Trends in the Framing of Climate Change Issues in Selected Print Media in Kenya

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.