BANGKOK- More than eight out of 10 editors in a Southeast Asian survey say their newsrooms give importance to climate-related issues, but nearly 80% also report that these outlets do not have a section or product specialising on the climate. Four out of 10 editors and news managers also say their media houses could be better prepared in covering climate-related issues.
These are some insights that emerge from an online survey of 40 editors and news managers across eight Southeast Asian countries. Although it has a limited sample size and cannot be representative of the region, the survey collected first-hand information on how general news outlets in the region cover the climate emergency.
‘The Climate in Our Newsrooms’ survey was conducted by the Reporting ASEAN series from May to July 2024, using a 14-point questionnaire that was circulated in English as well as in some of the region’s languages.
All of the respondents were editors and news managers, ranging from editors-in-chief, founders, news and other section editors and desk coordinators in media houses from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Most of them were from online/multimedia outlets – a mix of major mainstream outlets, small independent ones and several state outfits that report in local languages or both local languages and English.
In the questionnaire, the editor-respondents were asked to describe how their desks covered climate stories, who produces these and whether they focus on climate instead of grouping it with ‘environment’, what newsroom structures and editorial guidance are like, their assessment of journalists’ skills and how climate reportage can be improved.
Asked to indicate “how much importance” their newsrooms have been giving to the climate, 81% of all respondents chose replies indicating average to very high importance. Choosing from a range of 1 (no importance) to 5 (very high importance), 14 of the 40 respondents chose “high importance” (4), 13 chose “average” importance (3) and five chose “very high importance”.
But this stated importance did not appear to mean that the surveyed news outlets had taken institutional steps such as making changes in newsroom structure and developing climate programs and products, or issuing style or content guidelines for reporting on the climate.
A total of 78% of editors said their news outlets did not have a section, program, page or product – such as newsletters or podcasts “specifically on climate – separate from ‘environment’ and other sections.”
Majority of respondents, or 78%, said they had “editorial/staff or management meetings/discussions about reporting, editing or training” about the climate in the past three years or so. But much fewer – just 30% – said their news outlets had “issued guidelines and briefings, and/or given training around using a climate lens in stories”, such as on terms to use, how to explain the climate crisis in stories, relating it to topics like health, economy, social justice, and coverage angles. Sixty percent said ‘no’ and 10% said there were unsure.
However, it was much more common to have news staffers take part in external training programs. Seven out of 10 editors said their staff had attended training events around “climate-related reporting or using a climate lens across news topics”.
What’s a climate story like?
The survey responses point to these characteristics of climate stories commonly found in in Southeast Asia’s news media:
- 53% of editor-respondents said majority of climate stories and material are produced by in-house staffers and newsrooms’ own contributors, compared to 30% who said about the same proportion came from foreign wire agencies and from in-house staffers, and 18% who said more than half of stories came from foreign wire agencies.
- 38% said their climate stories are usually done by a “reporter/producer in other beats”, followed by 33% by the “environment reporter/producer” and 23% by the climate reporter/producer”. (Together, environment and climate reporters produce 56% of climate stories among the surveyed newsrooms. Some respondents said they did not have a dedicated climate reporter. In two newsrooms, editor-respondents said that climate issues are not limited to beat reporters and that “every journalist” or “every member of the editorial team” works on these.)
- Three-quarters said the climate stories they publish (whether they are procured in-house or from external sources) appear in the national/domestic pages, sections or programs.
- Most of the time, the production of climate stories comes mainly from “initiatives and proposals for stories” from reporters and staffers, with 63% of respondents selecting this option over three other choices that included “assignments given by our editorial desk” (18%) and reporting projects funded by external grants (15%).
- 55% said that most of the time, their climate-related stories are from attendance of a scheduled event/press conference or workshop, compared to 43% from “enterprise reporting from ideas developed with our newsroom”
Most challenging skill in climate-proficient news
These are the top three skills that the editor-respondents chose as “most challenging” from a list of seven challenges for news teams in climate journalism:
- “understanding the science, development and current issues around climate” (78% of respondents chose this)
- “finding, working with statistics in stories” (60%)
- “thinking of a local/domestic story idea that is connected to the climate” (40%)
One editor stressed the importance of having a wider newsroom team, beyond just the reporters and producers, that is well-versed enough in the climate in order to pursue quality original reporting, and skillfully and independently assess and plan stories.
“My newsroom has not been confident to conduct original reporting on climate change partly because none of our editorial team members has a background on the issue,” an editor from Vietnam said. To review submissions from external sources, it would need to consult experts, so “for small newsrooms like ours, having external external experts is probably the best way to run a climate-focused section”, he explained.
Climate is for the entire newsroom
Asked to choose two from among six options, setting aside budget issues, that are “most doable” for a newsroom building its climate focus, the three top choices were:
- “train all reporters/producers and editors better in climate proficiency and the skill to connect to climate to all areas of news coverage” (60% of respondents selected this)
- “identify which staffers can specialise in climate” (43%)
- “feature more climate-related stories on the front page/section/landing page or including them in top stories” (35%)
When asked to share additional thoughts, seven among the 18 respondents who shared insights said that newsrooms need more training for reporters and other staff. Other comments were around the idea of collaboration among news outlets on climate issues, and the need for skills that make climate stories more engaging for audiences.
(*Johanna Son is the editor and founder of the Reporting ASEAN series.)