From ignored to banner story: The role of natural disasters in influencing the newsworthiness of climate change in the Philippines

Abstract

The hierarchy of influences model has been used to examine sociological influences on journalistic output originating from both inside and outside the newsroom. While providing useful snapshots of journalistic practice, studies using the hierarchical model have rarely accounted for changes in newsgathering over time. This study examines the emergence of climate journalism in the Philippines, one of the most vulnerable nations to the effects of climate change. Drawing on interviews with Filipino journalists, it finds that journalists struggled to place climate-related stories until after extreme weather events, particularly Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. News articles about climate change continued to grow in the following years, suggesting that a fundamental shift in the newsworthiness of climate change took place.

Keywords

Climate/climate change hierarchy of influences journalism media sociology science the Philippines

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