Abstract
Globally, media coverage of climate change has been disappointing in both advanced and developing countries, Kenya included. This article addresses the need to educate and train African journalists so that they can report adequately on climate change and in doing so, help not only to raise awareness of climate change but also to increase understanding of the multiple aspects of the phenomenon. Although Kenya has an elaborate governance structure in support of climate change, coordination across key ministries, departments and institutions at national and county levels has been wanting. Coverage of climate change by Kenya’s main print media houses and television stations over the last decade (2010-2019) is investigated and found to be minimal. A survey of the opinions of the local media sets the parameters for a discussion of the current challenges faced in increasing media coverage of climate change. Lack of journalistic capacity, conflicting media priorities and inadequate funding to train and support journalists are major concerns. The paper concludes with a discussion on how media coverage could be improved to close the gaps in science journalism and, in particular, coverage of climate change in Kenya.
Highlights
Given the continued threat of climate change, there is an urgent need to educate the general public about the issue
The role of the media was not clearly spelled out in the national plan and it is doubtful whether the government will apply Section 9 of the national plan which focuses on knowledge management and capacity development and bring in the media to cover and disseminate climate change information to all segments of Kenyan society. 3.2 Global Trends in Media Coverage of Climate Change The extent of media coverage of climate change differs from one nation to the (Kansas University, 2019), but generally, coverage is poor, leading Thysen (2019) to lament that the media have essentially ignored the climate crisis for three decades
By considering how the media have portrayed climate change, we can better understand how to improve their coverage of the issue, with the hope of giving it a priority status that is reflected in policy
Summary
Given the continued threat of climate change, there is an urgent need to educate the general public about the issue. This article addresses the need to educate and train African journalists so that they may report on climate change and in doing so, help to raise awareness of climate change and to increase understanding of the multiple aspects of the phenomenon. A decade ago, Tagbo (2010) noted that media coverage of climate change is disproportionate to the level of threat that it poses to the African continent, Kenya included. Her observation is just as true today. This paper, considers the challenges associated with, and opportunities for, much better media coverage of climate change in Kenya
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