Climate change is high on the agenda of major events in New York this month, with the U.N. General Assembly underway, the Clinton Global Initiative beginning on September 23 and The New York Times’ annual climate summit starting two days later.
Despite the convergence of these gatherings, bringing together global political leaders, CEOs, activists, philanthropists and journalists, media coverage of climate change in the U.S. is under threat. It is negatively affected by media budget and position cuts, public apathy and politicization.
Some major outlets have climate desks, including Reuters and The New York Times, with its twice-weekly e-newsletter, Climate Forward. Yet over the past 10 months, editorial resources devoted to climate change across media outlets have been targeted for cuts.
CNBC shuttered its climate desk after two and a half years. The Los Angeles Times laid off 20% of its newsroom, including an Emmy Award-winning producer of two climate docuseries for the newspaper. Vox Media eliminated climate reporters. And veteran climate correspondent Tim Puko was among the journalists at The Washington Post who took a voluntary buyout when the newspaper tried to reduce headcount by 240 people.
Niche outlets focused on the energy sector and the environment haven’t been immune to reductions. Climate journalists, including for Energy Monitor and Trellis, formerly GreenBiz, have posted on LinkedIn about their jobs being eliminated.
Chris Gidez, founding partner at G7 Reputation Advisory and former global energy practice leader at Hill & Knowlton, says there is audience fatigue about climate change. Editorial positions wouldn’t be eliminated if those journalists’ content was generating eyeballs online, he argues.
Gidez also says some of these desks failed to follow journalism 101: deliver balanced, objective reporting.
“This is not universal, but too often journalists who are assigned to the climate beat are more of an advocate and following an agenda than acting as journalists,” says Gidez. “A lot of companies are often hesitant to speak to someone from the climate desk because of the worry that they’re not really a journalist.”
He says that he can count on one hand how many stories he’s read that considered the micro- and macro-economics of trying to stop or slow down climate change versus adapting to it.
“It’s fundamentally one of the most important questions facing policymakers, but too much of the coverage is immediate, like ‘Was that storm caused by climate change?’ Or it’s about who’s got the latest, goofiest solution to climate change,” Gidez says.
Like most traditional media, the number of climate journalists has also fallen in recent years.
“Unfortunately, climate reporters have not been immune to media cuts,” says Molly Hendriksen, VP and climate technology practice lead at BerlinRosen. “Over the past year, we’ve seen some publications’ climate teams shrink, creating even less capacity for editorial teams to cover such an important issue.”
But a growing crop of climate-focused media has emerged to fill the void.
“We continue to see more focused and in-depth coverage, including from publications like Canary Media, Latitude Media and even outlets like Semafor, which has a dedicated climate vertical with Net Zero,” says Hendriksen.
However, she says there are gaps in coverage, with energy transition, transportation and electric vehicles and major climate events, like record-breaking heat and natural disasters, getting the most attention. “Other issues, like climate change’s impact on water or agriculture, aren’t always covered as extensively, despite their relevance,” says Hendriksen.
Fewer reporters also means more journalists are juggling beats.
“Obviously, the downsizing of newsrooms has put more pressure on reporters to cover multiple beats. With reporters spread thin, there is less time to dig deeper on some of these more complex topics within climate change,” says Brianne Chai-Onn, senior partner for sustainability in Finn Partners’ purpose and social impact practice. “However, this is an issue that truly transcends all borders and industries, and we are starting to see climate coverage across multiple verticals from technology and business to health with climate-tech reporters and even climate solutions reporters at certain outlets.
“It is more than science reporters covering climate,” she adds. “There is a lot of [desire] for reporters to cover this issue and connect it to tangible solutions and actions that people can take.”
Kate Olsen, EVP and North America lead for social impact and sustainability at Weber Shandwick, agrees there is a “a shift in consciousness about climate. It’s become an intersectional issue,” meaning stories in sections like entertainment, sports, fashion, food and travel often cover some element of climate change. A feature on ski vacations, for instance, might address the shortened snow season due to warmer conditions.
There is also another complicating factor to climate change stories: the presidential election.
Former President Donald Trump once dubbed climate change as one of the biggest hoaxes in America. A significant swath of the population also doesn’t believe in it. According to a 2024 University of Michigan study, 14.8% of Americans deny that climate change is real. The figure surges past 20% in parts of the central and southern U.S., like Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma and North Dakota.
“A lot of other countries don’t have the challenges that we have in the U.S. in terms of disbelief about something being climate-related,” says Olsen, citing Canada as an example. “Our team in Toronto is doing some really cool sustainability work, and I envy their ability to just tell a climate story. It’s harder to tell a blanket climate story here. We also see journalists being very careful about the language that they use.”
“We look at the nexus of where climate is butting up against something else like economic hardship, and unlock that story,” she adds. “Climate change can be highly technical and scientific, particularly around measurements of greenhouse gas emissions. But if you address it through a cost-of-living or quality-of-life lens, that makes the story more accessible, lends itself to visual storytelling and gives more dimension to the climate emergency.”
Hendriksen agrees that an on-the-ground human lens brings in more eyeballs.
“Stories about climate change can be overwhelming and discouraging for many. Showing how climate change is affecting people, such as the record-breaking summer we just experienced, or how an emerging technology could positively benefit people in the years to come, helps people not only understand the stakes, but also the role they can play in potential solutions,” she says. “It makes the issue feel accessible and understandable.”
Not everyone agrees that climate desks and reporters are going extinct more quickly than other beats.
“In contrast to other areas of the media landscape, we’ve seen a steady increase and investment in climate reporting over the past few years,” says Whitney Dailey, EVP of Allison’s purpose center of excellence.
The Brookings Institute found that climate reporting has increased 300% since 2012. And Dailey says she sees more dedicated or specialized beat reporters covering climate change as opposed to general assignment reporters.
“Given the subject matter is complex and continuously shifting, a dedicated reporter can better track and report on that nuance,” she says. “In our media pitching, we are more often than not engaging with someone who is passionate about this topic and does in-depth reporting on the subject.”
Dailey says that while U.S. coverage is often through the prism of the presidential election or from a business context, communicators need to play the long game.
“There’s no questioning this election will very much set the tone globally as it relates to climate change progress, but we must also keep in mind that the fate of our planet transcends politics and frame the urgency and the opportunity of the challenge ahead as central to the narrative,” says Dailey.
This story was updated on September 19 to correct Hendriksen’s title.
This story originally appeared on PRWeek US.
