Avatar 1: hellou there and Welcome to our EGreenNews Conversations.!
Avatar 2: Pleasure to be here with you today.
Avatar 1: What topics should we cover first?
**Avatar 1:** I’ve noticed that despite extreme heat becoming a serious health threat, it rarely makes big headlines or gets deep media coverage. Why is heat risk such a tough story for journalists?
Challenges of reporting on extreme heat and health
Story narrative and context
Story reach and impact
Access to data, information, other resources, and use of terminology
Organizational constraints
Story narrative and context
Some of the media professionals that were interviewed raised concerns that doom-filled narratives about the impacts of climate change can lead to public disengagement, and recurring extreme weather events contribute to news fatigue. Journalists and other media professionals must continuously find new angles and approaches to communicate about extreme heat, keeping content timely and locally relevant.
“So, something that we’ve been seeing in a lot of studies coming out around climate journalism is that the doom and gloom really turns people off.[…]…the adage is: “If it bleeds, it leads”, so there’s this old reflex that if you put something dramatic or conflict-oriented in the headline, people are going to click on it. But we’re finding that this is turning people off.”
A couple of the interviewees maintained that there is a low level of audience capacity and interest in information on extreme heat. Consequently, while extreme heat events are increasingly frequent and deadly, the topic is often underrepresented in news coverage and is considered a niche issue.
"And so, there's that law of diminishing returns, where it [extreme heat] just becomes normalized."
What are the challenges for reporting and producing stories on extreme heat?
Story narrative and context
Negativity and “doom and gloom” reporting can cause readers to disengage (4/12)
Constant need for the “new and now” story with relevant angles that balance urgency with originality (3/12)
Level of audience capacity and interest is low for extreme heat stories, and further desensitization is possible as risks are normalized (2/12)
Coverage can reflect middle-class perspectives, portraying extreme heat positively, while underrepresenting at-risk populations (2/12)
Story reach and impact
The Meta news ban has disrupted news dissemination, particularly in communities reliant on Facebook for real-time updates (6/12)
Limited resources, rigid approval processes, and generational differences within public health authorities challenge content creation (4/12)
Diverse audiences are not being reached due to lack of multilingual support, delayed translations, and local representation (3/12)
Misinformation, AI-generated content, algorithm-driven media, and disinformation challenge reporting and reach (3/12)
Access to data, information, visuals, and use of terminology
Lack of timely access to experts or collaboration (5/12) and experts’ use of technical jargon that is difficult to understand (2/12)
Visual storytelling of extreme heat is challenging due to limited and inappropriate imagery options; tight budgets and fast-paced reporting exacerbate these challenges (5/12)
Need for improved access to user-friendly, reliable health data and information from public health bodies to promote data-driven storytelling (4/12)
Organizational constraints
Current media landscape creates time and resource limitations, staff turnover, and job insecurity that lead to understaffing and higher workloads (5/12)
Climate change attribution is still not prioritized, especially in time-constrained pieces (2/12)
Covering pre-season is difficult, as audiences primarily engage during extreme heat events (2/12)
Note: The number of respondents out of 12 is listed in brackets. As not all interviewees were asked directly about each specific theme, the number of respondents who mentioned a theme should not be interpreted as an indication of its overall prevalence.
The interviewees in a couple of instances noted that the lack of coverage on extreme heat is compounded by the risk that these events are becoming normalized as they become more frequent. The situation is further complicated by the fact that those with greater resources are increasingly installing air conditioning, meaning fewer people feel the direct effects of heat, which in turn may lead to reduced public concern about the issue. Media reports and programming often still cover heat and hot weather with a positive, celebratory tone that overlooks the dangers for populations who are at higher risk of negative outcomes.
Story reach and impact
Half of the media professionals interviewed said that the Meta news ban created large challenges for disseminating local and regional news, especially in communities that rely heavily on platforms like Facebook for real-time information.
“[…] another major, major barrier that we face locally and nationally, is the Meta news ban. Northern communities very much still use Facebook. So, people get most of their information from Facebook and rely on that […] you don't really use other platforms to be informed.”
The interviewees highlighted in some cases that media outlets serving ethnically diverse communities face barriers in delivering timely, accessible information on urgent issues due to a lack of multilingual support and delayed translation.
“Also as mentioned, our listeners come from an ethnic background. So English is a second language for them, creating a language barrier. As a result, the contents of our stories must be more thorough and explicit.”
National media frequently overlook stories from northern communities, with centralized editorial control limiting coverage and local representation. Misinformation, AI-generated content, and algorithm-driven media were also reported by those interviewed as trends that can distort public understanding of complex issues like climate change, and disinformation from vested interests can skew public perception.
Access to experts, data, visuals, information, and use of terminology
When asked about challenges, some interviewees shared that there were substantial difficulties in finding diverse expert voices, particularly under tight time constraints. This leads to repetitive sourcing from familiar experts and limits new perspectives. They said jargon used by experts gets in the way of making climate-related reporting accessible.
