The Framing of Climate Change in Canadian, American, and International Newspapers: A Media Propaganda Model Analysis

Abstract

As a news story topic, climate change has potential narrative elements that include the oil industry and the earth’s climatic balance. With the world’s leading scientists now insisting that the story should be shifting from whether climate change is happening to “What are we going to do about it?” this article offers a critical comparative analysis of how American, Canadian, and international newspapers are framing this key issue. Based on Herman and Chomsky’s (1988) media propaganda model, the findings indicate that while newspapers in the United States might be avoiding the issue, all three “regions” show a hesitancy to frame climate change with either extreme weather consequences or oil reduction solutions.