Dejan Oblak, Tena Perišin, Petra Kovačević: YOUNG AUDIENCE AND CLIMATE CHANGE REPORTING
Original paper
Dejan Oblak, Faculty of Political Sciences in Zagreb, Croatia
Tena Perišin, Faculty of Political Sciences in Zagreb, Croatia
Petra Kovačević, Faculty of Political Sciences in Zagreb, Croatia
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59014/XNSB7568
Keywords:
climate change, climate journalism, climate news, young audiences
Abstract
This study, part of the Croatian Science Foundation’s Journalism Research Lab
(Jourlab) project, investigates young people’s perceptions of climate change reporting
in Croatian media, along with the most effective storytelling methods in climate
reporting. The research was conducted in two phases, starting with interviews
of young journalism students who shared their personal experiences with climate
journalism. These interviews were complemented by a hands-on pilot project within
the “Journalism Research Lab” course at the Faculty of Political Science, where
40 journalism students (ages 21-25) created multimedia stories on climate change.
Through project-based learning, students used digital tools, audio-visual formats,
and data visualizations, gaining practical experience that deepened their engagement
with the topic. Following the production phase, in-depth interviews revealed that
while students initially viewed climate change as abstract, producing their own stories
made the issue more tangible and relevant. Building on this, the second research
phase involved focus groups with young audiences aged 18-25 from four Croatian
cities. Participants, after discussing their media habits, watched climate change stories
presented in two versions, each using distinct storytelling techniques. Findings
showed that young audiences are indeed interested in climate topics, provided that
the reporting is visually engaging, well-explained, and contextualized. This study
highlights that innovative storytelling formats are crucial to capturing and sustaining
young audiences’ interest in climate issues, emphasizing a need for media support in
developing such approaches.
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