UPDATE 2019:
The latest Media Matters study shows ABC is again the big loser in climate change coverage, decreasing its network news time to the subject by 81 percent to under 11 minutes. Keep signing this petition to tell ABC to do a much better job.
UPDATE 2017:
The 2016 Media Matters study on network news was released and the trend of newscasts snubbing climate change coverage continues. Collectively, the four major networks decreased their coverage of global warming by 66 percent. Let's continue to put pressure on ABC news, which devoted only 6 minutes to climate change in all of 2016.
After 2015 became the hottest year on record, the consequences of climate change have never been more real. Somehow, though, the media is ignoring this environmental catastrophe. A Media Matters study found that network news programs actually decreased the amount of airtime they devoted to climate change last year.
As bad as this overall trend is, one broadcast news company lagged behind all the others: ABC News.
While ABC had the least amount of coverage by far, they also dropped significantly from the year before. ABC devoted less than half the airtime then the next worse news company, Fox.
The news media has a responsibility to report on issues that matter to people, and nothing is more important than the well-being of the planet. There may be a scientific consensus on climate change, but the fact that society and world leaders continue to do very little to address the problem makes climate change more newsworthy than ever.
We call on ABC to immediately increase their coverage of climate issues. Help keep this critical issue at the forefront of people's minds so that we have a fighting chance of actually surviving global warming.
To see the full report on the broadcast media's sad coverage of our climate crisis, click here.
