Broadcast TV news coverage of environmental justice saw a quantitative and qualitative improvement in 2021 over the previous four years. However, 2021 was still rife with missed opportunities to contextualize the complex harms that racism, economic exploitation, and environmental injustice have on vulnerable communities; hold industries accountable for environmental degradation; and highlight the solutions that exist to mitigate these harms.
Media Matters analyzed broadcast news coverage of any pollution impacts to the air, water, and soil -- particularly those caused by the fossil fuel and chemical industries -- regulatory actions, or environmental health hazards that impact specific demographic groups or communities, and counted mentions of at least one socially marginalized population as an environmental justice segment.
Media Matters analyzed the morning and evening news programs for ABC, CBS, and NBC from January 1 through December 31, 2021. In addition, weeknight episodes of PBS NewsHour were reviewed for a comparison point to their corporate broadcast counterparts, but they were not included in the full dataset.