Unlike the ravages of napalm during the Vietnam War or the Tian’anmen massacre (to cite just two examples of tragedies that resulted in famous press photographs around the world), the climate crisis has no iconic picture. And this absence is significant, considers Saffron O’Neill in an Opinion of the Guardian. As this geographer points out, strong images “shape the fabric of information by helping to put certain subjects on the front page of the media agenda”.
Associate professor at the University of Exeter, in the United Kingdom, the researcher presents in the British daily a scientific article currently at the pre-publication stage – which has therefore not yet been reviewed by peers – about the representation , in the European press, “heat wave risks”.
“Summer fun”
Along with seven other academics, O’Neill reviewed media coverage of the 2019 heatwave in the UK, the Netherlands, France and Germany. “Importantly, she points out, we focused exclusively