Climate change is an emotionally charged topic that can stir political arguments and inspire people to take action. How people talk about it, especially news media and organizations dedicated to combating the issue, can influence how people think about climate change, a University of Kansas researcher shows in a pair of new studies.
Climate change is an emotionally charged topic that can stir political arguments and inspire people to take action. How people talk about it, especially news media and organizations dedicated to combating the issue, can influence how people think about climate change, a University of Kansas researcher shows in a pair of new studies.
Compelling arguments in climate change news
In one study, Hong Tien Vu, assistant professor of journalism & mass communications at KU, and co-authors examined the concept of “compelling arguments” in news media and how it affects public opinion. The study analyzed data from George Mason and Yale universities that surveyed Americans twice a year between 2009 and 2015. It compared that data to media coverage of climate change from The New York Times and Wall Street Journal published before each data collection. Previous research has focused on how coverage is communicated, but the current study incorporated sentiment and emotion of coverage and readers.
“What we wanted to see is, when incorporating emotion, if it affects how people think about climate change,” Vu said. “When we factor in these variables, we can see it does in fact influence the way people view the issue.”
Read more at: University of Kansas
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