Morning and nightly news shows on corporate broadcast TV networks aired 48 climate or environmental-related segments during Earth Week
NBC news programs aired 20 climate and environmental segments during Earth Week across 72 minutes, which just nudged past ABC and far outpaced CBS for Earth Week coverage. Sixteen of those segments came on the NBC morning news program Today, with 7 of these segments airing during the 9 a.m. third hour of the program. On Earth Day alone, NBC aired 5 climate or environmental segments across 9 minutes. Last year, NBC aired 9 such segments across 35 minutes. It must be noted, however, that Today ran for only one and a half hours on Earth Day this year, while it ran for three hours last year. The longest NBC segment during Earth Week 2023 lasted just over 6 minutes on the April 21 edition of Today and focused on how to repair everyday items instead of just buying new ones.
ABC was the only network to increase both the number of segments and the total amount of time spent covering climate and environmental issues on Earth Day in 2023 from last year. ABC news programs aired 18 climate and environmental segments during Earth Week across 71 minutes. Thirteen of these segments aired on their morning news program Good Morning America. On Earth Day alone, ABC news programs aired 6 such segments across 19 minutes, which was the highest volume of Earth Day coverage. In 2022, the network aired just 4 climate or environmental segments across 13 minutes on Earth Day. The longest ABC segment in 2023, which featured World News Tonight anchor David Muir on the ground in Sudan covering a deadly climate-fueled drought, clocked in at just under 10 minutes. This segment, which was the longest Earth Week-related segment on broadcast TV, occurred on the April 19 edition of World News Tonight.
CBS news programs aired just 10 climate and environmental segments during Earth Week this year across 39 minutes. All but two of these segments aired on either CBS Mornings or CBS Saturday Morning. On Earth Day alone, CBS aired 5 such segments across 18 minutes. Last year, the network aired 7 segments across 23 minutes during Earth Day. The longest CBS segment occurred on the April 20 edition of CBS Mornings and discussed how climate change is affecting the Colorado River.
Each network produced some high-quality climate reporting
Fifteen of NBC’s 20 climate and environmental segments during Earth Week mentioned climate change. Several climate segments ran under the “Today Climate” moniker, which runs on the morning news program Today. These segment topics ranged from using seaweed as a climate solution to looking at how climate change is affecting Native American food production. Additionally, NBC ran several segments under the “Climate Challenge” heading, which runs on the evening news program NBC Nightly News. These segments ranged from covering melting glaciers to looking at how climate change is affecting whales in the mid-Atlantic.
Two segments on the April 19 edition of Today looked at how climate change may be impacting airplane turbulence. During the 9 a.m. edition of this program, correspondent Tom Costello stated that “climate experts” believe that “turbulence has gotten worse … and they blame carbon dioxide emissions that are warming the planet.” The April 20 edition of NBC Nightly News even made a reference to fossil fuels — a rarity for broadcast TV coverage of climate change. In a segment about food waste, correspondent Anne Thompson stated, “Each year, food loss and waste in the U.S. produces emissions equal to the planet-warming carbon dioxide from 42 coal-fired power plants.”
Ten of ABC’s 18 climate and environmental segments during Earth Week mentioned climate change. As part of Earth Week, ABC created a special reporting series called “The Power of Water” initiative, which looked at “everything from the safety of the water supply and the disproportionate impact on poor communities, changes in sea levels that lead to more flooding, scientists who are forcing clouds to rain and snow to combat megadroughts and more.” Several of these segments mentioned climate change, including segments on how climate change is impacting the Colorado River and how clean drinking water is a climate justice issue in poorer U.S. communities.
In addition to its “Power of Water” initiative, ABC ran several segments looking at how climate change is affecting Sudan, which is suffering through a prolonged drought and famine. ABC was the only corporate broadcast network to explicitly tie fossil fuels to environmental degradation during Earth Week 2023. Reporting on eco-friendly products for home use on the April 21 edition of Good Morning America, guest Anna Robertson of The Cool Down said plastic is “created by using fossil fuels, which create pollution in our atmosphere.”
Seven of CBS’ 10 climate and environmental segments during Earth Week mentioned climate change. Several of these segments ran under the network’s “Protecting the Planet” moniker. Two CBS segments, both on the April 22 edition of CBS Saturday Morning, stand out in terms of quality climate reporting — they mention the disproportionate impacts of climate change and the reality of who is driving the vast majority of the planet’s warming. Discussing geoengineering (a controversial climate solution that has been mentioned in reports by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), co-host Jeff Glor stated that “scientists urging drastic cuts to our fossil fuel use say we’re not on pace to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.” The segment also featured Shuchi Talati, a former U.S. Department of Energy official who said that the Global North is completely dominating the conversation around geoengineering, despite the fact that it’s people in the Global South who are suffering the worst impacts of climate change.
