There is a big difference in how journalism education in the Nordic countries deals with climate change. This is shown by a new study in which researchers have analyzed 751 course descriptions and interviewed program leaders from eight programs. The results show that only a small part of the teaching explicitly relates to climate, and this is due, among other things, to disagreement about whether climate coverage is a special discipline or just one topic among many. Roskilde University writes this in a press release.
Only 26 out of a total of 751 reviewed course descriptions mention climate, environment or sustainability. This is evident from a new scientific article written by five Nordic researchers, including postdoc Line Weldingh from Roskilde University. According to the researchers, only two of the 26 courses have climate and environment as their main theme, while the rest mention the topics to varying degrees.
– Climate change is an ongoing crisis and a complex subject that cuts across all subject areas. Therefore, it is obvious for the programs to prepare future journalists to cover it. Of course, we do not know to what extent it is addressed in teaching, but the fact that it is mentioned so little in the course descriptions shows that it is not prioritized overall, even though many of the programs emphasize sustainability as part of their strategy, says Line Weldingh, a postdoc at the Department of Communication and Humanities at Roskilde University.
In addition to the analysis of course descriptions, the study is based on interviews with eight program representatives. Some mention that climate is mentioned in course plans as a result of strategic focus or interest of teachers. Others highlight a lack of time and skills as the reason for the absence.
– If climate change is perceived as a subject area in line with many others, there is no need to teach it in an undergraduate program. Conversely, it is necessary if one sees climate change as a discipline that requires special knowledge and skills, or as a dimension that cuts across all subject areas, says Line Weldingh.
According to the researchers, the study points to the need for a discussion about what knowledge journalism students should have in order to cover climate change. This is also true because media organizations choose different approaches – some have climate as an independent subject area, while others integrate it into, for example, science coverage.
– The results can give education programs a framework to discuss climate change and thereby make a conscious choice about how and whether they should be integrated into teaching, says Line Weldingh.
The research article has been published in the journal *Journalism Education* and was written by Line Weldingh together with Gøril Borgen-Eide (OsloMet), Henrik Bødker (Aarhus University), Maarit Jaakkola (Gothenburg University) and Kristina Riegert (Södertörns Högskola).
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