Flames and Viruses: Australian and Hungarian Media Representation of the Australian Bushfires and the COVID-19 Pandemic, A Case Study

This study addresses the difference in media coverage of the Australian bushfires and the pandemic, using an Australian and a Hungarian news site. After a frame analysis of text and imagery, a narration analysis was conducted. Our results provided evidence that crises were covered in different ways....

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Priszcilla Hafenscher, Ferenc Jankó
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-10-01
Series:Climate
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2225-1154/10/11/163
Description
Summary:This study addresses the difference in media coverage of the Australian bushfires and the pandemic, using an Australian and a Hungarian news site. After a frame analysis of text and imagery, a narration analysis was conducted. Our results provided evidence that crises were covered in different ways. For a distant news portal, it was an obvious option to use the bushfires in order to visualize climate change. In contrast, the bushfire–climate link has been a politicized subject in Australia for decades; hence, the exceptional bushfire season was also unable to get the issue on the agenda. Although the Australian news media in our sample strived to portray a crisis under control, when compared to the pandemic, it was not so effective. Therefore, localization is a major challenge for effective climate communication, where lessons from the pandemic, using more economic and social frames, could be helpful.
ISSN:2225-1154