In the field of professional journalism, most editors and reporters follow a code of journalistic ethics outlining their accountability and ethical responsibility for the information they deliver to the public. According to the Society of Professional Journalists (2014), ethical journalism should be honest, fair and accurate in the gathering, interpretation and reporting of information. Although well-defined, the code of journalistic ethics can often be abstract meaning it is not enforceable. In a time of revolutionary changes within mainstream media, these issues present new challenges as demonstrated through the media coverage of climate change.
Ethical journalism in the coverage of climate change is highly significant as the public’s understanding and knowledge is heavily mediated. In the heated debate on climate change, journalists encounter various opinions and take these into account when informing the public. However, there is the issue of ‘false balance’ where scientific credibility is disproportionate to the perspective of sceptics. For example, RTE1’s documentary A Burning Question further unpacked the concept of ‘false balance’ the media coverage of climate change regarding Himalayan glaciers. British media and cultural studies scholar, Justin Lewis, was concerned with the huge lag in consensus between climate scientists and the public opinion. As the public is heavily reliant on the media for information, it reflects that the media’s uncertainty and questioning has decreased the urgency of opinion and lost focus on the problem. As a consequence, Ward (2009, p.14) has expressed that:
“Reporters may for too long have been balancing opinions about science when in fact they might better have been evaluating and reporting evidence based on science”
Simultaneously, the media have become ‘the voice of the voiceless’ in the climate change debate, especially small Pacific Islands. An illustration of their role shown through Tom Zubrycki’s documentary, The Hungry Tide, which provided insight on Kiribati, one of the nations most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. As Zubrycki (2011) stated in the synopsis of the film on the Hungry Tide:
“Sea level rise and increasing salinity are threatening the lives of 105,000 people spread over 33 atolls in this remote corner of the Pacific. It’s the same ocean, which for generations has sustained the country that is now the source of its destruction.”
In addition, the media also utilises the ‘climate justice’ approach as it amplifies the voices of those people who have contributed the least towards the causes of climate change but have been the most severely affected by its effects consequences.
Thus, climate change is undeniably a critical issue that must continue to be addressed in the media, as exemplified through journalistic ethics, because it acts as a bridge of communication between sources of information and the public. As it is an issue that impacts every individual, media coverage enables the public recognise the importance of the effects and consequences of climate change, as demonstrated through small Pacific islands such as Kiribati.
References
- Dreher, T 2014, BCM111 Week 10: Global Crises, Global News: Pacific Calling Partnership, Lecture Notes, UOW Moodle, viewed 11 2014
- Society of Professional Journalists, 2014, SPJ Code of Ethics, Society of Professional Journalists, viewed October 11 2014, <http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp>
- Ward, B 2009, “Journalism ethics and climate change reporting in a period of intense media uncertainty”, Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics, 9, No. 13, p.13-15
- Zubrycki, T 2011, The Hungry Tide: Synopsis, Screen Australia, viewed 11 October 2014 <http://thehungrytide.com.au/synopsis/>
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