Climate Change Framing in German Quality and Tabloid Newspapers.

Abstract

Climate change is too complex to be perceived directly by individuals. This means that the media must put information about climate change into a format that makes the issue newsworthy. This study examined the reflection of news frames in climate change coverage in German news items in tabloid and quality papers. Different frames emphasise different aspects of an issue and this might influence how climate change is constructed socially. A frame analysis following a deductive approach showed that the news frames reflected most often are the attribution of responsibility frame, the issue frame and the (economic) consequence frame. Moreover, this research did not yield any significant differences in news frame use between media outlets. Thus, the public is exposed to information about distinct opinions, responsibility for climate change and any consequences of it rather than with news about technological advances or innovation that might pave the way into a future respectful of the climate.