"STUDY: Media Still Largely Fail To Put Wildfires In Climate Context"

[applegrove]

STUDY: Media Still Largely Fail To Put Wildfires In Climate Context

by MAX GREENBERG at Media Matters

http://mediamatters.org/research/2013/07/03/study-media-still-largely-fail-to-put-wildfires/194733

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Just 6 Percent Of Wildfire Coverage Mentioned Climate Change. Major television and print media outlets improved over last year in connecting climate change to wildfires in Colorado, New Mexico, California and other Western states, but still generally failed to mention the link. Only 6 percent of total wildfire items mentioned climate change, including 9 percent of major print coverage and 4 percent of TV coverage. In a 2012 study encompassing a similar period, only 3 percent of wildfire coverage mentioned climate change (6 percent of print articles, 2 percent of TV segments). Coverage of July 2012 wildfires improved on those numbers. [Media Matters, 7/3/12] [Media Matters, 8/6/12]

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Overall TV Coverage More Than Doubled. TV coverage connecting wildfires to climate change more than doubled, going from less than 2 percent to about 4 percent since the 2012 study. All outlets improved: ABC (3 percent to 7 percent), CBS (4 percent to 8 percent), NBC (0 percent to 3 percent) and CNN (1 percent to 3 percent). However, TV coverage was still significantly worse than in Media Matters' July 2012 follow-up wildfire study (11 percent). [Media Matters, 8/6/12]

Overall Print Coverage Improved. Print coverage connecting wildfires to climate change increased 50 percent over that surveyed in Media Matters' 2012 study, from 6 percent to 9 percent. All print outlets except for CNN.com and the Associated Press showed improvement: The Los Angeles Times (10 percent to 14 percent), USA TODAY (0 percent to 17 percent) The New York Times (11 percent to 36 percent), The Wall Street Journal (0 percent to 10 percent), and The Washington Post (17 percent to 33 percent). CNN.com once again entirely ignored climate change in its wildfire stories. The Associated Press decreased coverage from 6 percent to 2 percent. Overall, print coverage still did not mention climate change as often as in Media Matters' July 2012 follow-up wildfire study (18 percent). As Climate Progress has noted, even fewer articles explained that these changes are manmade. [Media Matters, 8/6/12] [Climate Progress, 7/2/13]


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[Kurovski]

1. Expect more of the same.

The truth needs to be sought elsewhere.

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. Western wildfires’ size, intensity and impact are increasing, experts say

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/western-wildfires-size-intensity-and-impact-are-increasing-experts-say/2013/07/02/f13916ea-e32a-11e2-a11e-c2ea876a8f30_story.html

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Western wildfires’ size, intensity and impact are increasing, experts say[/font]

By Brady Dennis and Meeri Kim, Published: July 2

[font size=3]Volatile weather patterns marked by shortened winters, stifling heat waves and prolonged droughts. New housing developments encroaching on fire-prone lands. Shrinking budgets for fire-prevention measures.

That dangerous combination of factors helps explain the increasingly voracious wildfires that have ripped through the western United States in recent years, say scientists, lawmakers and historians.

…

“On average, wildfires burn twice as many acres each year as compared to 40 years ago. Last year, the fires were massive in size, coinciding with increased temperatures and early snow melt in the West,” U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell told lawmakers on Capitol Hill last month, adding, “The last two decades have seen fires that are extraordinary in their size, intensity and impacts.”

Opinions differ on the precise reasons for the phenomenon. But broad agreement exists that climate change, economic development, and state and federal policies on fire prevention have played a significant role in shaping the fires raging across Western landscapes.

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