There are differing views on whether climate change should be treated as a distinct field within journalism or simply as one topic among many. These perspectives are reflected in journalism education across the Nordic countries, according to new research.
A recent peer-reviewed study conducted by five Nordic scholars reveals that out of 751 course descriptions from journalism programs in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland, only 26 explicitly reference climate, environmental issues, or sustainability. The authors of the study are Line Weldingh (Roskilde University), Gøril Borgen-Eide (OsloMet), Henrik Bødker (Aarhus University), Maarit Jaakkola (University of Gothenburg), and Kristina Riegert (Södertörn University).
Of the 26 course descriptions referencing climate-related terms across 22 journalism programs, only two courses had climate and the environment as their main focus. In the remaining courses, such topics were integrated to varying degrees. The study also found that while program directors reported that climate change was sometimes used as an example in teaching, students occasionally chose to focus on it in their assignments.
“Climate change is an ongoing crisis and a complex issue that intersects with all areas of journalism. Therefore, it makes sense for journalism education to prepare future journalists to cover it. Of course, we don’t know to what extent it is addressed in actual teaching, but the fact that it is so rarely mentioned in course descriptions indicates that it is not a high priority overall – even though many programs emphasize sustainability in their strategic goals,” says Line Weldingh from the Department of Communication and Humanities at Roskilde University.
Disagreement on the Nature of the Topic
In addition to the analysis of course descriptions, the study includes interviews with representatives from eight journalism programs. In these interviews, a strategic institutional focus and faculty interest in the topic were cited as reasons for the inclusion of climate change in courses. Conversely, lack of time and relevant expertise were given as reasons for its absence.
The study also highlights how differing perceptions of climate change influence its integration into journalism education.
“If climate change is seen as a topic like any other, there may be no need to teach it in basic journalism training. However, if it is understood as a field requiring specific knowledge and skills – or as a cross-cutting issue – then it becomes necessary to include it,” says Line Weldingh.
Need for Broader Discussion
These varying perspectives are also reflected in newsrooms, where climate journalism is treated either as a standalone beat or as part of other topics such as science. Based on their findings, the researchers recommend that journalism programs engage in a discussion about the knowledge and skills needed to cover climate change effectively.
“The results offer journalism programs a framework to initiate such a discussion and make informed decisions about how– and whether – to integrate climate topics into their curricula,” notes Weldingh.
You can read the research paper Investigating Notions of Climate Change in Nordic Journalism Education here.
The news story was originally published in Danish on ruc.dk.
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