New study reviews climate change information dissemination in two Caribbean countries
A new study explores how climate change is discussed in two climate-vulnerable societies in the Caribbean.
The findings were featured in “Climate Communication as Statecraft: A Content Analysis of Climate Change Communication from Caribbean Governments and Press” by University of Arizona faculty Josh T. Anderson, Ben Lee and Harshit Khatwani, Public Relations Consultant Pamela Proverbs, Ph.D. 2021, Miami University Assistant Professor Phillip Arceneaux, Ph.D. 2019, and University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Public Relations Professor and Executive Associate Dean Spiro Kiousis. The article was published in Environmental Communication on Dec. 4.
The authors studied the results of a human-and-computer-coded content analysis of climate messages from the governments of two climate-vulnerable Caribbean nations, Barbados and Guyana, from the beginning of 2021 to mid-2024, as well as news publications based in these countries.
According to the authors, “To understand the climate communication strategies that these countries may or may not signal in official communications, and news publications may mirror, we used a coding scheme that draws on public diplomacy, public relations and science communication theory.”
They add, “Barbados and Guyana discussed climate change in a way that is mostly consistent with the public diplomacy and public relations functions of strategic communication about other topics and rarely discussed it as a science issue. However, we find some evidence that news stories discuss climate change primarily as a science issue.”
Category: Alumni News, College News
Tagged: Climate change Public Relations Spiro Kiousiis
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