Media Matters: Climate Coverage on Nets Increasing

Broadcasters ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox increased their coverage of climate change issues for the third year in a row, though that was still less than in some previous years, according to a new Media Matters for America analysis.

Coverage on the Sunday public affairs shows reached a six-year high, which came after some senators asked for more coverage of the issue. But the study found that those shows infrequently interviewed scientists for those stories.

"During 2014, the major broadcast networks' evening and Sunday news programs aired a total of 154 minutes of coverage of climate change," Media Matters said. "This was an increase from the previous year's 129 minutes and was significantly above the six-year average of about 108 minutes, but remained below the 205 minutes of coverage in 2009."

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.