New Study On Media’s Climate Coverage Crisis

“Extreme weather reached dangerous new heights in 2024. This year’s record-breaking temperatures fueled unrelenting heatwaves, drought, wildfire, storms and floods that killed thousands of people and forced millions from their homes” (sic). Those are the words from a report by World Weather Attribution called “When Risks Become Reality: Extreme Weather in 2024.”

WWA continued that, “Climate change contributed to the deaths of at least 3,700 people and the displacement of millions in 26 weather events we studied in 2024,” adding that it’s probably much worse. “It’s likely the total number of people killed in extreme weather events intensified by climate change this year is in the tens, or hundreds of thousands.”

NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, reports that in 2024 there were 27 extreme weather events that cost over $1 billion each, costing $184.8 billion and cost 568 lives (Note: I anticipate the actual costs of those events are still increasing as rebuilds continue to this day).

Yet, broadcast news coverage related to the climate crisis actually declined, according to a new study by Media Matters. The media covered solutions a lot less too.

“(C)orporate broadcast networks aired 12 hours and 51 minutes of climate coverage in 2024 — a 25% decline in volume of coverage from 2023,” the report found, with CBS News providing the most coverage (50%) compared to the others. They compared CBS, NBC, ABC and “Fox Broadcast Co. (for its Sunday morning political show only),” it says.

These extreme weather events drove most of the coverage related to climate change, but most of the time they didn’t make the connection to climate change, even though scientific studies show the link is clear. The link to climate change was down from 37% in 2023 to 31% in 2024.

“Only 5% of corporate broadcast segments about Hurricane Milton connected the storm to global warming, while climate was mentioned in 2% of broadcast segments about the July wildfires in the Western U.S. and Canada. Hurricane Beryl saw a similar trend, with 6% of broadcast segments connecting the storm to climate change. The June extreme heat event, which affected large swaths of the continental United States, had the highest climate connection, with 16% of broadcast segments linking the heat wave to climate change,” the Media Matters report says.

Why less coverage with so much climate-related devastation?

The main explanation the study gave for this disconnect between locally destructive climate events and the news coverage of climate change is that they “occurred amid significant political events, economic shifts, and global conflicts, which may have diverted attention from climate issues, despite their escalating severity.” But, “networks rarely connected these policy decisions to their election coverage,” the study found, even though climate and energy issues were key campaign issues, including for voters.

Stories about how communities are adapting and building resilience to climate effects – such as on public health, infrastructure and the food supply – led the climate reporting that did occur in 2024, according to the report. This decline occurred despite the fact that innovative solutions were rolled out with the historic financial funding and incentives from the $3 trillion trifecta of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the CHIPS and Science Act.

The study found that the networks were “focusing primarily on major regulatory actions like vehicle emissions standards and natural gas export decisions” in the Inflation Reduction Act, and much less on the climate adaptation measures and innovations that are driving economic growth across the country.

Importantly, the Media Matters study found that, “The lack of coverage and contextualization may have limited public awareness of the law’s climate impact, including its role in expanding clean energy, manufacturing, and community development.”

Men dominate as climate experts too, at 73%

There are thousands of female experts on climate issues – from climate scientists to energy experts to meteorologists to policymakers (like the hundreds of women interviewed on the 460+ episodes of Electric Ladies Podcast).

Yet, “(f)or at least the eighth consecutive year, white men were the largest demographic of guests featured in climate segments,” according to Media Matters. “Women remained underrepresented, making up 27% of guests. Only 7% of guests — 21 in total — were women of color.”

Responsibilities of the news media

Climate impacts are accelerating and becoming more fierce, wiping out entire communities across the country and the globe. The purpose of journalism is to provide people with the information they need to make better decisions in their lives. To meet their audiences’ needs, the broadcast news – all news media – has an opportunity to prioritize climate-related coverage, including solutions that are making their lives better and safer.

“Robust news coverage has become more critical than ever,” Media Matters wrote, adding, “Corporate TV networks must prioritize consistent, substantive climate journalism that amplifies diverse voices, highlights systemic inequities in climate impacts, demands accountability, and clearly communicates both the dangers of an escalating climate crisis and potential solutions.”

Listen to the hundreds of climate, energy and sustainability-related experts across industries, including with ground-breaking solutions, on Electric Ladies Podcast here.