Climate Matters in the Newsroom

The survey of SEJ members reveals a high level of interest and activity in climate reporting, with 86% having reported on a climate story in the past year. While journalists express confidence in understanding climate impacts, they identify a lack of time for field reporting as the primary obstacle. Trust in scientific bodies remains high, but trust in US government agencies has significantly declined. The report also evaluates the reach of the 'Climate Matters in the Newsroom' initiative, noting that 40% of members are aware of it and many are interested in further training via webinars.

• A vast majority of SEJ members are actively reporting on and interested in climate change. Specifically, 86% reported on at least one climate-related story in the previous 12 months, and over 80% expressed high interest in reporting on both climate impacts (81%) and solutions (86%).
• The most common climate impact stories reported by members focused on ecosystems (64%) and energy (63%), while the most common solutions stories concerned adaptation and resilience measures (73%) and policy responses (70%).
• Lack of time is the primary barrier to climate reporting. 71% of members cited a lack of time for field reporting as an important obstacle, followed by a lack of time or space in their news outlet (49%) and emotional fatigue (44%).
• Journalists maintain strong trust in international and professional scientific bodies but have low trust in US government agencies. Strong trust was reported for the SEJ (71%), the IPCC (70%), and professional science societies (69%), while only 22% strongly trust US government agencies.
• Trust in US government agencies as climate information sources has declined under the current Presidential administration, with 81% of members reporting a decrease in trust.
• There is a strong belief among SEJ members that human action can mitigate future climate change and its harms. 93% believe some additional climate change can be averted over 50 years through worldwide mitigation, and 93% believe some harm can be averted in the US through adaptation.
• Awareness and use of 'Climate Matters in the Newsroom' resources are moderate. 40% of members had heard of the program, and among those who receive the materials, 77% have used them in their reporting at least once or twice in the past year.

APA

Maibach, E. W., Yagatich, W. A., Borth, A. C., Campbell, E., Patzer, S. M., Timm, K., & Craig, R. T. (2020). Climate Matters in the Newsroom. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Mason4C-SEJ-Member-Survey-2020.pdf

Chicago

Maibach, Edward W., William A. Yagatich, Amanda C. Borth, Eryn Campbell, Shaelyn M. Patzer, Kristin Timm, and Richard T. Craig. Climate Matters in the Newsroom. Center for Climate Change Communication, 2020. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Mason4C-SEJ-Member-Survey-2020.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{maibach2020climate, author = {Maibach, Edward W. and Yagatich, William A. and Borth, Amanda C. and Campbell, Eryn and Patzer, Shaelyn M. and Timm, Kristin and Craig, Richard T.}, title = {{Climate Matters in the Newsroom}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2020}, month = sep, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Mason4C-SEJ-Member-Survey-2020.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }