Research has generally shown that use of liberal and non-partisan news outlets tends to be associated with people being concerned about the issue of climate change. By contrast, use of conservative leaning outlets tends to be associated with questioning the existence of climate change.

But, two areas of interest in how different media outlets affect the public have remained underdeveloped. First, scholars have spent less time examining whether the content of different media outlets could influence people’s behaviors regarding climate change. Second, few studies have examined whether the relationships between use of different media outlets and beliefs regarding climate change differ based on a person’s race and ethnicity.

University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Public Relations Assistant Professor Jay Hmielowski and Troy Elias at the University of Oregon attempted to address these two questions. First, their findings suggest that use of liberal and non-partisan media lead people to report a willingness to address the issue of climate change. By contrast, using conservative media outlets like Fox News was associated with people being less willing to change their behaviors to address the issue of climate change.

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Posted: January 10, 2020
Category: Digest Only