Representation of Climate Change in Pakistani Media: An Analysis of Print Media News Stories and Official Tweets

Abstract

This study aims to examine the way Pakistani newspapers and climate ministers have framed climate change from 2020 to 2022. This research has been carried out using a quantitative content analysis. The content of news stories from English print media (Dawn and The Nation) and Urdu print media (Daily Jang and Daily Dunya) and official tweets of the Ministry of Climate Change (PTI and PDM government) regarding coverage of climate change was examined by utilizing deductive frames proposed by Semetko and Valkenburg (2000). These frames include attribution of responsibility, human interest, conflict, morality, and economic consequences. It was a census study. A total of 208 news stories and 149 tweets were selected for examination from the year 2020 to 2022. The findings revealed that the attribution of responsibility and economic consequences frames were the most commonly employed frames in both print media and official tweets. Subsequent, conflict and human interest frames were more prominently featured in print media than in the official tweets of the Ministry of Climate Change. Additionally, this study also revealed that government ministries and print media placed the least emphasis on highlighting the morality frame with respect to climate change.