Journalists’ Awareness and Understanding of Climate Change in Tanzania

Abstract

This study explored Tanzanian journalists’ awareness and understanding of climate change. Data from questionnaires were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, with charts and graphs produced using Microsoft Excel. The majority (56; 70.9%) of journalists were aware of climate change. The study found no direct association among age, education, experience, training on climate change, skills, and climate change knowledge. However, there was a direct relationship between professional journalism education and understanding of climate change. The majority (57; 77%) of the journalists who reported an understanding of climate change rated such knowledge as inadequate. The challenges to effectively reporting climate change information include editors rejecting climate change news stories and difficulties in comprehending scientific jargon. Overall, journalists’ access to online information, local content, and language fluency are crucial in understanding, framing, and disseminating value-added information to readers, listeners, and viewers.