Assessing the Knowledge and Perception of Climate Change among Environmental Journalists in Ghana

Abstract

The public largely depend on the media for information including issues about the environment. Journalists are the principal agents to transmit climate change information from the producers of knowledge (scientists) to the consumers of knowledge (public). Their intermediary role is well defined by how they set agendas and frame the issues. Environmental journalists in Ghana have an important role to ensure that public understanding of climate change is improved. However, many environmental journalists in the country are not sufficiently abreast of climate change issues and this can either lead to low level of public understanding or misinformation. This study, therefore, is an effort to gauge the knowledge and perception of climate change among environmental journalists in the country. The data from this thesis was collected using questionnaires which were administered to environmental journalists as well as in-depth interviews with heads of environmental desks at some media houses and the head of climate change at the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation. Grounded in the Knowledge Deficit Model, the study show that environmental journalists in Ghana lack the requisite expertise to efficiently and effectively report on climate change. Additionally, it was found that there is a low degree of coordination between journalists and government in addressing climate change. These findings demand swift attention from all stakeholders if Ghana is really determined to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly, SDG 13. Keywords: knowledge, perception, climate change, information environmental journalists, Knowledge Deficit Model, Sustainable Development Goals