Major Media Outlets and Climate Change Action: Comparing US Media Coverage of the Green New Deal

Abstract

This study analyzes the CNN and Fox News coverage of the US Green New Deal (GND) introduced in 2018 by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) and Senator Edward J. Markey and discerns how partisan ideologies are shaping media coverage. Our content analysis of 53 news videos identifies themes, actors, and tones that contextualize the landscape of the GND media representation and examines how these elements may indicate presence of political polarization. The greatest indications of polarization were seen in CNN’s and Fox News’s coverage of sub-themes, actors, and tones. The sub-themes under economics, politics, and climate received the most coverage. On both channels, AOC receives significantly more attention than any other actor. Fox News tends to portray the GND negatively, while CNN’s coverage is more positive or neutral. The study highlights the value of studying additional indicators in detail (sub-themes, actors, and tones) to paint a broader picture of political polarization. Political polarization of media content means different audiences are presented with diverging coverage, which can influence their perception and opinions.