The paradoxes of climate change reporting: A study of landslide news coverage in Hindi language newspapers of Himachal Pradesh, India

This study examines how climate change, particularly landslides, is reported in the state editions of Hindi language newspapers in Himachal Pradesh, India. Using a cross-sectional, descriptive, exploratory, and qualitative approach, the researchers gathered primary data through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with journalists and editorial staff from three major Hindi newspapers (Amar Ujala, Dainik Bhaskar, and Divya Himachal). A content analysis of 62 news stories published in 2021 was performed to extract themes in climate disaster reporting, focusing on elements such as source attribution, causality, witness accounts, and the connection with climate change. The study’s methodology and sampling specifically targeted local newsroom practices and their role in shaping public perceptions around climate change impacts.

The key findings reveal that most climate-related news stories, especially about landslides, are incident-centric with sparse explanation of causes, limited witness accounts, and very little use of expert or scientific sources. Only 4.83% of the reports explicitly connected landslide events to climate change; climate attribution was mostly vague or included as brief quotes. The authors recommend strengthening journalistic capacity through targeted training and workshops, collaboration between journalists and scientific experts, and improved access to scientific data. This would enhance accurate, relevant climate reporting that better informs communities and fosters local engagement and adaptation responses. Journalists themselves expressed a strong need for education on scientific and environmental topics to connect global climate issues with local realities.