A study released last week suggests “that the media may be entering a climate trance (or ending a bubble, depending on your view).” The study was conducted by Maxwell Boykoff, who studies the media and climate change at Oxford University, and posted by Andrew Revkin, the New York Times’ climate writer/blogger.
Revkin quotes Dr. Boykoff in his post saying: “…it does seem like stagnation or decreasing coverage. I’m curious about links between that and possible interpretations by negotiators of decreased public pressure to put forward a strong agreement leading into Copenhagen.”
I am curious too.
In my experience, broadly successful social movements – and online movements in particular, since in a connected age much of the social/political activity is being centered there – are few and far between. They have mostly resulted from a hotly contested U.S. Presidential campaign (or similar foreign election), a catastrophic event (tsunami, terrorist attack, etc) or a massively funded ($100 million + spent, or donated) media campaign.
To be successful, an issue must gain (or reach) massive awareness among a broad and engaged audience in a short period of time; the issue must provoke deeply passionate responses among that audience; and the campaign organization must provide the right set of opportunities for engagement and action that meets the audience’s expectations and sustain that momentum over time.
The fact is, the issue of climate change, while critically important, is extremely complex and currently very far outside the understanding of most average citizens. Yes, there is high awareness that a problem exists, but what the problem is exactly remains unclear. Moreover, attempts to galvanize the public’s attention around a realistic solution or mobilize significant change in behavior among citizens has not happened. It feels like we are not much closer to finding, and achieving, a solution than we have been in the past.
In order for a broad movement to be created, the level of awareness, understanding, and passion for the subject must be raised substantially. Like it or not, the media plays a big role in that. But, with the media struggling to compete for attention and the likelihood that climate related news will not generate significant revenue for any media companies, coverage will likely continue to drop. And as the level of coverage drops, the potential for a major shift in policy or behavior is less likely to happen as well.
In this case, less news is definitely bad news – for the climate movement, and for all of us.
Brian is Managing Director of little m media which provides strategic guidance and support to organizations around the use of the internet and technology to facilitate communications, engagement, education, and mobilization.