To get a sense how the impetus for action on climate change has been eclipsed by the COVID-19 pandemic, you only need to look at how the media’s interest on the matter has shifted.
From what looks like an all-time peak in Australia’s interest in a warming world during the bushfire crisis in January - with 4.5 per cent of articles about climate change - interest has since cratered to be less than 1 per cent, according to analysis from Streem, a media monitoring firm.
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| Stealing their thunder?: A climate change protester in Melbourne during the height of the bushfires. Credit: Chris Hopkins |
COVID-19 counted 13,256 slots last month alone."Certainly coronavirus has reached unprecedented levels of media saturation, being mentioned in 80 per cent of stories some days," Conal Hanna, a Streem media analyst, said.
Interestingly, a similar pattern is evident in the United Kingdom, where interest in climate change tracked at levels close to Australia's even though the bushfires had no direct impact other than drawing the media's attention.
| Less than one per cent of articles now mention climate change Percentage of articles published in leading newspapers and websites  |
| Source: Streem |
The surge in coronavirus articles in Australia is notable, with four times more articles on the pandemic than all climate change-related news in the past year, Streem data showed.
Previous periods of relatively active interest in climate-related news, such as the address to the United Nations by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, were similarly dwarfed by articles about COVID-19.
| Climate change coverage in April was 0.36% that of coronavirus There were four times more COVID-19 stories in April than climate change stories in the past year  |
| Source: Streem |
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| Bushfires devastated much of the forests of eastern Australia and elsewhere during the summer of 2019-20. Credit: Rob Blakers. |
"The George Pell verdict, the release of Malcolm Turnbull's memoir and the ongoing discussion about football season resumptions are all topics that have generated considerable prominence in the media despite the pandemic," he said.
| How COVID-19 redefined 'blanket coverage' The percentage of print and online news stories mentioning each topic  |
| Source: Streem |
Links
- Media ‘impartiality’ on climate change is ethically misguided and downright dangerous
- Why is climate change still not top of the news agenda?
- In media coverage of climate change, where are the facts?
- How is global media reporting on the climate crisis?
- Reporter’s Toolbox: New Resources Help Improve Climate Coverage
- Annals of a Warming Planet: Welcome to The Climate Crisis Newsletter
- (AU) Media Watch Host Paul Barry Fans Flames, Dodges Climate Change Facts
- (AU) Media Watch: News Corp's Fire Fight
- 'Major blow' looms for top Sydney solar research unit as funds wither
- Scientific approach for COVID-19 must be applied to climate change
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