Linking Extreme Weather Events to Climate Change: The Selected Newspapers Reports on Drought News in Tanzania, 2021.

Abstract

This research focused on the nexus between extreme weather events, singularly drought, and climate change, centered on media coverage, particularly seven newspapers in Tanzania in November 2021. It emphasizes the importance of journalists' understanding of climate change and its impact on extreme weather events such as drought for quality and accurate reporting and underscores the importance of incorporating supportive evidence in the news. Despite Tanzania experiencing the impact of climate change, such as the increase in the intensity of extreme weather events such as drought, and media reportage, there is a scarcity of studies investigating how media pay attention to linking these events to climate change. By using a mixed method of qualitative content analysis and semi-structured interviews, this study addressed this gap by examining how journalists integrate climate change into drought news, focusing on a) how they acknowledge climate change in relation to drought by examining the depth and context of acknowledgment; b) the type of evidence presented; c) reasons behind the coverage; and ultimately, identifying challenges and solutions. The findings reveal variations in how drought is framed in relation to climate change among the seven selected newspapers in Tanzania. While most of them establish a connection, some do not address it at all. Generic statements are often employed when linking drought to climate change. Drought impact serves as the predominant context for incorporating the link between drought and climate change. However, the depth of coverage varies, often consisting of only one or two sentences. Journalists primarily rely on political leaders to support their information, lacking concrete evidence to substantiate their claims. Reasons for such coverage include journalists' low understanding, knowledge, education, and specialization; editorial policies, media constraints, as well as the cost and inaccessibility of publications and experts were identified. Solutions to these challenges include among other media support, education, and training of journalists. This study calls for urgently addressing the challenges journalists encounter when reporting climate change-related issues in Tanzania to ensure quality and accurate reporting. Future studies should incorporate other extreme events, time frame, media type and stakeholders’ perspectives.