“Regarding specific challenges faced in 2021/2022, given the high demand of timely information required and the mass volume of media requests at the same time, the wait period for any government officials to respond back to our interview requests was much longer than usual. Sometimes we only received their responses after a few days of sending requests for comments for interviews.”
"A challenge in reporting on extreme heat and anything climate related, really, is the interviews, and actually getting the experts to speak in a way that is accessible."
Another major problem raised by some interviewees was the lack of access to health outcome data, including mortality data, from public health bodies. Inconsistent statistics across regions and challenges in sourcing reliable data can make accurate reporting difficult. The inability to access “paywalled” data from published scientific literature poses an additional challenge.
“We like to have good statistics, and we like to have the references for them too. So, one thing that always comes up is, for example, heat deaths. And heat deaths are measured differently everywhere […] As in what is considered a heat death?”
"Anything that's behind a paywall is not accessible to us – like journals that are behind paywalls. We rely very heavily on public institutions that publicly post their research and data."
“In general, the challenges that we face on a day-to-day basis relate to [not] being able to obtain accurate and reliable information from local, provincial, national and international sources.”
Some of the interviewees also remarked that visual storytelling around extreme heat can be challenging because this type of weather lacks dramatic visuals compared with storms or floods. Journalists often have limited imagery options, due to tight budgets and fast-paced reporting. This leads to the use of visuals portraying “fun in the sun” or people sunbathing or cooling off by the water, which can trivialize the situation and create a mismatched framing of the story.
"I often find myself telling editors and other journalists like, you know, we're doing a hot weather story, please use pictures that are not fun, right? You want to show the discomforts associated with heat. I think the default is still, ‘Oh, great, it's hot, let's show people having fun at the beach.’”
Organizational constraints
The interviewees in some cases shared that the current media landscape faces considerable time and resource constraints, with journalists often juggling multiple roles and severe time limitations, especially during periods of understaffing. The convergence of media platforms has reduced newsroom capacity across TV, radio, print, and digital, limiting the ability to provide consistent, in-depth coverage on issues like extreme heat and health. Added to this, connections to climate change are often overlooked in reporting, especially in coverage that needs to be published quickly.
Furthermore, as financial resources diminish [referencing closing of newspapers and news outlets], we identify increased challenges in the future.
In a couple of instances, media professionals also said they face constraints to pre-heat-season reporting because audiences typically only engage during extreme heat events. Longer format documentaries or podcasts may accommodate some early coverage, but the daily news cycle favours stories responding to current or imminent weather, limiting proactive, seasonal reporting.
Avatar 1
So much info coming your way, huh?
Avatar 2
Actually, it’s more like a bunch of questions! Ready to get started?
Avatar 1
Yeah, but how exactly should I begin?
Avatar 2
Try following Hugi Hernandez, the founder of Egreenews. You might find him on LinkedIn or at egreenews dot org.
Avatar 1 :
Thanks for sharing that! I will write it down today!
**Avatar 1:** It does, and ongoing research like this is essential for developing evidence-based policies and protections. The more we understand, the better we can safeguard both mothers and newborns from climate-related health risks.
Avatar 1: Ever notice there’s always a catch to learning new stuff?
Avatar 2: For sure! Not enough data, not the whole story—always missing something.
Avatar 1: True, but it’s more about curiosity—finding new views from experts or what we experience.
Avatar 2: Yep, mixing expert advice with real life makes it click.
Avatar 1: It can get overwhelming, though.
Avatar 2: Definitely. With so much out there, picking a place to start is tough.
Avatar 1: If you want to dig into heat resilience, check the Climate Central and of course the work from the UNITED NATIONS!
Avatar 2: Great call. I’m a fan of The and the World Weather Attribution—super innovative.
Avatar 1: And the as well as the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre has loads of helpful heat safety info.
Avatar 2: Right, but people move things forward. Like Hugi Hernandez at Egreenews.org—he keeps climate talk creative.
Avatar 1: There’s a whole network building solutions. Egreenews is launching new hubs, like eDisaster, so you can learn risk and resilience 24/7.
Avatar 2: That’s awesome. Whether learning or connecting, there’s inspiration everywhere. LinkedIn’s packed with changemakers too.
Avatar 1: So—want to start? These talks matter. Together, we prep our communities for disaster.
Avatar 2: I’m in. Stick around—we’ll compare heat with other weather and what that means for leaders.
Avatar 1: Hey, seriously, gracias a montón for being here today — really means a lot!
Avatar 2: Yeah, thanks so much for sticking with us! ¡Hasta luego, everybody! Catch you all next time
Avatar 1: stay cool out there and bye for now
Avatar 2 : bye bye
Comments
Post a Comment