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National print media vs. agricultural trade publications: communicating the 2012 Midwestern US drought

Author

Listed:
  • Sarah P. Church

    (Montana State University)

  • Belyna Bentlage

    (Verdis Group)

  • Roberta Weiner

    (Purdue University)

  • Nicholas Babin

    (California Polytechnic State University)

  • Brian R. Bulla

    (Appalachian State University)

  • Katelyn Fagan

    (Purdue University)

  • Tonya Haigh

    (University of Nebraska-Lincoln)

  • J. Stuart Carlton

    (Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant)

  • Linda S. Prokopy

    (Purdue University)

Abstract

The 2012 Midwestern US drought resulted in major impacts to farmers and the public. Extreme events like drought will continue in the future due to climate change. We studied how the elite national press—New York Times (NYT) and Wall Street Journal (WSJ)—covered the 2012 Midwestern drought, how climate change was addressed, and how NYT and WSJ articles differed from each other and agricultural trade publication (ATP) article coverage before, during, and after the drought. A previous study found that ATP articles emphasized short-term drought recovery efforts. We suggest this emphasis was exacerbated by how drought and climate change were reported in the national media. Few articles discussed climate change in all publication types. Most articles that did cover climate change did not attribute a cause; however, over half of NYT articles mentioned human-caused climate change. WSJ and ATP articles had more content similarities than NYT articles. Overall, climate change discussions in all publication types were related to personal impacts. Climate change reporting in the WSJ and NYT was broad. ATP climate change reporting related to weather conditions in relation to farm resilience. Focusing on impacts and recovery may have attenuated risk perceptions. We contend that communication should recognize human-caused climate change and increased likelihood of weather extremes.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarah P. Church & Belyna Bentlage & Roberta Weiner & Nicholas Babin & Brian R. Bulla & Katelyn Fagan & Tonya Haigh & J. Stuart Carlton & Linda S. Prokopy, 2020. "National print media vs. agricultural trade publications: communicating the 2012 Midwestern US drought," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 161(1), pages 43-63, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:161:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s10584-019-02630-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-019-02630-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Roberta Weiner & Sarah P. Church & Junyu Lu & Laura A. Esman & Jackie M. Getson & Michelle Fleckenstein & Brennan Radulski & Pranay Ranjan & Emily Usher & Linda S. Prokopy & Linda Pfeiffer, 2021. "Climate change coverage in the United States media during the 2017 hurricane season: implications for climate change communication," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 164(3), pages 1-19, February.
    2. Rust, Niki A. & Rehackova, Lucia & Naab, Francis & Abrams, Amber & Hughes, Courtney & Merkle, Bethann Garramon & Clark, Beth & Tindale, Sophie, 2021. "What does the UK public want farmland to look like?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    3. Astrid Artner-Nehls & Sandra Uthes & Jana Zscheischler & Peter H. Feindt, 2022. "How the Agricultural Press Addresses the Slurry–Water Nexus: A Text Mining Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-22, August.

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