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==Media, politics, and public discourse==
As McCombs et al.'s 1972 study of the political function of mass media showed, media coverage of an issue can "play an important part in shaping political reality".<ref>{{cite journal|last=McCombs|first=M|author2=Shaw, D.|title=The Agenda Setting Function of Mass Media|journal=Public Opinion Quarterly|year=1972|volume=36|issue=2|pages=176–187|doi=10.1086/267990|url=http://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/ESMP/article/view/62207|access-date=2019-02-20|archive-date=2019-08-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807044718/https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/ESMP/article/view/62207|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Research into media coverage of climate change has demonstrated the significant role of the media in determining [[Politics of climate change|climate policy]] formation.<ref name="Boykoff-Flogging">{{cite journal|last=Boykoff|first=M|title=Flogging a Dead Norm? Newspaper Coverage of Anthropogenic Climate Change in the United States and United Kingdom from 2003-2006|journal=[[Area (journal)|Area]]|year=2007|volume=39|issue=2|pages=000–000, 200|doi=10.1111/j.1475-4762.2007.00769.x|bibcode=2007Area...39..470B}}</ref> The media has considerable bearing on public opinion, and the way in which issues are reported, or framed, establishes a particular [[discourse]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hajer|first=M|author2=Versteeg, W|title=A Decade of Discourse Analysis of Environmental Politics: Achievements, Challenges, Perspectives|journal=Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning|year=2005|volume=7|issue=3|pages=175–184|doi=10.1080/15239080500339646|bibcode=2005JEPP....7..175H|s2cid=145317648}}</ref>
=== Media-policy interface ===
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''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper is internationally respected for its coverage of [[climate change]].<ref>{{Cite journal |date=January 2019 |title=Contemporary Turkey: an ecological account |url=https://www.hyd.org.tr/attachments/article/511/saha2en.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Citizens' Assembly-Turkey |issue=2 |issn=2149-7885 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119205910/https://hyd.org.tr/attachments/article/511/saha2en.pdf |archive-date=2021-11-19 |access-date=2019-12-09}}</ref>
In the UK, statements by government officials have been influential in the public perception on climate change. In 1988, Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]] gave one of the first speeches to draw public attention to climate change. This speech highlighted the assumption that industrialization had no impact on the global climate and contrasted it with the stark reality of an increasingly volatile climate. In another speech, Margaret Thatcher expressed that "we have unwittingly begun a massive experiment with the system of the planet itself".<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Boykoff |first1=Maxwell T |last2=Rajan |first2=S Ravi |date=March 2007 |title=Signals and noise: Mass-media coverage of climate change in the USA and the UK |journal=EMBO Reports |language=en |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=207–211 |doi=10.1038/sj.embor.7400924 |issn=1469-221X |pmc=1808044 |pmid=17330062}}</ref> Thatcher's speeches on climate change contributed to a record-breaking number of votes for the [[Green Party of England and Wales|Green Party]] in the [[1989 European Parliament election|1989 European Parliament Election]]. These speeches sparked an increase in broader media coverage of climate change.<ref name="Hulme-2004">{{Cite journal |last1=Hulme |first1=Mike |last2=Turnpenny |first2=John |date=2004 |title=Understanding and Managing Climate Change: The UK Experience |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3451587 |journal=The Geographical Journal |volume=170 |issue=2 |pages=105–115 |doi=10.1111/j.0016-7398.2004.00112.x |jstor=3451587 |bibcode=2004GeogJ.170..105H |issn=0016-7398|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
In the early 2000s, [[David King (chemist)|David King]], Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK, stated that the most difficult issue facing the UK was climate change and that its effects were worse than terrorism. David King established that reducing carbon emissions would not only benefit the environment but also the collective wellbeing of UK citizens. King's personal focus was climate change and he produced innovative thinking, tactics and negotiations for the media.<ref name="Shanahan-2007">{{Cite report |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep01410 |title=Talking about a revolution: climate change and the media |last=Shanahan |first=Mike |date=2007 |publisher=International Institute for Environment and Development}}</ref>
In 1988 in United States, NASA scientist [[James Hansen]] stated that climate change was anthropogenic, that is, man-made. This had a similar result to Thatcher's speeches, drawing public attention to the climate crisis and spurring increased media coverage of the issue. The US and UK are comparable in their coverage of climate change for this reason.<ref name="Gavin-2011">{{Cite journal |last1=Gavin |first1=Neil T. |last2=Leonard-Milsom |first2=Liam |last3=Montgomery |first3=Jessica |date=May 2011 |title=Climate change, flooding and the media in Britain |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0963662509353377 |journal=Public Understanding of Science |language=en |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=422–438 |doi=10.1177/0963662509353377 |pmid=21796885 |s2cid=37465809 |issn=0963-6625|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Despite evidence for anthropogenic climate change arising as early as the late 19th century, both countries lacked significant media coverage on climate change prior to 1988. However, the trajectory of media coverage in these countries varies significantly after this 1988 increase.
For a short period in 1988, the United States had slightly more coverage, but the two countries were quite similar. However, in the following years, the UK consistently produced more articles, and in 2003, it spiked, producing a significantly larger amount of articles. The year 2003 saw the UK and much of Europe experience the hottest summer to date.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The heatwave of 2003 |url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/learn-about/weather/case-studies/heatwave |access-date=2023-12-07 |website=Met Office |language=en}}</ref> Temperatures reached up to 38.5 °C, which is 101.3 °F, resulting in 2,000 deaths in the UK, and more across Europe. This significant event drew the attention of newspapers, therefore increasing the amount of articles produced. For example, in the year following the heatwave, ''[[The Guardian]]'' released an article in March, 2004, warning about even more severe summers that would come. This article included a quote from Dr. Luterbacher, who stated, "We don't know if it will get warmer every year, but the trend is certainly in that direction." The article also claimed that this extreme event was not due to natural causes, suggesting that human activity was responsible.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Sample |first1=Ian |last2=correspondent |first2=science |date=2004-03-05 |title=2003 heatwave a record waiting to be broken |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2004/mar/05/weather.climatechange |access-date=2023-12-07 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> This fear of worse summers on the way and growing understanding of the human causes continued to shows up in increased media coverage after 2003.
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