Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2018 It's All about the Money: The Political Economy of Climate Change Editorial Coverage Christopher James Garcia Follow this and additional works at the DigiNole: FSU's Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION & INFORMATION “IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY”: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF CLIMATE CHANGE EDITORIAL COVERAGE By CHRISTOPHER GARCIA A Thesis submitted to the School of Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science 2018 Christopher Garcia defended this thesis on April 19, 2018. The members of the supervisory committee were: Jennifer Proffitt Professor Directing Thesis Russell Clayton Committee Member Andy Opel Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the thesis has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii To my father, Raul, who never stopped pushing for me to continue my education and follow my scholarly passions. Your support and encouragement drive me to succeed every day. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project would not have been possible without the continued efforts and mentorship of Dr. Jennifer Proffitt. Over the course of the creation of this manuscript, her feedback and insight have benefitted the development of my writing and research skills. I am tremendously thankful for her contributions to this thesis and guidance throughout my master’s program. In addition, I would also like to appreciate the contributions of the other committee members, Dr. Russell Clayton and Dr. Andy Opel. They have been incredibly helpful with regards to the production of this manuscript and have influenced my scholarly research approach within and outside the context of this thesis. I am massively indebted to the support of my family throughout the trying process of completing this thesis project. Whether it be long phone calls at night with my brother Brandon, or ranting about my findings to my mother Christine, it would be difficult to imagine going through writing this manuscript without their love and encouragement. I am also grateful for the support of my step-father Angelo and step-brother Daniel, who never have stopped cheering me on since the inception of this project. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................1 The Ideological Battle for Journalism .........................................................................................4 The Importance of Political Economy ........................................................................................6 The Ideological Influences Underlying Editorial Opinion on Climate Change ........................10 Exploring the Relationship Between Journalism’s History and Political Economy .................12 CHAPTER TWO: THE HISTORY OF THE U.S. “OBJECTIVE” PRESS AND SCOTT PRUITT’S TAKEOVER OF THE E.P.A. .....................................................................................15 The Early Organization of Business Interests Within the U.S. News Industry ........................16 The Consolidation of the U.S. Newspaper Industry .................................................................18 Mainstream Adoption of Objective Journalistic Norms ...........................................................21 The Neoliberal Squeezing of News Media Outlets ...................................................................25 The Beginnings of Donald Trump & Scott Pruitt’s E.P.A. .......................................................29 The E.P.A.’s Possible Demise as a Reliable “Official Source” ................................................31 Studies Investigating Global Warming Coverage .....................................................................34 Considering the Political Economic Issues Within News Media Editorials .............................37 CHAPTER THREE: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF JOURNALISM ..................................40 The Foundations of Critical Political Economic Theory ..........................................................40 Herman and Chomsky’s Propaganda Model ............................................................................44 The Unwritten Partnership Between Mainstream Newspapers and “Official Sources” ...........47 Methodology .............................................................................................................................50 CHAPTER FOUR: CONFLICTING COMPANY: THE POLITICAL ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF INTERLOCKING DIRECTORSHIPS & OUTSIDE INVESTORS ......55 The Newspaper of Record: The Beginning of the New York Times .........................................56 Investments in the New York Times ..........................................................................................60 The Newspaper of Business: The History of the Wall Street Journal ......................................61 Exploring the Board of Directors and Investors of News Corp. ...............................................64 The Newspaper of America: Exploring the Origins of Gannett’s USA Today .........................67 BlackRock’s Investment in Gannett .........................................................................................70 Understanding the Influence of Owners, Editors and Corporate Investors ..............................72 CHAPTER FIVE: ELITE COMPANY: EXAMINING SOURCING TRENDS IN U.S. PRESTIGE PRESS CLIMATE CHANGE EDITORIALS ...........................................................74 The Dominance of “Official” Political Sources in Editorial Climate Change Discourse .........75 v Diverse if Elite: The Sourcing Trends of the New York Times .................................................77 Illusions of Open Debate: The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board’s Sourcing ......................81 A Conversation of “Official Sources”: The Sourcing in USA Today Editorials .......................84 Overall Sourcing Trends Within U.S. Prestige Press Climate Change Editorials ....................86 CHAPTER SIX: PATTERNS OF PERPETUATED IDEOLOGIES OBSERVED IN U.S. PRESTIGE PRESS GLOBAL WARMING EDITORIALS .........................................................88 Highlighting Political, Economic, and Environmental Ideological Tensions in Editorials ......89 Supportive if Sporadic: USA Today’s Editorial Coverage of Climate Change .........................92 USA Today’s 2014 Editorial Analysis ....................................................................................93 USA Today’s 2015 Editorial Analysis ....................................................................................94 USA Today’s 2016 Editorial Analysis ....................................................................................96 USA Today’s 2017 Editorial Analysis ....................................................................................97 Overall Characteristics of USA Today’s Editorial Climate Change Coverage .......................99 Hostile & Skeptical: The Wall Street Journal’s Climate Change Editorial Coverage ...........100 The Wall Street Journal’s 2014 Editorial Analysis ..............................................................101 The Wall Street Journal’s 2015 Editorial Analysis ..............................................................103 The Wall Street Journal’s 2016 Editorial Analysis ..............................................................106 The Wall Street Journal’s 2017 Editorial Analysis ..............................................................108 Overall Characteristics of the Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Climate Change Coverage ..109 Vocal & Vigilant: Ideologies Within New York Times' Climate Change Editorial Coverage 110 The New York Times’ 2014 Editorial Analysis .....................................................................111 The New York Times’ 2015 Editorial Analysis .....................................................................114 The New York Times’ 2016 Editorial Analysis .....................................................................117 The New York Times’ 2017 Editorial Analysis .....................................................................121 Overall Characteristics of the New York Times’ Climate Change Editorial Coverage .........124 Patterns of Ideological Perpetuation in U.S. Prestige Press Climate Change Editorials ........124 CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUSION..........................................................................................130 The Embracing & Shielding of Elite Perspectives ..................................................................131 Envisioning a Democratic & Radical Future for Modern News Media..................................133 Study Limitations & Suggestions for Future Research ...........................................................137 APPENDIX ..................................................................................................................................139 A. TITLE AND DATE OF EDITORIALS ANALYZED IN THE STUDY ..............................139 References ....................................................................................................................................144 Biographical Sketch .....................................................................................................................158