Analyzing Viewpoints and Tactics on Climate Change in Media Sources

Identify different viewpoints and perspectives on climate change in media

1. However, different media sources can present very different viewpoints on such issues, and not all of these viewpoints are scientifically balanced. Workers in environmental fields must be able to critique media reports in order to strategize and construct effective public messaging.

 

2. This assignment gives you an opportunity to develop your analytical skills in identifying the tactics, perspectives, and viewpoints about climate change presented in the media. Instructions Select a variety of current media about climate change that address at least one of the following questions: Is climate change really happening? Is climate change natural or caused by humans? How can climate change be most effectively addressed?

 

3. Begin by gathering relevant articles on this topic from a variety of media sources such as newspapers, magazines, government brochures/leaflets, corporate websites, environmental group publications, and so on. Look for recent publications and assemble a variety of media clippings; choose as many different viewpoints, perspectives, and tactics as you can—your goal will be to find six articles that best demonstrate this disparity. In particular, try to find provocative clippings.

 

4. Environmental issues can stir a lot of emotions and sometimes people vent. There is also a lot of misinformation out there. If you can find clippings that exemplify this, you will have a much easier time with the analysis for this assignment. From your research, select six clippings that represent the widest variety of sources and viewpoints that you can find and prepare a written analysis and report on them. Begin with a 200–300-word introduction that summarizes your media analysis/findings.

 

5. Do not summarize the content of the clipping. Instead, for each item: Give the title, author, and source of the article/clipping (include a URL or link to the item or attach a copy of the article to your report for your tutor). In one or two short sentences, identify the author’s viewpoint or position on climate change. (Is the author for or against the issue? Both for it and against it? Neither for it nor against it? Or is the viewpoint unclear?)

 

6. Discuss the author’s perspective (that is, how the author approaches the issue), which may be an economic perspective, a social perspective, a political perspective, an ecological/scientific perspective, a religious perspective, or other. Provide a sample from the clipping to support your claim. Explain in detail the tactics the author uses to convince you that her/his position is right and give samples from the article to illustrate this.

 

7. You can identify the same tactic twice across your six media sources, as long as you have one appropriate and one inappropriate example (that is, one where the author uses the tactic appropriately and one where they do not). This should be the longest part of your clipping analysis.

 

8. When analyzing the tactics, think about how language is used. How are facts presented? Are they supported or are the opinions masked as facts? How can you tell? Has the author used language to attack someone instead of that person’s message? What about statistics? How have these been used or critiqued?