Abstract:
Presenting messages in the newspapers entails a deliberate process of careful selection of language and words to ensure
specific messages or meanings are conveyed to the public. This choice of words represents the structures that the media
uses to paint or project certain images. These projections can impact how people interpret issues as well as how policy
makers conceptualize ideas. This paper sought to explore the current trends in the framing of climate change issues in
the selected print media. Specifically, it sought to find out the triggers of climate change stories, the authorship of
climate change articles, the temporal distance of climate change issues, sources cited, attribution of blame, as well as the
geographical focus. A qualitative content analysis was carried out on selected newspapers in Kenya for a period of five
years(2013 to 2017). The study findings showed that there were no consistent authors of climate change stories. Most of
the articles in both newspapers were opinion pieces. The findings indicated that the climate change issue is framed as an
immediate challenge, caused by them (developed countries) versus us (developing countries), whose solutions are found
at the corporate level (international bodies/governments) rather than individual level, and the responsibility and blame
for climate change and its effects is placed on the developed countries whereas the developing countries are depicted as
victims.Given the power of the media to shape public perception through framing, the dominance of certain frames and
sources in the media can have a significant impact on climate change policy making. The authors therefore need to be
keen on the frames they use and the ultimate agenda they sell through these frames.
