Media Communication

The Question of Accessibility

Climate change affects everyone, regardless of one’s background in education. And yet, when it comes to discussion based around anything remotely scientific, the language used is often exclusive only to those who have had the privilege of a higher education. Often we, as college students, take for granted our access into these exclusive spaces, and our ability to be a part of important and life-changing decisions that affect not just ourselves. Because frankly, the people who have the power to make large decisions surrounding climate change are those who have had this privilege. That’s where media communication becomes increasingly important in our day and age of technological advancements. With media communication, particularly online media, it is not so much about academic jargon, but about the importance of public outreach.

In 2018, 2.65 billion people in the world had some form of social media. And with a projected near 3 billion person usage for 2020 (Clement), it’s clear that the kind of accessible outreach that needs to happen around climate change could exist using these platforms. Social media is free to use, designed to be as straightforward as possible, and with clear and specialized purposes. Simply said, social media is for anyone, because it is what you make of it.

For example, take activists who use their platforms to promote their message, their movements, and where they’ll be speaking next, such as Greta Thunberg. She can advertise what it is she does and pair it with a selfie (Figure 1) – something that doesn’t take a college degree to understand. Someone could learn from her account specifics of climate change, or at least, learn of other resources that otherwise may have never come across their day-to-day. Another example is the Instagram account Everyday Climate Change, advertised as a “diverse group of photographers from 6 continents document climate change”, utilizing the hashtag #everydayclimatechange to demonstrate photographs from around the world that exhibit daily consequences of climate change. They share stories of individuals and communities that otherwise don’t get the same attention, giving flash bits of information with skilled photography (Figure 2).

Media communication, of course, is not solely composed of social media. Whereas social media is often taken on by current activists in order to advertise their pre-existing and current work, magazines and newspapers as a form of media communication uses online platforms in order to repeat others’ work. That is to say, their role is not to generate the activist work or environmental studies, but to reiterate and piece together information from politicians, activists, and scientists alike into a generalized article or op-ed.

But what comes with accessibility is the question of reliability. Online media can often be biased and personal opinions weaved within science. Because academic discussions around climate change that come directly from research and studies are exclusive, the presentation passed on through media while attempting to be accessible can over-simplify and miscommunicate details (Wihbey). The question exists, then, can we bridge the gap of accessibility while maintaining a reliable presentation of data? Consider, now, two examples of this attempt to maintain accessibility and reliability.

Climate Communication: Science & Outreach

“We publicize and illuminate the latest climate research in plain language, making the science more accessible to the public and policy makers.”

Under their page What We Do >> Publicize Climate Change, non-profit organization Climate Communication breaks down exactly the issue of accessibility and reliability. Understanding the importance of public knowledge no matter one’s educational background, they take accredited environmental journals and organized discussion meetings, and frame the information into a way that is not just easy to understand, but reliable. The public can access their website, explore carefully organized pages, and get the same information regarding their changing world as equally as a scientist.

From a list of common questions frequently asked and now simply answered, to a series of “animations” of graphs and charts that explain some of the biggest phenomena around climate change, such as carbon emissions, sea levels rising, solar energy (Figure 3), and how to affordably face climate change (Figure 4).

Innovation Academy

“The cornerstones of our educational work are sensitization, knowledge acquisition, activation, exchanging of experiences and the understanding that all of us can be influenced by positive, practical set examples.”

It would be remiss to not mention Innovation Academy when considering the bridging of accessibility and reliability through media communication. As we know from our conversations with Steffen, Innovation Academy is working to educate individuals and communities through project-building, demonstrating success stories towards building a better future for our environment.

While they can’t give a tour online the way they do in person, they are able to advertise their tours and projects, both on their website and their Instagram, through photos and basic facts around the area. Perhaps the best way to gain information on what it is they do and promote is by visiting, but if someone wanted inspiration for applying successful climate-stabilization initiatives, they could look at Innovation Academy’s website (Figure 5) or social media presence (Figure 6). As they say under their page About Us >> Philosophy, they are aiming to set the example for global change through easy and direct access to success stories.

In Reflection

It is difficult to create a social-media presence without a specific voice and bias, as that is in many ways what draws attraction to a mission or goal. In what ways can we work towards promoting these important conversations through this accessible platform while maintaining a certain level of integrity?

Where NGO Climate Communication has a global approach with a more Western-focused lens, Innovation Academy speaks specifically to successful projects within Germany in order to inspire global initiatives. The two work in opposite directions, one going specific to broad versus broad to specific – is one direction, in your opinion, more successful than the other in terms of media usage?