A team of scholars affiliated with the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) have conducted a study that found exposure to Fox News and far-right media was negatively associated with belief in anthropogenic climate change, perceptions of the personal threat posed by climate change, and support for a carbon tax. On the other hand, exposure to centrist and science media was positively associated with these beliefs and policies. The research, titled “The Politicization of Climate Science: Media Consumption, Perceptions of Science and Scientists, and Support for Policy,” was published in the Journal of Health Communication.
The research team included Yotam Ophir, a former postdoctoral fellow at APPC; Dror Walter, an APPC distinguished research fellow; APPC’s Annenberg Health and Risk Communication Institute Director Patrick Jamieson; and APPC director Kathleen Hall Jamieson. The results of the study suggest that climate science scholars and advocates need to pay more attention to the media diets of individuals, particularly partisans, to understand the influence of messages and narratives about climate science and scientists circulating in the American media environment.
Previous research in this area mainly focused on centrist media and Fox News, but as media choices have become more varied, there is more to the story. Ophir notes that past research only asked if people watched Fox News and believed in climate change but there is a need to understand how various news outlets shape public opinion on this critical issue. The study highlights the importance of considering various media outlets when studying beliefs about climate change and policy decisions related to it.
