Coverage of climate change by the mass media in Kampala District

Abstract

This study, coverage of climate change by the mass media in Kampala, aims to contribute to improvement in awareness of climate change issues in Uganda with a specific focus on Kampala, which is an urban setting. Two surveys were done. A survey of journalists to establish the extent of coverage of climate change issues, and a public survey to establish which media type conveyed more climate change information to the public. While the radio conveys more messages on climate change, most of the respondents learnt about climate change issues from television. The study provided evidence that there is low coverage of climate change issues with some media organizations not covering climate change at all. A bulk of the respondents rated coverage of climate change issues as being low. Journalists find the subject complex and dull, and they generally lack interest in the subject. Most journalists focus on entertainment and politics. The internet was the major source of climate change knowledge while scientists were the least source of climate change knowledge. The major challenges faced in coverage of climate change issues included difficulty in accessing scientists, the climate change language being too technical and thus difficult for journalists to understand. Media organizations are not investing time and resources into climate change issues. As a result, climate change awareness is low and there is little public understanding of the risks of climate change. Environmental scientists and communicators need to package climate change information in a way that is captivating for the various audiences.