Media reporting of climate change crisis in Pakistan: Identifying corrective strategies

This article analyzes the perspective of journalists on the media coverage of climate change crisis in Pakistan. For this purpose, 26 journalists who were responsible for climate related events were interviewed. Overall, the study found that professional and economic factors were responsible for the lack of media interest in this important topic. Professionally, journalists said they were required to report on newsworthy events. Since apart from the occasional climate related destructive events, most of the climate news lacked drama, sensationalism and political consequences-thus not fulfilling the news selection criteria and hence were ignored. Likewise, media in Pakistan is facing financial crunch. Climate news needed dedicated reporters and lot of resources. Comparatively, political news was easy to get and attract larger audiences. As a solution, the journalists called for changes in the existing political discourse on the issue and emphasized that media should play a more socially responsible role to highlight the enormity of situation in Pakistan.

Automated summary

This study analyzes how journalists view the media coverage of climate change crisis in Pakistan. The findings show that both professional and economic factors contribute to the lack of interest in this important topic. Professional journalists are required to report on newsworthy events, and since climate news often lacks drama, sensationalism, and political consequences, it fails to meet the criteria for news selection. Additionally, the financial constraints faced by media outlets in Pakistan make it difficult to allocate resources for climate news coverage. The journalists propose changes in the existing political discourse and call for a more socially responsible role for the media in highlighting the severity of the situation in Pakistan.