Framing Copenhagen

Copenhagen. Nopenhagen. Hopenhagen. Which term works for you?

The U.N. Climate Change Conference is nearing the end of its 12-day run. It has received some mainstream media coverage, but not nearly as much as you might expect for a conference that is dealing with the future of our very existence. According to Agenda Setting Theory, the media tell us what to think about, not how to think about it. According to Framing Theory, the media tell us what to think about AND how to think about it.

Let’s see WHAT the major TV news networks think we should be thinking about – and maybe HOW to think about those topics. As of noon, Wednesday, Dec. 16, here’s what I found as their top-of-the-page, lead photos and stories on their homepages.

ABC News: We need to know that the husband of missing Utah woman is the lead suspect in her disappearance. A photo and story about Senator Joseph Lieberman and his influence on the health care reform legislation had been the top story minutes ago. Next major story: Tiger Woods. Where is the story about the climate summit? Eight sections down under “Science & Technology” is a link to a story about Schwarzenegger and Gore speaking at the summit. Oh, and there’s a story about the tiff between Schwarzenegger and Palin over whether humans cause climate change and which governor has/had a better track record on addressing the environment.

CBS News: This network believes we need to know that Tiger Woods has been voted AP Athlete of the Year. Under “Hot Topics,” the 9th link was to a story about the 40,500-ton carbon footprint being made at the climate summit. Gotta really look for it.

CNN: The lead photos and stories at noon were about a British Airways strike and about a modern-day Huck Finn traveling on the Mississippi River. Really? On the left under “Latest News Link,” the #3 story is about 250 people being arrested at the climate change summit. The #1 story? Tiger Woods.

Fox News: A large photo showed police confronting protesters at the summit. Links took you to several other stories, including a story about the internal conflict among delegates and the fact that the Danish climate minister had resigned so that her boss, the higher ranking Danish prime minister, could take over as leader of the summit. There was also a link to a nonscientific survey, showing that 98% of those who chose to respond to Fox’s online survey believe that “With the U.N. climate conference in disarray and its president resigning,” [hear the framing?] President Obama should not sign any agreements in Copenhagen without first getting Congress’s approval. Shortly after 1 p.m., the climate photo was gone (although the story links were still at the top of the page). Instead, there was a photo of a father whose son was sent home from school for drawing a picture at school of Christ on a cross.

MSNBC: This network, too, emphasized the conflict between the police and the protesters, but its photo was a closeup of an shouting protester, not the police. The headline was “Climate Talks Stumble as Protests Turn Violent.” The accompanying article discussed the change in leadership at the summit and contained brief synopses of some of the major issues confronting delegates. Helpful.

So only Fox and MSNBC gave the summit top billing, and both emphasized the news of the protests – an important piece, but only a piece, of the whole story.

In my early morning stupor, I decided to watch CNN to see how the climate conference was going. Between 7:30-9:30 a.m., the conference protests were mentioned twice: at about 8:08 a.m. and again at 9:06 a.m. – both times for about 10 seconds. So we know how important CNN thinks the climate change conference is to us as consumers of news.

If it weren’t for bloggers (e.g., Mother Jones, Florida Climate Alliance, etc.), I wouldn’t know about some of the issues being addressed or the events taking place.

Shame on you, news media. I know you define your job as finding the “news” you think most important to your readers/viewers. But please, you need to help the rest of us by putting into context the importance to our very survival of addressing climate change … now. Give the story priority. Explain its complexities in easy-to-relate-to terms. Interview REAL experts. Take back your role as the Fourth Estate.