Media coverage of climate change news is not sufficient in Africa
Media coverage of climate change issues does not reach the level that is equal to the threat that climate change poses. An article by Dominic Ayegba Okoliko, at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, published in Theconversation.com recognizes that coverage of climate change issues is usually at a high level during the yearly meetings of the United Nations’ Conference of the Parties (COP) and tapers off during the rest of the year, and that this may be affecting climate change awareness globally.
In looking at the African media, the article claims that prior to 2015, the year the Paris Agreement was ratified, Africa’s media front and editorial pages were largely devoid of climate news and this continued until about 2019, when the major media in South Africa began increasing their coverage. The article observes that the increased coverage was concentrated in the urban centers and therefore had no impact on rural residents.
Looking at the trend of climate change news in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya, the article contends that media mainly carried climate commentaries from “government figures, followed by experts. Civil society , businesses and ordinary citizens received far less attention,” this it claims, gives the impression to citizens, that climate mitigation and adaptation are concerns for politicians and technocrats alone, rather than concerns for society as a whole. To further enhance climate awareness in Africa, “the media must help make climate change an easy topic for everyday citizens to discuss. The media can help the public to develop a collective understanding of and support for climate policies,” according to the article. The article referred to a survey published in 2021 showing that climate change awareness in Africa is relatively low, to support its plea for the media to do more, “the recent Afrobarometer survey conducted across 38 African countries found that only 28% of Africans are fully climate literate (aware of climate change, its causes and its consequences).”
Theconversation.com sates that in Africa, “many newsrooms lack dedicated environmental reporters. Others treat climate change as a niche topic.” It argues that given the widespread availability of cellular phones and internet information, it would be easy to conclude that citizens do have access to adequate climate information, but “paywalls and high data costs limit the public’s ability to engage with climate journalism…especially in low-income communities.”
The need for more qualitative and quantitative coverage of climate news is not unique to Africa, similar need exists in many other countries.