Page 180 - Carbon Capitalism and Communication Confronting Climate Crisis

174 R.A. HACKETT AND S. GUNSTER

social movement organizations and supportive journalists; the implemen-
tation of new integrated paradigms for doing journalism; and the devel-
opment of vibrant alternative media.

FRAMING CLIMATE CRISIS:LIMITS AND OPPORTUNITIES
It is probably impossible to tell a story without a frame—a sense of what
the story is, that draws upon broader cultural narratives and themes, and
that helps shape what the storyteller regards as relevant, what categories
and descriptive terms she uses, and so on. Framing is inherently a process of
selectivity—as the metaphor implies, some aspects of the world are fore-
grounded, others marginalized, still others excluded altogether. It is also an
exercise of power—the capacity to define a political issue (including climate
and energy policy) through the use of frames that resonate with publics and
help them ‘fix’ its meaning, is halfway to winning the policy battle. And the
resources to establish frames that are favourable to one’s group or class
interests are not evenly distributed throughout capitalist society.
We conducted interviews with alternative media journalists and envi-
ronmental NGO advocates in Vancouver to identify frames that they
regard as relatively effective in engaging publics with progressive climate
politics. We first asked them for their perceptions of current news.
Most participants talked about the sheer paucity of coverage, especially
remarkable given the magnitude and complexity of the problem, as well as
the urgent need for strong, immediate action. ‘Limited coverage is part of
the issue’, noted P.J. Partington, a Toronto-based climate policy analyst
with the Pembina Institute, a clean energy Canadian think tank. ‘And that
has to do with a lot of things, not least dwindling resources… [and] fewer
specialist reporters…on science and environment.’ Many noted the
incongruity between reporting on climate change and a commercial media
system dedicated to the promotion of consumption and economic growth.
Many were especially frustrated by the inability and/or unwillingness of
news media to draw connections between climate change and other issues.
In the context of British Columbia and Canada, the most important
missing link is between energy and climate. Kevin Washbrook, a prominent
activist and a founding member of the Vancouver grassroots advocacy
group Voters Taking Action Against Climate Change (VTACC), identified
the single most important thing news media could do to increase public
engagement with climate change: “Connect the dots”. On the one hand,
media coverage of energy issues only focuses upon their economic and