Among the broadcasters, ABC covered the story for six minutes in seven segments and twice mentioned climate change. NBC covered the story in 6 segments for 12 minutes and CBS covered 5 segments for 6 minutes. Climate change was not mentioned in either network’s reports.
Among the cable networks, CNN covered the wildfire smoke for 2 hours and 19 minutes in 54 segments, eight times mentioning the climate. MSNBC covered the story in 17 segments for 41 minutes, with 5 climate mentions.
Fox News covered the wildfire smoke for two hours and 41 minutes, accounting for nearly half of all cable coverage. Fox also accounted for nearly half of all climate mentions, at 10.
The broadcaster’s reporting began to falter as the extent of the danger became clearer. Throughout Wednesday, Fox’s reporting has been rife with climate denial, attacks on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and health misinformation about the dangers of particulate matter.
In the other networks, reporting rightly focused on explaining the proximate causes of wildfire smoke, as well as the health risks posed by inhalation. But the majority of morning and afternoon newscasts chose not to mention the climate connection. However, the climate discussion increased during prime time. For example, CNN’s Bill Weir, who appeared several times during prime time, again showed the importance of having dedicated climate correspondents. Continue throughout his segments The situation space, Erin Burnett OutFrontAnd Anderson Cooper 360Weir drew clear connections between climate change, the Canadian wildfires, and the ensuing wildfire smoke that made the air worse for tens of millions of Americans along the east coast.
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