5. Conclusions ............................................................................................... 53 3. Public Perceptions of the Climate Crisis: The Impact of West Coast Media Stories55 3.1.1. Literature review ....................................................................................... 56 3.2 Climate Shift or Global Warming? Readers’ Response to Key Framing Concepts in the Norwegian West Coast Press ................................................................................ 60 9 3.2.1. How do the readers define climate change: As a shift in climate, a global warming or a crisis? ................................................................................................ 61 3.2.2. The west coast media’s story about the oil industry and the readers’ perceptions of climate change .................................................................................................... 66 3.2.3. The emergence of social media as a competitor to in-depth analysis in the mainstream paper media .......................................................................................... 70 3.2.4. The effectiveness of media framing patterns and the readers’ perspectives on reframing ................................................................................................................. 75 3.2.5. Conclusions ............................................................................................... 79 4. Reframing the Climate Change Debate: What Can We Learn from the Journalists83 4.1.1. Literature review ....................................................................................... 84 4.2 The Journalists’ Perspective on Climate Change Communication .................. 88 4.2.1. The journalists’ definition of climate change, and the tension between objectivity and agenda driven journalism ............................................................... 88 4.2.2. What influences the journalists’ framing patterns: agenda, objectivity and the media crisis .............................................................................................................. 91 4.2.3. Reframing the climate change debate: The journalists’ perspective ......... 99 4.2.4. Conclusions ............................................................................................