Content Analysis Study of Climate Change Reportage in Leading National Newspaper Dailies

Abstract

In the society 'mass media representational practices' have broadly affected, the transition
between scientific information and its delivery. Social policies have been forced to be shaped,
based on perceptions of various issues on environment, technology and risk (Weingart et al. 2000).
According to United Nations Frameworks Convention on Climate Change, (UNFCCC) 'Climate
change' means, change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity, that
alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate
variability observed over comparable time periods (UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, 1992). Indian print
media has been experiencing wide spread diffusion of environmental activities at various levels in
society, though it constitutes one of the primary source of information. The issues related to climate
change and different environmental activities, as depicted in newspapers reflect the perspective of
the society. This research study aims to demonstrate through content analysis research, various
perspectives of the society, on climate change related issues, as depicted in major English national
newspaper dailies of Mumbai. The study also aims to demonstrate various discourse patterns of
reportage, domain areas in climate change, and its significance. In order to gather the data, a
research tool was developed for the purpose of the study. The data was gathered from the two
newspaper dailies selected for the study, from 1st January to 30th June 2016. The analysis and
correlational findings of the data (n=152) demonstrated various patterns in climate change
reportage, based on the socio-political importance and sustainability