Better Communicating for the Climate

Research suggests that communities and journalists can be overcome with a sense of dread from too much doom-and-gloom reporting, the authors write. Photo: Tam Tran via Flickr Creative Commons (public domain).

Feature: Better Communicating for the Climate

By Allen Arthur, Angela K. Evans and Kristine Villaneuva

In early 2023, we (Allen Arthur, director of engagement at Solutions Journalism Network, and reporter Kristine Villaneuva) got together to develop a presentation on how journalists could use an understanding of the brain to inform people more effectively.

At the time, we were both separately researching the brain and tying that research into our experiences with journalism that meaningfully engages with communities. We wanted to create a fun, mentally “sticky” way for journalists to communicate in healthier, more creative ways.

 

Journalism has helped create a

‘creeping sense of dread’ felt both by

journalists and the audiences they serve.

 

One thing we found is that both in and out of newsrooms, journalism has helped create a “creeping sense of dread” felt both by journalists and the audiences they serve. But then we had our a-ha! moment, and “Jourpardy” (aka journalism Jeopardy) was born.

Jourpardy is a fun — and hopefully eye-opening — live game show centered around how journalists can communicate in ways that help inspire cooperation rather than division and foster a sense of agency rather than powerlessness.

Since then we’ve done Jourpardy presentations in Bonn, Germany; at the City University of New York’s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism; at a SRCCON conference; at the 2024 Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Philadelphia; and internally with the Solutions Journalism Network team.

We are always surprised to see which questions folks struggle with and how they work together to answer them. We haven’t had the same experience twice.

 

Dopamine’s dual effect

In Jourpardy, we reference psychologist Kent Berridge and his colleagues at the University of Michigan, who showed that the space between the region of the brain that handles desire and dread is separated by only a few millimeters.

This region, called the nucleus accumbens, is where the neurotransmitter dopamine is released.

Berridge and his colleagues also identified dopamine’s dual effect of seeking out pleasurable rewards, as well as being involved in fear.

 

We don’t solely want to trigger the parts

of the brain that incite fear if the goal is to

engage communities to act in positive ways.

 

But we don’t solely want to trigger the parts of the brain that incite fear if the goal is to engage communities to act in positive ways, co-create solutions or participate in civic life, especially when it comes to covering the climate crisis.

Both communities and the journalists covering them can easily be overcome with a sense of dread with too much doom-and-gloom reporting.

So, what would it be like if the news was rewarding for the brain, instead of inducing fear or anxiety? And could journalists also get a greater sense of fulfillment from presenting information in this way?

Jourpardy aims to answer those questions and help journalists unlock new ways of reporting, using healthier, more holistic communication techniques.

 

Climate reporting — the problem with doom and gloom

At SRCCON, an editor of a climate-focused outlet told us, “You have to do this for climate journalists.”

That editor was right — while Jourpardy wasn’t designed specifically for any specific beat, it was exceedingly easy to adapt it for climate reporting.

 

Journalists have started relentlessly

sounding the alarm around climate change,

hoping urgency and a vision of looming

catastrophe will motivate change.

 

In many ways, climate exemplifies the issues the game was built to address. In our efforts to build action around an issue, journalists have started relentlessly sounding the alarm around climate change, hoping urgency and a vision of looming catastrophe will motivate change.

Unfortunately, research suggests the opposite has happened. While it has motivated some people, the approach has also contributed to climate fatalism and disengagement.

And for an issue that demands large-scale cooperative problem solving, the “catastrophically-framed” stories (as one study called them) have instead made many feel there is no viable way forward.

There even seems to be a correlation between climate despair and climate denial.

 

Playfully examining journalists’ assumptions

In our research, we found that one way to help information “stick” is to encourage audiences to challenge their assumptions in a positive way. Our game-show format does exactly that.

Each Jourpardy question is either “true or false” or multiple choice, and is built around common journalistic beliefs — for example, our emphasis on “awareness” of a problem.

If participants get answers wrong, the surprise makes the moment of learning memorable. If participants get the answer right, it positively confirms the knowledge they already have.

And it doesn’t hurt that folks get a little something just for volunteering to participate, whether they get something right or wrong. Participating is hard enough; they deserve a reward! This, plus participation from folks in the crowd, creates a sense of community within the space.

Which is what happened when we (game co-creator Arthur and SJN’s climate network manager Angela K. Evans) rolled out a round of Jourpardy in April at the SEJ conference in a session titled “Communicate, Don’t (Just) Infuriate: Strengthening How Climate Journalism Converses With the World.”

In a packed room, we had volunteers answer seven different questions with the audience’s help. Questions like: Do people need a sense of meaning and well-being for their brains to make sense of external stimuli? (Yes!) And true or false: Research suggests people who identify as conservative have larger amygdalas than those who are more liberal. (True!)

We followed up each question with a prize for the volunteer and a few minutes of discussion to dig deeper into each topic.

We provided research to explain why the answer is what it is and then offered examples from constructive reporting, restorative justice, narrative study and more to help journalists understand they have options for communication.

 

Making news more rewarding

We also talked about the way our brains process information, how journalists can use this to better connect the dots for their audiences to elicit more empathy (and not pity) and how reporting on climate solutions can make the news a more desirable and rewarding experience for all of us.

 

This is not to say that disasters and

discouraging research should be ignored

— problems must be uncovered

before they can be addressed.

 

This is not to say that disasters and discouraging research should be ignored — problems must be uncovered before they can be addressed, and investigations into those causing and profiting from climate change have undoubtedly advanced our collective knowledge.

But when we predominantly report only on the problem and in a narrow way, we miss opportunities to build understanding, explore common goals, connect with people with differing values and help people feel that their actions matter. And what journalist wouldn’t want to do all that?

[Editor’s Note: Material for this story was drawn in part from a panel session moderated by Arthur and Evans at the Society of Environmental Journalists’ annual conference in Philadelphia in April, whose sponsors are listed here.]

Allen Arthur has a master's degree in engagement journalism from the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is the engagement director for the Solutions Journalism Network. He is also a freelance journalist working mainly with people who have been incarcerated. He recently published “The Moment Is Magic: Seven Tips for Journalists from Restorative-Justice Practitioners" and is co-producer and creator of The Art of Return, a live event for formerly incarcerated artists.

As the climate network manager at Solutions Journalism Network, Angela K. Evans nurtures a growing community of climate solutions journalists as they work toward transforming climate journalism to inspire action and collaboration in the building of a sustainable and resilient future. She is also a journalist exploring the intersection of systems, people and culture through the art of long-form storytelling. She has reported on climate and the environment since 2014.

Kristine Villanueva is a reporter and educator passionate about harnessing people-powered media to reinforce and expand community-based information networks. Her current work spans diasporic reporting on Filipino American issues and involvement with journalism schools, newsrooms and community organizations as the engagement strategist of News Ambassadors. She has also worked in news organizations such as ProPublica, Resolve Philly, Politico and The Center for Public Integrity, and served on the board of the Asian American Journalists Association, Philadelphia chapter.

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* From the weekly news magazine SEJournal Online, Vol. 9, No. 37. Content from each new issue of SEJournal Online is available to the public via the SEJournal Online main page. Subscribe to the e-newsletter here. And see past issues of the SEJournal archived here.