Australian news coverage of Antarctic science and governance in a changing climate

For most people, Antarctica is a mysterious frozen continent: home to heroic tales of daring adventure; a place dedicated to science and collaboration; and more recently, a symbol of fears about global warming. But who decides the terms of reference for the publics’ understanding of the icy continent? The role of news media has been largely overlooked in Antarctic scholarship, which seeks to understand public engagement with the region. This is an oversight given that news media is the public’s main source of information about science. As images of calving icebergs and collapsing ice shelves become more commonplace on news feeds, news media’s role in framing climate change deserves exploration. This paper presents data from a larger study mapping media discourse around Australia’s engagement with Antarctica, using content analysis of online news articles and 29 interviews with journalists, scientists, and other Antarctic stakeholders. The data will be considered in light of existing scholarship examining representations of science and the environment in the news. This presentation argues that exploring journalistic representations of Antarctic science has the potential to challenge assumptions about the role of news media and scientists in communicating issues such as climate change.