From Invisible Threat to Social Problem: Media Framing of Particulate Matter in an Era of Intersecting Crises.

How environmental health problems gain social visibility is key to understanding social problem formation. In this paper we examine this process by studying American news media coverage of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution, a pollutant linked to premature death and cardiovascular disease. After years of decline, in 2016 PM2.5 concentrations began rising nationally in the United States, largely due to wildfires. To understand how this change has been captured in public discourse, we use frame analysis of articles in two national U.S. newspapers—the New York Times and USA Today—to trace the evolution of the social problem framing of PM2.5 from 2013 to 2024. PM2.5 was framed as a health threat and governance problem, and while 2016 marks the reversal of the nationwide trend of declining PM2.5, 2020 is the inflection point when coverage increased, and environmental justice framing became salient. We explain these changes as the consequence of a convergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, Black Lives Matter protests, major wildfires, and regulatory rollbacks that rendered PM2.5 more salient because of heightened public interest in airborne threats and growing awareness of racial inequality. Our study elucidates how intersecting crises can increase the media visibility of environmental health risks.