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The Forum > Article Comments > The science of reporting climate change > Comments

The science of reporting climate change : Comments

By Brian McNair, published 8/4/2011

Indeed, there’s a problem with media coverage of science in general, which arises from the very nature of news, and the heightened obligation on all public actors, including scientists, to manage news.

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Public opinion is clearly informed and influenced by what is reported in the media. I doubt anyone could argue with that.

Ross Garnaut's public utterances are not easily digestible and frankly his educated form of speech is probably not helping. But that's not his fault, I don't think he was engaged for his public speaking skills, he just seems to be the poor bugger rolled out time and again to explain it all to punters.

I watched Insight on SBS last night with a mixture of bewilderment and dismay. The way in which the audience was panned as Ross G spoke made me wonder if the director of the show was a skeptic themselves.

I have heard and seen no-one in the public debate so far who has been able to articulate meaningfully (i) why it is a good idea for Australia to engage in an ETS and (ii) how the impact of this economy wide cost increase will be felt by low, middle and high income Australians. Bland reassurances about compensation are meaningless and just tend to reinforce the sense of cynicism I see in the faces of skeptics.

Copious modelling and other detailed information apparently exists but I see no-one out there with the tools to explain it at the level of understanding most of us are stuck with.

I don't doubt global climate change (warming, cooling, who knows) is directly linked to our activities, I also don't doubt there is a need to make economy wide changes to reduce this impact - carrots, sticks etc. - but I see and read nothing that is pitched at helping the average punter make the connection and embrace the thing.

It's one thing to be right, it's quite another to convince the populace of this fact. What's Hawkie up to nowadays, maybe we need the great communicator on the case?
Posted by bitey, Friday, 8 April 2011 9:38:21 AM
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As a journalist who occasionally gets to write about the science, I have some idea about how the media side works and if Prof McNair wants an excellent example of the interaction between experts and media he should look at the Millenium Bug scare of a decade back.

This had a very similar anatomy to the present global warming story in that the experts were all convinced that the switch to 00 on the date clock in computers would result in world-wide calamity. They would get angry with a few mavericks who claimed that the problem was non-existent. The media faithfully reported the mainstream, with occasional reference to the mavericks.

Come the day, of course, and major companies that ignored the scare story travelled just as well as those who spent billions fixing the "problem".

So in retrospect what should the media have done? How could it have worked out that the mavericks were right and the experts talking total nonsense? The answer is that the media naturally gravitates to the worst case scenario, which makes for better headlines, and the experts themselves are influenced by what they can get into media. The more attention the scientists can get the more likely they are to get funding, get into positions of influence and so on.

Rather than wring his hands over how the media isn't getting the message right, Brian should look at the subtle interaction between the media and the expert communities giving out that message.

The sad part is that one day one of these scare stories might actually be right and we'll be caught unawares because of all the nonsense that has gone before it. Is climate change a scare story that is right? I very strongly doubt it but then, hey, I'm not an expert looking for funding.
Posted by Curmudgeon, Friday, 8 April 2011 11:37:41 AM
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Anyone wishing to become better informed about anthropogenic global warming, should treat the media's managed view (particularly the asserted views of the ABC, SBS and Fairfax Press ) with great suspicion, and instead read the recent well-written science-based books of two Australians, Robert Carter and Mark Lawson, namely:

Robert M Carter, "Climate: the Counter Consensus", 2010, published by Stacey International;

Mark Lawson, "A Guide to Climate Change Lunacy", 2010, published by Connor Court.
Posted by Raycom, Friday, 8 April 2011 11:53:59 AM
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Brian, we have previously discussed at length on OLO, some of the components of the “advocacy block”. Within this block we have identified, informal political advocates, media advocacy, academia, advocacy science, celebrity advocacy, public advocacy, commercial opportunist advocacy and NGO advocacy.

We have also discussed the “organic” nature of this block and its capacity to react tactically in response to threats or challenges.

Whilst much of your critique of the media’s role is reasonable, it completely ignores the issue of the media’s membership of the wider advocacy block and why it should have such a partisan position.

There are some fine words from you as to what needs to be done. Then you expect us to embrace your sincerity as you declare “In the short term, though – and the science is clear on this – the world IS warming.”

What are we to make of this? You are, as a professor of journalism at QUT, responsible for the production of journalists, there is an acknowledged problem with journalism, so journalism is part of the problem and that by your own statement, you are a partisan advocate in relation to that which you criticize?

Pardon me for asking but, is the ambiguity still in the box?

This is a very disappointing and contradictory article as you have placed yourself in both the academic and media advocacy blocks.
Posted by spindoc, Friday, 8 April 2011 12:04:15 PM
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Raycom - tnks for the books, Mark Lawson
Posted by Curmudgeon, Friday, 8 April 2011 2:09:10 PM
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Raycom (re :the science of reporting climate change)

You left out Plimer's 'Heaven & Earth' published by the same house as Lawson's.

Could this be perhaps why?

Professor Harry Clarke:
http://www.harryrclarke.com/2009/05/09/more-on-plimer/
.

Professor Michael Ashley
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/ian-plimer-heaven-and-earth/story-e6frg8no-1225710387147
.

Professor Malcolm Walter
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2009/2586947.htm
.

Professor Kurt Lambeck, president of the Australian Academy of Science
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/ockhamsrazor/stories/2009/2589206.htm
.

Professor David Karoly
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2009/2593166.htm
.

Professor Bob Ward
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6804961.ece
.

Professor Ian Enting details why the book doesn't pass muster within the scientific community
.

http://tinyurl.com/Plimers-Downfall
Posted by bonmot, Friday, 8 April 2011 4:01:44 PM
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