Drought, debate, and uncertainty: measuring reporters' knowledge and ignorance about climate change

Increasingly, the media are important sources of scientific information. Recent studies indicate that this is especially true for climate change. This study analyzes reporters' understanding of climate change by identifying sources of reporter knowledge about climate change, measuring reporters' acquired knowledge against the scientific consensus, and analyzing differences in reporter knowledge based on several factors that may influence climate change reporting. Results show that reporters who primarily use scientists as sources and who work the environmental beat full-time have the most accurate climate change knowledge.