Journal article 235 views 54 downloads
Visual portrayals of fun in the sun in European news outlets misrepresent heatwave risks
Saffron O'Neill 
,
Sylvia Hayes,
Nadine Strauβ,
Marie‐Noëlle Doutreix,
Kat Steentjes ,
Joshua Ettinger,
Ned Westwood,
James Painter
,
Sylvia Hayes,
Nadine Strauβ,
Marie‐Noëlle Doutreix,
Kat Steentjes ,
Joshua Ettinger,
Ned Westwood,
James Painter
The Geographical Journal, Volume: 189, Issue: 1, Pages: 90 - 103
Swansea University Author:
Kat Steentjes
-
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© 2022 The Authors. The Geographical Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).
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DOI (Published version): 10.1111/geoj.12487
Abstract
The ways in which news media communicate about heatwaves can influence how society conceptualises and addresses heatwave risks. We examined visual news coverage of the 2019 heatwaves in France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, using content and visual critical discourse analyses. Many visuals we...
| Published in: | The Geographical Journal |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0016-7398 1475-4959 |
| Published: |
Wiley
2023
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| Online Access: |
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70298 |
| first_indexed |
2025-09-05T16:01:47Z |
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| last_indexed |
2025-09-18T07:26:20Z |
| id |
cronfa70298 |
| recordtype |
SURis |
| fullrecord |
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2025-09-17T12:57:24.3615287 v2 70298 2025-09-05 Visual portrayals of fun in the sun in European news outlets misrepresent heatwave risks 54f70b9380022eddcd67398acdca418b 0000-0002-8661-8287 Kat Steentjes Kat Steentjes true false 2025-09-05 PSYS The ways in which news media communicate about heatwaves can influence how society conceptualises and addresses heatwave risks. We examined visual news coverage of the 2019 heatwaves in France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, using content and visual critical discourse analyses. Many visuals were positively valenced (in contrast to article texts), framing heatwaves as ‘fun in the sun’. The most prevalent type of images in all countries were photographs of people having fun in or by water. When images did depict the danger of heat extremes, people were largely absent. We conclude that this visual framing of heatwaves is problematic: first, by displacing concerns of vulnerability, it marginalises the experiences of those vulnerable to heatwaves; and second, it excludes opportunities for imagining a more resilient future. We conclude with suggestions to diversify the visual discourse on climate change and heatwaves in the news media. Journal Article The Geographical Journal 189 1 90 103 Wiley 0016-7398 1475-4959 adaptation, climate change, heatwave, imagery, media, visual 1 3 2023 2023-03-01 10.1111/geoj.12487 COLLEGE NANME Psychology School COLLEGE CODE PSYS Swansea University Another institution paid the OA fee SO was funded through a Leverhulme Research Fellowship (RF-2021-599). SH acknowledges ESRC SWDTP PhD scholarship funding. 2025-09-17T12:57:24.3615287 2025-09-05T10:09:50.3388336 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences School of Psychology Saffron O'Neill 0000-0002-9062-6247 1 Sylvia Hayes 2 Nadine Strauβ 3 Marie‐Noëlle Doutreix 4 Kat Steentjes 0000-0002-8661-8287 5 Joshua Ettinger 6 Ned Westwood 7 James Painter 8 70298__35101__d8c94e30ac104b7fb2199701a09ecf4d.pdf 70298.VOR.pdf 2025-09-17T12:53:27.8290969 Output 5604067 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2022 The Authors. The Geographical Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| title |
Visual portrayals of fun in the sun in European news outlets misrepresent heatwave risks |
| spellingShingle |
Visual portrayals of fun in the sun in European news outlets misrepresent heatwave risks Kat Steentjes |
| title_short |
Visual portrayals of fun in the sun in European news outlets misrepresent heatwave risks |
| title_full |
Visual portrayals of fun in the sun in European news outlets misrepresent heatwave risks |
| title_fullStr |
Visual portrayals of fun in the sun in European news outlets misrepresent heatwave risks |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Visual portrayals of fun in the sun in European news outlets misrepresent heatwave risks |
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Visual portrayals of fun in the sun in European news outlets misrepresent heatwave risks |
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Kat Steentjes |
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Saffron O'Neill Sylvia Hayes Nadine Strauβ Marie‐Noëlle Doutreix Kat Steentjes Joshua Ettinger Ned Westwood James Painter |
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The Geographical Journal |
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The ways in which news media communicate about heatwaves can influence how society conceptualises and addresses heatwave risks. We examined visual news coverage of the 2019 heatwaves in France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, using content and visual critical discourse analyses. Many visuals were positively valenced (in contrast to article texts), framing heatwaves as ‘fun in the sun’. The most prevalent type of images in all countries were photographs of people having fun in or by water. When images did depict the danger of heat extremes, people were largely absent. We conclude that this visual framing of heatwaves is problematic: first, by displacing concerns of vulnerability, it marginalises the experiences of those vulnerable to heatwaves; and second, it excludes opportunities for imagining a more resilient future. We conclude with suggestions to diversify the visual discourse on climate change and heatwaves in the news media. |
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2023-03-01T05:30:30Z |
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