A new study sheds light on the difficult challenges facing even the most determined environmental reporters in Israel - from a misconception of public indifference to the issue among editors to financial interests. The editor of the study: "A journalist who wants to move forward knows not to get involved in the climate crisis"
By Inbar Naaman, Angle - Science and Environment News Agency
According to all the forecasts, the Middle East is one of the regions that will suffer the worst impact fromThe worsening climate crisis - but between the governmental instability, the security tensions, Iran and the corona, it seems that the Israeli media does not find room for another existential threat, which is already knocking on our door.
In a new Israeli study, which will be presented In the 50th Annual Conference on Science and the Environment, which will be held on 7-6 at the Tel Aviv Expo complex, the media coverage of the climate crisis in Israel was examined from the point of view of journalists and columnists in the field - and the findings are not encouraging.
Dr. Vared Elisher Malka from the Department of Communication at Emek Jezreel Academic College, who led the new study, says that the gap between the severity of the crisis and its presence in the media does not satisfy her. "I come from the field of political communication research, and when I was exposed to the topic of the climate crisis, about three years ago, it grabbed me in the stomach," she says. "I told myself that it can't be that as a researcher who understands how important communication is in crisis situations, I won't do anything about it."
According to Elisher Malka, the study of climate communication in Israel is still in its infancy, and research is a first step in mapping the significant players in the climate struggle in Israel. During March-May 2021, she conducted in-depth interviews with 25 journalists who deal with the issue, and asked them about the media's responsibility in mediating the crisis to the public, and about the challenges they face in covering the issue.
Gap between the will of the public and the perceptions of the editors
According to Elisher Malka, the first challenge was already in locating the interviewees. She says that today, only "Haaretz" and "Globes" newspapers employ a reporter whose sole concern is the climate crisis (Lee Yaron and Shani Ashkenazi, respectively). In the rest of the media, the topic is covered by environmental reporters - which is sometimes one of several topics that are under their scope of coverage.
From the analysis of the interview transcripts, it was found that all the participants in the study believe that the Israeli media is failing in covering the crisis. "I found that usually, those who deal with the issue on a large scale are highly motivated to bring the issue to the public's attention, and they experience frustration in view of the limited resources allocated to the issue," says Elisher Malka.
(For the avoidance of doubt, articles and articles "Angle" news agency for science and the environment, who is exclusively engaged in writing articles on environmental issues for the main media outlets in Israel, who works on behalf of the Israeli Association for Ecology and Environmental Sciences (AR) and the writer of these lines is among them, was not interviewed as part of the study).
"Among journalists who cover four or five other topics, it was found that the level of knowledge was less and the topic was less emotional for them," says Elisher Malka. "You can't blame them, after all, how many resources does one person have who needs to delve into so many topics?"
Several journalists interviewed in the study estimated that there is a gap between what the news system thinks the public wants, and the actual situation. Those who receive direct inquiries from the public reported that they recognize a growing interest in the field - but according to them, in the new systems there is a feeling that the subject is not sufficiently interesting or renewed. "It is clear that so far there have been no local climatic disasters that can provide headlines every day, and it takes crazy motivation to raise the issue," says Elisher Malka. "However, anyone with eyes in their head understands that in order to drive political processes, the issue must receive significant media prominence."
"Journalists cannot be expected to be Don Quixote"
One of the first lessons that every media man and woman learns is touching the hand that feeds them: criticism and militancy often take a secondary place compared to financial considerations of those in control of the media body. "The research literature deals a lot with the self-censorship of media people, I also know this from my previous studies - journalists learn very quickly who is against whom," says Elisher Malka. "It is enough to hear the conversation in the newsrooms to understand that if you want to move forward in the system, there are issues that you need to stay away from. There are few journalists who are willing to risk a head-on confrontation with their editors and risk their careers to fight for an issue that is important to them - and we cannot expect them to be 'Don Quixotes'."
"In order to find interviewees on the commercial channels, I had to be creative, because the subject is hardly covered by them," adds Elisher Malka. "These are the channels with the highest ratings, which can bring about a significant change in the public agenda - and the gap between their potential impact and actual action is the most acute."
Elisher Malka mapped several "islands of sanity" in the local media: according to her, the public broadcasting channels of "Kan" on television and radio allocate resources and airtime to the climate crisis, as do the newspapers "Haaretz", "Globes", "The Marker" and "Davar". "Unfortunately, these are media outlets with limited ratings and circulation, and the audiences who reach them and look to read about the issue are already convinced of the severity of the climate crisis."
The climate crisis as an issue of national resilience
Another challenge facing environmental journalists is the labeling of the climate crisis as a left-wing issue. This is of course not a unique challenge for Israel, and during the years of Donald Trump's tenure as President of the United States, The polarization on the issue has worsened. Elisher Malka also spoke with journalists who work in media outlets that are identified with the right-wing in Israel: "These are the bravest journalists, because they not only face opposition from the editors - but also opposition from the audience."
One solution proposed by journalists working in these media involves reframing the issue of the climate crisis, through its connection to issues of national resilience: today the crisis is covered as an issue of sustainability, but it has consequences in many areas of our lives. "We need to take the climate crisis out of the niche of trees and butterflies," claims Elisher Malka. "It is important to note that this is not manipulation, because the climate crisis will affect every area of our lives: if I want to buy a house on the coastline, I have to take into account the forecast for the coastal cities to flood; If I choose a profession that will require work outside, I have to take into account the rising temperatures that will not allow work outside during the day."
Beyond that, the climate crisis may also place Israel in security danger: the rise in temperatures is expected to make many areas too hot to live in, and turn residents into refugees. Already today, Israel is dealing with the wave of refugees that arrived 15-10 years ago from East Africa, and which was caused in part by extreme weather events Like droughts and floods - and one of the factors to the civil war in Syria It is in severe forms caused by the climate crisis. "Israel needs to be prepared for a situation where millions of people, not necessarily from countries seeking peace, will desperately seek refuge from the crisis in Israel - and this has security and national consequences," says Elisher Malka.
"If we speak to the readers in a language they understand - in the context of national issues, we can convey the message: that the climate crisis does not differentiate between right and left, and it will not stop at Israel's doorstep", Elisher Malka concludes.
More of the topic in Hayadan:
