The Coverage of the Social Movement FridaysForFuture in American and German Digital Newspapers A thesis presented to the faculty of the Scripps College of Communication of Ohio University and the Institute for Communication and Media Studies of Leipzig University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degrees Master of Science in Journalism (Ohio University), Master of Arts in Global Mass Communication (Leipzig University) Laura Camboni December 2020 ©2020 Laura Camboni. All Rights Reserved. 1 This thesis titled The Coverage of the Social Movement FridaysForFuture in American and German Digital Newspapers by LAURA CAMBONI has been approved for the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, the Scripps College of Communication, and the Institute for Communication and Media Studies by Bernhard Debatin Professor of Journalism, E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, Ohio University Rosanna Planer Research Associate, Institute for Empirical Communication and Media Research, Leipzig University Freya Sukalla Academic Assistant, Institute for Empirical Communication and Media Research, Leipzig University ii Abstract CAMBONI, LAURA, M.S., Journalism; M.A., Global Mass Communication, December 2020 3754772 The Coverage of the Social Movement FridaysForFuture in American and German Digital Newspapers Director of Thesis: Bernhard Debatin Committee Members: Rosanna Planer and Freya Sukalla This Thesis on climate change communication is rooted in the field of intercultural online journalism and social movement research. Based on the assumption that news coverage of issues associated with climate change is increasing, the coverage of the relatively new social movement FridaysForFuture (FFF) are analyzed and compared between Germany and the United States of America (U.S.). By conducting a qualitative content analysis of news articles regarding the coverage of FFF protests in major German and U.S. digital newspapers, new insights concerning intercultural differences in news media framing of climate change related protests are generated. Results show a significant intercultural difference between U.S. and German news coverage of FFF protests through distinct frame applications and newspaper partisanship influence, which ultimately leads to a different content conveyance of FFF protests in U.S. and German newspapers. Overall, this study provides a better understanding and valuable insights for climate scientists and communication scholars of how the social movement FFF is portrayed by the media in different cultural contexts. iii Dedication I dedicate this work to my family for their unconditional love and support. iv Acknowledgments I am thankful for the professional, reliable and kind support I received by my Thesis committee, consisting of Prof. Bernhard Debatin, (Ohio University), Rosanna Planer (Leipzig University) and Dr. Freya Sukalla (Leipzig University). Furthermore, I am grateful for having been part of the Ohio-Leipzig double- degree master’s program in journalism and global mass communication that enriched and impacted my life with unforgettable experiences. v Table of Contents Page Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments............................................................................................................... v List of Tables ................................................................................................................... viii Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Literature Review .............................................................................................. 5 Social Movement Culture of the United States and Germany ...................................... 5 The Protest Culture of FridaysForFuture and its Relevance ......................................... 8 Overview of Theoretical Concepts ............................................................................. 15 Overview of News Media Frames on Environmental Social Movements .................. 19 Chapter 3: Methodology ................................................................................................... 32 Qualitative Content Analysis ...................................................................................... 32 Sample Process ........................................................................................................... 35 Narrowing the Sample down ................................................................................ 37 Coding ......................................................................................................................... 38 Deductive Categories and Frames ........................................................................ 38 Inductive Category Creation ................................................................................. 40 Chapter 4: Results ............................................................................................................. 43 Descriptive Sample Analysis ...................................................................................... 43 Frame Analysis ........................................................................................................... 48 Scientific Uncertainty Frame ................................................................................ 48 Scientific Certainty Frame .................................................................................... 50 Public Health Frame ............................................................................................. 52 Economic Frame ................................................................................................... 54 Causal Responsibility Frame ................................................................................ 56 Treatment Responsibility Frame ........................................................................... 57 Diagnostic Frame .................................................................................................. 58 Prognostic Frame .................................................................................................. 61 Motivational Frame ............................................................................................... 67 vi General Information Frame ................................................................................... 69 Reaction Frame ..................................................................................................... 74 Legal Frame .......................................................................................................... 76 Representation Frame ........................................................................................... 78 Trigger Frame ....................................................................................................... 80 Partisanship Analysis .................................................................................................. 82 Chapter 5: Discussion of Results ...................................................................................... 84 Discussion of Descriptive Sample Analysis: A “Global, Young Movement” versus “Climate Demonstrations” .......................................................................................... 84 Discussion of Frame Analysis: Outlining the Cultural Dependence of Frame Implementation ........................................................................................................... 86 Discussion of Partisanship Analysis: Framing the Ideological Divide ....................... 90 Chapter 6: Limitations ...................................................................................................... 92 Chapter 7: Conclusion....................................................................................................... 95 References ......................................................................................................................... 99 Appendix A: Codebooks ................................................................................................. 116 Appendix B: Sample Collection Germany ..................................................................... 123 Appendix C: Sample Collection U.S. ............................................................................. 164 Appendix D: German Newspaper Article Sample .......................................................... 170 Appendix E: U.S.: Newspaper Article Sample ............................................................... 256 vii List of Tables Page Table 1 Formal Attributes Overview ................................................................................ 45 Table 2 Label Ranking – U.S. and German Coverage ...................................................... 46 Table 3 Label Ranking – U.S. Coverage ......................................................................... 47 Table 4 Label Ranking – German Coverage ..................................................................... 48 Table 5 List of Climate Change Consequences ................................................................ 51 Table 6 List of Who/What is Responsible in Causing Climate Change ........................... 56 Table 7 List of Who/What is Responsible