In its coverage of climate protests, is mainstream media not the ‘fourth estate’ but a branch of government?

The media appears to be filtering news coverage of climate protests; as a co-founder of Extinction Rebellion put it: “Only through disruption, the breaking of laws, do you get the attention you need”(Guardian).

In an article in Nature, Dr Dana Fisher (left) and two colleagues point out that rallies and marches alone — even those with high attendance — are generally not seen as newsworthy. News media are more likely to report on protests that include some sort of disruption or shocking action, such as defacing a building, a fountain or a work of art.

She points out that confrontational protest is unpopular with many not only because of its illegality, but also when its logic is unclear. The reason for blocking oil terminals is easy to understand, but soup-throwing and road-blocking are stunts designed to attract the media and not directly connected to the goals of the protesters.

Some governments seem more concerned with criminalizing non-violent protesters than acting on climate

On 13^th May this year, it was reported that three protestors who took part in a slow march protest along Earls Court Road last year as part of the Just Stop Oil campaign were convicted of “interference with key national infrastructure”. They will be sentenced on 3 July – the maximum penalty being 12 months imprisonment, an unlimited fine or both (Guardian).

The political climate for such activism is becoming increasingly hostile. In the past two years the UK has increased maximum sentences and the powers of the police and government powers to declare protests illegal.

As Liz Fekete writes in another context, “One might argue that today the media, far from representing the ‘fourth estate’ of democracy, has become a branch of government, just a telephone call away from ministers”.

Globally, there is a wave of similar anti-protest legislation in other countries including Australia, US, Germany, Italy, Spain and Denmark, with more draconian sentencing and laws to curb protests and as the climate crisis worsens, climate activism and its repression will become increasingly common.

UN secretary-general António Guterres declared ln April 2022, that “the truly dangerous radicals are the countries that are increasing the production of fossil fuels”.

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