Author: Atashi Bhattacharya
Author Affiliation: Department of CM&T, GJUS&T, Hisar.
Abstract: Climate change is seriously affecting sensitive and vital ecosystems. India is a crucial player in the global discussion on climate change because it is third in emissions and has high climate vulnerability. We live in perilous times when it comes to media coverage of climate change. In terms of reporting frequency, media coverage of the changing environment has fluctuated and struggled for priority among other issues. Numerous challenges to providing accurate and contextualized news have continued in terms of both quality and content. The framing of climate change in the news media has the potential to significantly influence public perception and policy actions. The present study involves examining newspaper coverage through the lens of a widely utilized conceptual framework for understanding agenda setting and spiral of silence. The present study uses qualitative content analysis research design using computer assisted qualitative data analysis tool ATLAS.ti. The climate change news articles published in three English dailies of Kolkata – The Telegraph, The Statesman and The Indian Express were analyzed and 190 quotations were retrieved as a sample for the study. A coding scheme was developed around the main themes of the research project. The articles were then read and qualitatively analyzed based on the focus provided by the research questions. The time period studied was between August 25, 2023 and September 25, 2023. Major findings were drawn, based on co-occurrence analysis, document code analysis and sentiment analysis and reported in form of tables and detailed discussions.
Keywords: Climate Change, Environment, Media, News framing, Newspapers.