Global Warming the Ozone Hole and the Fourth Estate

As the chorus demanding substantive worldwide action on global warminggrows louder the stakes are ever higher for human health the environmentand the economy. Research has established that the news media both reflectand influence public opinion and the policymaking process. An understandingof news coverage of climate change and its sibling the ozone holeis invaluable for anyone serious about addressing today's global environmentalproblems. This interdisciplinary study illuminates the impact of Americanpress coverage on the global warming and stratospheric ozone debates asthey unfolded over the past quarter century. Using an original content analysisapproach it takes stock of trends in economic political social scientificand environmental arguments in hundreds of news reports and examinestheir role in the very different outcomes of the Kyoto and Montreal protocols.Interviews with key players in the process round out the analysis. This work isrelevant to many fields - including communication journalism environmentalstudies and the policy sciences - and it has important implications for thoseworking on the front lines of today's climate change fight.