Media Access and Political Efficacy in the Eco-politics of Climate Change: Canadian National News and Mediated Policy Networks

We use a discourse network analysis approach to answer two questions about national news coverage of climate change policy debate in Canada during the period 2006-2010. First, what is the media visibility of actors relevant to policy development and advocacy on climate change? Second, given the poli...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental communication 2017-05, Vol.11 (3), p.386-400
Main Authors: Stoddart, Mark C. J., Tindall, David B., Smith, Jillian, Haluza-Delay, Randolph
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Canada
Climate
Climate change
Climate policy
environmental movement
Environmental organizations
Environmental policy
Federal government
Fossil fuels
Fragmentation
mass media
Network analysis
News media
oil industry
Organizations
Political parties
Political power
Politics
Visibility
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Summary:We use a discourse network analysis approach to answer two questions about national news coverage of climate change policy debate in Canada during the period 2006-2010. First, what is the media visibility of actors relevant to policy development and advocacy on climate change? Second, given the political and economic context of climate policy-making in Canada, does greater or lesser media visibility reflect effectiveness in climate policy advocacy? Multiple interpretive frameworks characterize Canadian political discourse about climate change, with fragmentation between the federal government, opposition political parties, provincial governments, and environmental organizations. Contrary to expectations, environmental organizations had high levels of media visibility while the relative invisibility of fossil fuel corporations was notable in the media coverage of Canadian climate discussions. Our findings challenge optimistic accounts of the relationship between media power and political power, and suggest that media power does not necessarily translate to political efficacy.
ISSN:1752-4032
1752-4040
DOI:10.1080/17524032.2016.1275731