Media’s COVID-19 Coverage Proves It Could Also Spotlight Climate Crisis

The author contends that the media's ability to define reality is evident in its exhaustive coverage of COVID-19, contrasting this with the historically lower priority given to the climate crisis. The text argues that the perceived immediacy of the pandemic versus the perceived abstraction of climate change is a faulty distinction, as climate-related disasters are already impacting millions. It suggests that newsrooms should apply the same 'all-hands-on-deck' approach to climate reporting, focusing on 'flattening the curve' of greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the document highlights how overlapping crises—such as floods in the American Midwest occurring alongside the pandemic—and the shared origins of climate and COVID-19 misinformation further underscore the need for urgent, high-profile climate journalism.

• The media possesses the power to define what is important in politics, as evidenced by the coronavirus dominating homepages and broadcasts while other subjects disappeared.
• The disparity in coverage between the pandemic and the climate crisis is partly due to the perception of the coronavirus as an immediate threat, whereas climate change is often framed as a distant threat to others, despite evidence of current disasters in Australia, the Caribbean, Missouri, and Myanmar.
• The media's ability to prioritize the coronavirus suggests that a lack of journalistic resources is not the primary barrier to prioritizing climate change, but rather a lack of will.
• There is a correlation between groups that spread climate change denial and those spreading falsehoods about COVID-19, specifically citing the American Council on Science and Health.
• Compounding disasters are becoming a new normal, illustrated by the American Midwest facing a grueling flood season while simultaneously coping with the coronavirus outbreak.

APA

CCNow (2020). Media’s COVID-19 Coverage Proves It Could Also Spotlight Climate Crisis. Covering Climate Now. https://coveringclimatenow.org/from-us-story/medias-covid-19-coverage-proves-it-could-also-spotlight-climate-crisis/

Chicago

CCNow. Media’s COVID-19 Coverage Proves It Could Also Spotlight Climate Crisis. Covering Climate Now, 2020. https://coveringclimatenow.org/from-us-story/medias-covid-19-coverage-proves-it-could-also-spotlight-climate-crisis/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=CCNow |title=Media’s COVID-19 Coverage Proves It Could Also Spotlight Climate Crisis |publisher=Covering Climate Now |date=26 March 2020 |url=https://coveringclimatenow.org/from-us-story/medias-covid-19-coverage-proves-it-could-also-spotlight-climate-crisis/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{ccnow2020medias, author = {CCNow}, title = {{Media’s COVID-19 Coverage Proves It Could Also Spotlight Climate Crisis}}, publisher = {Covering Climate Now}, year = {2020}, month = mar, url = {https://coveringclimatenow.org/from-us-story/medias-covid-19-coverage-proves-it-could-also-spotlight-climate-crisis/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }