Journalism, Climate Communication and Media Alternatives

Abstract

Recent scholarship on the media’s response to climate change has eagerly suggested a revamping of the traditional tools of journalism in order to engage and inform audiences. This chapter argues that the proposals currently being put forward are too modest in their demands and scope, failing to respond with the urgency climate change demands and woefully unequipped to combat the anti-environmental logics of commercial news media, which are corporate-owned, dependent on advertising, and therefore inherently consumerist. Instead, this chapter proposes a reframing of climate politics by activist organisations, new and integrated journalistic paradigms, and renewed emphasis on the crucial role of alternative media.