Spotlight on Research: Looking through the frame of climate change in Irish media

This week’s Spotlight on Research is with Dr David Robbins, Lecturer at DCU School of Communications.

Your research looks at how climate change is represented in Irish media, how did you become interested in that?

“I used to work in media, in newspapers, as a section editor and a commissioning editor. I started to teach here in DCU and I got involved in local politics and environmental issues and I worked as an advisor to John Gormley when he was Minister for the Environment. I discovered a whole world of environmental politics and communications and campaigns. I found it all extremely interesting and I realised I wanted to look at it as a full-time academic. So I did a PhD in DCU School of Communications and now I have a staff position here.”

What are you looking at in your research?

“I’m looking at how the Irish media covered climate change between 2007 and 2016. That involves talking to politicians and journalists and others in the media environment. I also look at the media texts.”

What have you been finding?

“Overall I’ve seen that Irish coverage of climate change follows international patterns but at a lower level - less than 1% of news coverage in Ireland. I’ve also found that the framing of climate change came mostly from the political side, and it varied. When Eamon Ryan was minister, the framing emphasised the economic opportunities of climate change, the technology and how businesses could benefit. When John Gormley was minister, the frame was more about individual responsibility, what people can do to tackle the issues.”

What’s your day like?

"It’s a mix. I lecture on the journalism undergraduate and postgraduate programmes here in DCU. I teach news reporting and mobile journalism, which involves recording and editing with mobile devices. Along with my colleague Dr Diarmuid Torney, we have set up a new MSc in Climate Change: Policy, Media and Society, which looks at society’s response to climate change. I fit the research in around the lecturing.”

What are the rewards of doing research?

“It is massively satisfying. I am fascinated by the intersection of politics and policy and media – when I lecture I often use a slide from the series House of Cards. I’m interested in who has the power, how the power shifts around and who set the agenda. When I was working in newspapers, I never really thought about the media’s role in democracy, it’s so interesting to step back and look at it.”

What do you do to take a break?

“I play sports badly! I play cricket, I'm still involved with the cricket team I set up when I was in The Irish Independent. I also play golf and tennis.”